Chapters Twilight Sparkle raced across the stony ground beneath her, her breath coming in short pants. Around her ancient stone walls crumbled into the floor, presenting obstacles that she barely managed to avoid. Ahead of her she could see her friends in the same predicament she was, trying to escape the crumbling structure. Twilight's limbs began to falter, but she wasn't going to give up, she had to make it. The ground beneath her hooves began to shake violently, almost like there was an earthquake. Twilight glanced down, and was shocked the find the ground was starting to crack and split apart underneath her. Huge portions of the floor gave way to reveal an enormous pit of fire. As larger sections of the floor gave way, Twilight was forced to spring from point to point, to avoid a fiery demise. In the distance she could see the exit; so she pushed herself to her limits. Her body screamed out in protest, but she did her best to ignore it. Twilight watched her friends gather at the entrance, looking at Twilight as she closed in towards them. Suddenly a wall of flame burst through the floor, cutting of Twilight's view of the entrance. The rate that the floor was crumbling increased, leaving Twilight mere seconds before she fell into the pit below. Calculating her odds, Twilight raced towards the wall of flame, leaping into it, just as the ground gave way beneath her.
The flames stung her eyes, even though she kept them shut. They licked at her coat, eliciting soft hissing noises as it started to burn. She felt a cool breeze, and risked opening her eyes for a second. Her head had cleared the flames, and she was now hurtling towards her friends. In her mind Twilight worked out a series of angles and trajectories and came to a shocking result. She wasn't in for a smooth landing, at her current height she was going to slam straight into the edge. In preparation she lifted her fore hooves up and braced herself. Her body struck the edge hard, knocking the wind out of her body. Her hooves scrabbled at the edge struggling to hold her up. She looked up to her friends, who were all gathered at the edge, looking down on her.
"Girls? A little help please?!"
Her friends remained still, and continued to look at her.
"Hello? I need some help here!"
One by one her friends turned and left, leaving Twilight to face the fire pit. She screamed for her friends to help, but they just kept on walking. She glanced down into the pit, gulping nervously as it belched out columns of flame. Realising that she wasn't getting any help, she had only one choice.
Twilight awoke, screaming loudly as she transitioned from a dream state to reality. Gradually her screaming died down as she realised where she was. Her breathing was short and fast, and her brain was buzzing away. She heard a voice from the side of her bed, and turned to see Spike, holding his pillow like a weapon.
"What's the matter Twilight? What was all the screaming about?" quizzed the baby dragon.
"I had a nightmare, nothing serious…" replied Twilight.
"Another nightmare!? Twilight that's the fifth one this week! You need to see someone about these!"
Twilight put her fore hooves to her head, and scrunched up her eyes. She had just woken up from a pretty vivid nightmare, and Spike's shouting wasn't helping her mood. "Spike!" growled Twilight. "It was just a nightmare; everypony has them at some point. It's just the brains' way of trying to process the day's events; it's nothing to be so worried about. So could you please stop shouting?"
Spike wasn't convinced, but he retreated back to his bed anyway, allowing Twilight chance to get back to sleep. She didn't think that it would be possible to go back to sleep, given what she had woken up from. Yet within seconds, she had dozed off and her mind returned to its dream state.
The next morning presented a rude awakening, in the form of Spike yelling loudly into Twilight's ear.
"Wake up Twilight!"
All of Twilight's next actions happened on an impulse. Her eyes shot open, and she sat bolt upright. Her mouth spouted out a garbled mass of sentences, strung together without as much as a pause between them.
"Awake! Awake! Good! Alive and awake!"
Her head flitted about from side to side with each sentence she spoke, almost like she wasn't sure where she was. Spike sighed, she had experienced another nightmare, he was certain of it. He held a scroll up to Twilight's face, which she quickly whisked out of his grasp with her magic. She unfurled the scroll and skimmed over the text. Within seconds of finishing the scroll she dashed downstairs and out the library door, leaving nothing but a gust of wind in her wake. Spike picked up the scroll and headed downstairs to the breakfast he had prepared for Twilight and himself. Sometimes he wondered why he even bothered to make Twilight breakfast, eight times out of ten she left in a hurry. This was one of those eight times, so he sat down and helped himself to a lonely breakfast.
Twilight, on the other hand, was racing towards Sweet Apple Acres with the hopes of finding Applejack there. The scroll she had received had been sent from Celestia, and had summoned Twilight and her friends to Canterlot, for a meeting that had been deemed urgent. The scrolled hadn't given much detail as to what this meeting was about, but the word 'urgent' was enough to send Twilight into overdrive. She would have to apologise to Spike for missing breakfast, although he was probably used to her missing it. She arrived at residence of Applejack, and searched frantically for the orange farm pony. Her eyes caught side of her target leaving the barn, and she set off to meet her.
"Applejack! I need you to come with me right away! Princess Celestia wants to see all of us, for some important meeting or something. Gah I don't have time to explain! Come on!" yelled Twilight, sounding and looking incredibly flustered.
Twilight turned away and was about to run off to the next pony's residence, when Applejack grabbed her tail in her mouth.
"Hold on there sugar cube…" replied Applejack, her mouth full of Twilight's tail.
"Applejack! We don't have time for this! The princess said it was urgent!" yelled Twilight, starting to get a little frantic.
Applejack held her hoof up to her mouth, as a sign for Twilight to be quiet, which the purple unicorn quickly obeyed.
"Now Twilight, take a deep breath, an' try t' tell me again. Slower this time…"
Twilight took a deep breath, and began to recount her story once more.
"This morning I got a scroll from Celestia. She detailed that she wanted to see the six of us, but she didn't give the reason, she just said it was urgent, which is specific enough, but she could've gave more of a-"
Applejack shoved her hoof into Twilight's mouth, silencing her.
"Yer ramblin' again Twi…"
Carefully Applejack removed her hoof from Twilight's mouth, allowing her speak.
"Well, what I came here for was to ask your help in rounding up our friends. I figured you'd know where Rainbow Dash would be, and I'm sure you'd be able to convince Pinkie Pie quicker than I could."
"Well Rainbow's right here, in tha barn, we were ju-" Applejack cut herself off, before she revealed what Applejack and Rainbow Dash had been up to.
"Just what, Applejack?" Twilight's face changed to a look of suspicion.
"Jus' workin'…" said Applejack, blushing a little.
Twilight wasn't convinced, but she didn't entertain that particular notion, she had more important things to do.
"Alright, this is just wasting time now. Bring Pinkie and Rainbow Dash to the library, and I'll meet you there, with Fluttershy and Rarity."
As Twilight ventured through town, she thought about what Rainbow Dash and Applejack could've been getting up to in the barn. Frankly, some of the possibilities made her even more curious. She was so lost in thought, that she didn't notice her arrival at the boutique. Her only indication that she had arrived, was when she walked straight into the front door. The resounding thud resonated throughout the building, forcing Rarity outside to see what was going on. She opened the doors to find Twilight slumped on the floor in a daze. Rarity helped her up, and held her steady until she came out of her daze.
"Now dear, would you mind explaining what brought you here?" asked Rarity.
"Ahem, Rarity, I need you to come with me right now. This is a matter of utmost urgency! I go-"
Rarity silenced Twilight with a flick of her hoof.
"I'm sorry Twilight darling, but I can't go with you right now. I'm working on a new design, plus I can't leave Sweetie Belle alone. Sorry."
"Oh you can leave your shop alone for a few minutes can't you? This is extremely urgent after all…"
Rarity thought for a moment before giving her response.
"Oh I could leave the boutique for a few minutes. It's Sweetie Belle that I can't leave unsupervised. She'd probably try to 'help' with something" Rarity shuddered as she remembered an occasion where Sweetie Belle had tried to 'help' with a dress.
"But the princess sent for you!" yelled Twilight.
Rarity turned her head to face Twilight once more, a wide grin on her face.
"The princess you say? Well what are we standing here for? Let's go!" exclaimed Rarity.
Rarity dashed past Twilight, but didn't manage to get far before Twilight stopped her.
"I like the newfound enthusiasm, but didn't you just say that you couldn't leave Sweetie Belle alone?" said Twilight, puzzled.
Without a word to Twilight, Rarity dashed inside, and returned, pushing Sweetie Belle outside.
"Now darling, I need you to stay outside for a while. Maybe you could go crusading with Applebloom and Scootaloo?" said Rarity, her attention focused on locking up the boutique.
Sweetie Belle looked at her sister suspiciously, but decided against probing for more information. Instead she nodded and left Twilight and Rarity alone. Rarity finished locking up, and gestured a hoof towards Twilight, as a polite way of saying 'get moving'. Understanding what Rarity was getting at, Twilight made haste to her final destination, Fluttershy's cottage.
The two unicorns soon arrived at the cottage, and Twilight began to rapidly bang her hoof against the cottage door. Rarity took it upon herself to stop Twilight's violent thumping of the door, before it hindered their chances of recruiting Fluttershy.
"Twilight!" hissed Rarity. "Have you forgotten who lives here? You can't expect her to open the door for someone who seems to want to break it down!"
Twilight backed away, and rubbed a hoof against the back of her head.
"Sorry Rarity, guess I got a little bit desperate" replied Twilight.
Rarity nodded, then gave a little flick of her mane, and turned towards the door. She began to knock against the wood, with soft, delicate movements.
Fluttershy dear, it's Rarity. Could you open the door for me?" cooed Rarity.
Twilight took note of the pink mane that appeared at the window, before turning her attention back to the door. Both Rarity and Twilight heard a few clicking noises, right before the door swung open to reveal Fluttershy.
"Hello Rarity. Twilight" squeaked Fluttershy.
"Hello Fluttershy!" chorused the unicorns.
"Hi…" replied Fluttershy meekly, as she retreated inside.
Twilight and Rarity pursued her inside, stopping at the rooms' centre.
"Fluttershy, we need you to come with us, back to the library. The princess summoned us to her castle, although I'm not quite sure why…" announced Twilight.
Fluttershy looked down at the floor and scraped her hoof across the ground.
Twilight was starting to get a little agitated. What was wrong with these ponies? Didn't they understand that they were need for something urgent? She was seconds away from screaming her lungs out in frustration, but Rarity stepped forward with a solution.
The white unicorn moved her head close to Fluttershy's, just so that her mouth was level with the yellow pegasi's ear. She then proceeded to whisper something to Fluttershy, something which seemed to bring her round to their side.
Twilight was pretty stunned, her jaw agape, just a little.
Rarity simply smiled, and headed towards the door, Fluttershy hot on her heels. Twilight shook her head, removing her shocked apparel, and followed after them. The three ponies made their way back to Twilight's library, where Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie, were waiting for them. Upon the arrival of Twilight, everypony decided to assault her with questions about this summoning. Most of the questioning came from Pinkie Pie, and the majority of her questions were, "Are we going to a party?"
Twilight raised her hoof into the air to silence her friends.
"Miss Sparkle, I presume?" asked the guard.
Twilight nodded, and replied.
The guard nodded, and gestured to the chariot, a sign for them to get in. Twilight took the lead, and opened the door with her magic. She was closely followed by Rarity and Fluttershy; Pinkie Pie bounced along behind them, with Rainbow Dash and Applejack picking up the rear. Once everyone was safely seated, Twilight swung the door shut, and the six waited for the guards to set off. Suddenly the guards began to beat their powerful wings. Then they began to pull the chariot, and within seconds, they were sailing through the air. The six friends sat and chatted about what their meeting with the princess could be about. Twilight however, didn't take part in the talking, her mind was otherwise preoccupied. She couldn't shake the thought that this whole meeting with the princess had something to do with these nightmares she'd been having. Maybe Spike was right, maybe she should tell someone about them…but who?
The chariot touched down in Canterlot, more specifically, Celestia's castle grounds. Twilight and her friends disembarked the chariot and thanked the guards, who held their heads high, showing off their pride. Twilight led her friends through the grounds and into the castle itself. There they met with Princess Celestia, who was pleased to see that they had finally arrived.
"Please, this way…" spoke Celestia, her tone seeming to be layered with a sense of urgency, which contrasted her normal, slower, calmer way of speaking. The Princess led them through the elegant hallways, where shining marble pillars, and various stone carvings oversaw their progress. The Princess led them into the throne room, where her regal sister, Princess Luna was waiting. Celestia took her place on her throne, whilst the six ponies stood the customary distance away from the thrones.
Twilight took a small step forwards, making her stand out from the crowd. She bowed her head, and immediately lifted it back up, as was the norm when in royal presence. The other ponies followed suit, not wanting to look out of place.
Celestia cleared her throat and began to recount events, which had influenced their meeting.
"Every year I send a small group of my guards into the Everfree forest, with the intentions of mapping out the area and any changes. However this time, things didn't go as smoothly as we expected. My guards came back hysterical, one of them was borderline insane. We managed to obtain his journal, and I must say it's rather disturbing."
Being the curious unicorn that she was, Twilight couldn't resist a peak at the journal. Celestia was well aware of Twilight's curiosity and decided to hold her tongue until Twilight had read a bit of the journal. Celestia watched Twilight, whilst the other ponies looked at Celestia, as they all waited for different things. Twilight had only started to read the first few lines, but one thing was clear, the guard in question was perfectly healthy before he went on this mission. However as she progressed through the history that was chronicled in these pages, Twilight began to see something wrong. Her first sign on this was a section that was dated two days after their group came across a strange and ancient structure.
I had a terrible nightmare last night, so vivid and horrifying that I awoke in the dark of night, screaming and sweating profusely. I assured my colleagues that there was no cause for alarm, but in my head I knew it to be a lie. I am unsure if I can put quill to scroll and relive the moment long enough to detail it here, yet I shall try. There was a voice, a voice that seemed so familiar, yet I could not put it to a face. I was shown visions of our glorious land of Equestria, but not as it is now. The land was bathed in a burnt orange glow; fire rampaged across the land, leaving nothing but cinders and ash in its wake. I stood there, as one by one, families, friends, and loved ones succumbed to the raging beast. Soon enough I was the only one left, I was alone, and I had nothing to do but wait for the inevitable.
The entry stopped at that point, and Twilight looked up from the journal to find that the room around her had changed. No longer was she in a bright and colourful room, she was now in a pitch black area, almost like the lights had been extinguished. Her friends were nowhere to be seen, nor where any of the princess's.
"Twilight…" whispered a voice in her ear."Twiiiliiiight…" whispered the voice once more, sending Twilight's heart into a beating frenzy.
"It's not real. It's a dream, a hallucination, completely fictitious. It doesn't exist!"
"What don' exist sugar cube?" asked Applejack, who was stood closest to Twilight.
"Nothing! Heh, uhm, nope. I didn't say that did I? No of course I didn't…"
"Twilight? Where are you going? What's wrong?" inquired Celestia, concern evident in her voice.
"Oh nothing's wrong, I'm just going for a little walk, might read a bit more of this journal, it's a fine read it must be said."
Upon Twilight's absence, everypony started to look around, each pony looking confused.
"Well what in tarnation was that about?" asked Applejack.
"Beats me..." replied Rainbow Dash.
"Oh I do hope she'll be ok..." expressed a concerned Rarity.
Fluttershy remained silent, but in her mind, she too was hoping that Twilight was going to be ok.
Suddenly a new voice spoke out, one that had spoken the entire time the ponies had been there.
Celestia nodded and smiled, she then turned to the others and began explaining what was needed of Twilight and her friends. Luna got up and made her way to the doors, through which Twilight had left, just mere moments ago. She stopped a few feet away from the door, and began to open it. The guards were about to spring into action, when they noticed the door moving by itself. They took one look at it, then looked at Luna, and stood down, realising that she was obviously controlling it.
"I won't be long!" yelled Luna as she disappeared into the corridor, slamming the door behind her. Now that she was out of the throne room she could begin her search for Twilight without hindrance. She called out to her, not expecting to hear a reply of course.
Once outside, she listened for the sound, and began to trace it back to the source. The sun was still shining brightly as she searched the grounds for Twilight. She came to a point where the sound seemed to be coming from the right hand side of the entrance. She took care to slip off the normal path, and onto the grassy knoll, without damaging any of the flowers. The sound was definitely louder now, and soon enough, Luna found Twilight.
"Twilight!" exclaimed Luna as she made her way to the purple unicorn.
"Luna? What are you doing here?" said Twilight, surprised.
"I was here to find you, and bring you back to Celestia. Although first, I want to have a little chat" explained Luna as she sat down with Celestia's pupil.
"I guess you want to talk about my little outburst back there huh?"
"I do. So tell me, what's troubling you?" replied Luna.
Twilight realised that this was it; this was the pony she was going to tell about her nightmares. She just hoped that she would understand, and possibly offer a solution to end them. She took a deep breath and began to recite her problems to Luna.
"Twilight, if you really are experiencing similar nightmares to what that guard experienced, then I think you should meet with him in person. Then maybe we can find out if you're going to end up like him ok?" replied Luna.
"What? You know were he is? I thought all you had was his journal?" exclaimed Twilight, her mind reeling at this new information.
"Well we couldn't just let him out into the open world again. He was mentally unstable; there was no telling if he would be a danger to others. So we kept him here, in the dungeon, we just couldn't take the risk" replied Luna coolly.
Once she was finished speaking Luna got up and started to walk off. Twilight jumped up, and quickly chased after her, not wanting to miss out on this opportunity. Luna led her through the castle, eventually leading her down some stairs, stairs which led into the dank, dark dungeon. Twilight shivered as she made her way down, making sure not too lose Luna. Finally they reached the bottom of the stairs, and Twilight gazed upon row upon row of cells. Luna made her way to the only cell to be protected by guards. She stood aside, dismissed the guards, allowing Twilight to see the prisoner inside. She walked up to the bars, and poking her nose through them just a bit. Suddenly a white stallion appeared out of nowhere, shocking Twilight. Her eyes widened, but she didn't flinch. Instead she just inspected the stallion's appearance. He was tall, and very well built, the perfect example of a royal guard. She noticed patches of dirt on his coat, his mane and tail looked scruffy, like someone had been tussling them. His eyes look tired, like he'd had no sleep whatsoever, and to top it off, they were incredibly bloodshot.
"Uhm hello?" asked Twilight, unsure of the correct way to start conversation with him.
"Ehehe, she's here! I knew you'd turn up, he said you would turn up. He's always right. He's been watching you, he has plans for you, Twilight Sparkle." Rambled the stallion.
"How do you -?" responded Twilight.
"-know your name? He told me, he tells me everything about you. He's right here, talking to me even now." The stallion tapped a hoof against his head. "He wants you, he needs you. He wants to feast on your thoughts, your memories, just like he did to me. A mind like yours would give him oh so much power, and that kind of power would be enough for him to enter the mortal plain." The stallion stopped and grabbed hold of Twilight, pulling her head through the bars.
"Ah what are you do-?!" yelped Twilight.
"Shh shh, he's gone. Free thought! Haha! Listen to me, and listen good. He's twisting everyone around you, drawing you closer to him. Twilight, conflict is inevitable. So…I need…I need you! Beat him! Free me from this torture!" The stallion roared in agony and jumped back from the bars, writhing on the floor.
Twilight watched in horror as the stallion endured what could only be described as immense pain. The guards and Luna just watched on, powerless to help him. Twilight turned away, and ascended the stairs back to the castle. Luna followed close behind, not wanting to lose Twilight again. Twilight made her way back to the throne room, opened the doors, and entered. Luna shut the door, seeing as though she was the last one to enter. Twilight marched straight up to Celestia, and looked her in the eyes. She spoke two words, two words that sealed her fate.
"I'm ready…"
"Are you sure Twilight?" asked Celestia "I only ask because you had me worried when you ran outside without giving any sort of reason."
Twilight nodded.
Celestia nodded and began to inform Twilight what was needed of her.
"Understood Princess, we'll get it done right away!" exclaimed Twilight.
"Aren't you forgetting something Twilight? Celestia reminded her.
Twilight whirled around and looked at the saddlebags that Celestia was still levitating.
As the chariot took of and disappeared into the sea of clouds, Celestia muttered something under her breath.
****
As the chariot sailed through the bright blue sky, Twilight took a moment to read more from the journal. She skimmed through the pages until she arrived at a part she hadn't read.
Since my first vivid nightmare, I've been getting worse and worse visions each night. Except now it's not confined to the dream world. I hear that voice wherever I go. It's following me, taunting me. I keep asking my colleagues if they can hear it too, but they keep denying it. As each day passes its calls grow louder, it's starting to become unbearable. Others doubt my leadership ability; some are even questioning my sanity. I don't know why this is happening to me, but I'm starting to fear for what is still to come…"
Twilight was intrigued, she too was hearing voices, well she'd heard it once, but she was certain she'd hear it again. She glanced up from reading to see that they were coming in too land, realising that she wasn't going to get to read much more, she packed the journal away. The chariot touched down, just on the outskirts of the Everfree Forest. Twilight and her friends exited the chariot, standing just outside the first row of trees. The chariot took off again, leaving the ponies alone. Twilight stared at the ominous forest laid out before them and turned to her friends.
"O' course we are! Ah mean we've taken on worse things than this an' won each time! Replied Applejack enthusiastically.
"Yeah! I mean come on Twilight, all we have to do is go in there, and draw a little picture. Nothing too it! Replied Rainbow Dash, sharing Applejack's enthusiasm.
"Twilight darling, I just want to get this out of the way with as little mess as possible" answered Rarity in her signature ladylike tone.
"And then we can parrrrrrty!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie.
Fluttershy tried to answer, but her friends exclamations drowned her out.
Twilight smiled, her friends enthusiastic attitude only served to boost her own confidence. She turned back around to face the forest and took her first steps inside, with her friends following suit. She levitated the map out of the saddlebags, and brought it in front of her face. She worked out that their current position was directly west of their destination. She looked at the distance between them, then, using a simple mathematical conversion calculation, she worked out how long it would take to reach it.
"So will we be returning home for good nights sleep and try again in the morning?" asked Rarity.
"No Rarity, we're goin' t' make camp right Twi?" responded Applejack.
"That's correct AJ. Keep your eyes open for a good place to settle down, should we not be able to continue." Replied Twilight.
"Camp…ing…here?" replied Rarity, slightly worried.
"What's the matter Rarity? You're not scared are ya?" queried Rainbow Dash.
"On the contrary my dear, I assumed that we would have this task completed by the end of the day. So as you can imagine, I am completely unprepared for night of 'camping' " replied Rarity.
"Well what would you need for camping Rarity?" asked Pinkie Pie.
"Well Pinkie, besides the obvious, I would need…" Rarity then began to rattle off a long list of items she would need to make camping more enjoyable.
Twilight glanced at her friends talking amongst themselves; blissfully unaware of the possible danger she was leading them into. The four of them seemed to think that this was just going to be some simple task…
Wait a minute… four of them? Thought Twilight.
"Where's Fluttershy?" asked Twilight worriedly.
Everyone looked around, their eyes darting back and forth for any sign of the shy Pegasus. Twilight barged past her friends and started to retrace her steps.
"We have to go back the way we came, maybe she just lost sight of us!" yelled Twilight optimistically as she disappeared into the foliage, not waiting around for her friends. The Everfree forest wasn't a place you wanted to get lost in, especially if you were Fluttershy. As Twilight neared the midway point, her eyes came to rest on a clearing to her left. There, sprawled out on the floor was Fluttershy.
Fluttershy stirred, lifting her head off the floor.
Twilight's pace slowed; suddenly she didn't want to rescue her friend so eagerly.
Twilight, what's wrong with me? I can hear someone whispering to me, talking about you…" said Fluttershy in her distorted tone.
Fluttershy fell silent as she stood up and faced her. She smiled at Twilight, this is of course, universally known as a polite thing to do, yet Twilight couldn't help but feel like something was off. The moment Fluttershy spoke, it confirmed her suspicions.
"This one is weak, easily manipulated. Not like you Twilight, nothing like you. You have such promise and yet you don't seem to realise it. Except I realise it, I know what you are capable of, and how your power can bring me into the mortal plain." Continued the seemingly possessed Fluttershy.
"What have you done to Fluttershy!" yelled Twilight, looking around for her friends, but she had left them behind when she raced off to find Fluttershy.
"Just a simple takeover of her mind, she's still in here of course. Locked away inside an internal nightmare, scared, frightened and alone. However I decided that I needed some leverage, just to make sure that you would meet with me, rather than just complete the task set by your pathetic excuse for a princess. So here's my proposition Twilight, meet with me, and I'll free your friend from her eternal torture. Deal?" answered Fluttershy.
Then the yellow Pegasus fell silent and suddenly dropped to the floor. Twilight approached her friend and knelt down beside her. Suddenly Fluttershy jerked to life, screaming and thrashing about.
"Help me, somebody please!" bawled the distressed Fluttershy.
Twilight felt a sudden surge of emotion, a combination of rage, and pity. She had been able to deal with this unknown menace when it was just affecting her. Except now it was messing with Fluttershy, forcing her to live moments of pure horror and terror. Twilight had to end this, and she had to end it soon. Even as her friends finally caught up with her, she was formulating a plan to bring this to a close. Her friends could only watch as Fluttershy's body twisted and writhed on the floor. A quiet voice whispered in Twilight's ear.
"The longer you delay, the more I'll increase poor Fluttershy's pain…and you wouldn't want that would you?"
Twilight's friends turned to face her, their eyes wide with worry. Their expressions expressed their concerns, instead of the use of spoken words. They were all looking to her as if to say "What do we do?" and the unfortunate truth of the matter was that Twilight didn't know, and it showed in her response.
"We…we make camp, until we think of something better." Spoke Twilight softly.
Are ya sure 'bout that Twi? Fluttershy could do with some serious help about now…" replied a concerned Applejack.
"We make camp, now." Replied Twilight, who was starting to get a little agitated.
"Alright Twi. Rainbow an' I will go an' look fer suitable materials. Rarity, Pinkie, y'all can go an' look fer somethin' t' eat" continued Applejack.
"Actually Applejack, I was thinking that I could stay here and think up designs for out…ahem…accommodation" interjected Rarity.
It was then that every pony present, barring Fluttershy, gave Rarity a disapproving glare. Rarity quickly picked up on the groups' collective thoughts, and agreed to go to with Pinkie, even though she really didn't want to. This left Twilight as the only pony present, who didn't have a task to carry out, but she was quick to rectify this.
"I'll stay here with Fluttershy, keep her safe" answered Twilight.
The others nodded and set about their separate ways. Twilight settled down a safe distance away from the flailing Pegasus, and pulled out the guards' journal. She figured she could fit in a bit of light reading before her friends returned. She turned the page from where she had previously left off, and began to read.
The voice in my head has been silent for nearly a day now, and things don't seem right without it. My nightmares have been getting worse, and my sanity is being called into question, time and time again. Some of my colleagues are claiming that I've been 'infecting' them, as they too have been exhibiting strange behaviour. I've shut myself away from them, and continue to keep my distance; I know they're up to something. They just want to get rid of me, trying to make me paranoid, waiting for me to slip up. I know their game. When the voice speaks to me again, then I'll exact my revenge on them. Those that doubt me, and those that want to get rid of me, they'll see what I can do, what we can do. Night's coming in, got to stay on guard…
Twilight paused for a second; she then flipped through the previous journal pages. One thing struck her as she skimmed through the words. The guards' handwriting had been in a constant state of flux. At points it was aesthetically pleasing, and well written, and at others it seemed more sketchy and erratic. It was almost like it was being written by two different ponies. The close she got to the backend of the journal, the more the sketchy writing became more prominent. She turned over the most recently read page and was met with quite a shock.
The pages were littered with sketchy quill strokes; small pictures adorned with anecdotes covered every available space. Twilight's eyes flitted over the pages, taking in all that she could. She paid special attention to the drawings of what she assumed to be some of the guards' colleagues. A few of them had thick X's through them, leaving Twilight wondering what had happened to them. At the centre of the second page, there was the sentence "I did it, exactly as he told me" . Something about this sentence chilled her to the core, when it was combined with the other graffiti it painted quite a sinister picture. Twilight breathed a slightly relieved sigh; it was a good thing that he had been locked in Canterlot's dungeon. She turned over the next page, to find it was blank, same for the next page, and the next. Twilight sighed and levitated the journal back into her saddlebags. She then laid her head on the ground, overcome by a sudden feeling of tiredness. Her eyelids felt heavy, and she would've questioned these sudden feelings, but her brain was hell bent on sending her to sleep. She decided not to fight it, and soon enough, she had dozed off, right next to Fluttershy.
Welcome to my domain, Twilight…
You're going to be here for a while…
Applejack and Rainbow Dash were on their way back to Twilight, bringing with them, materials for a campsite. To pass the time Applejack engaged in conversation, although most of the discussion revolved around Twilight’s strange behaviours.
“Ah’m not sayin’ she’s up t’ somethin’, but she sure ain’t tellin’ us somethin’.”
“Relax AJ, we all know what Twilight’s like with keeping secrets. If she was hiding something she would’ve shown signs of it by now.” Replied Rainbow Dash
“Ah know, ah know, but ah jus’ can’t seem t’ shake this feelin’…” retorted Applejack
Rainbow Dash sighed, and rolled her eyes a little.
“If you’re that worried about her, you can ask her when we get back ok?”
Applejack nodded, her face was still adorned with a concerned expression, but in her mind she was a little more relaxed.
The two ponies continued onwards, completely oblivious to the mess Twilight had gotten herself into. As they neared the camp, they found Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, but no Twilight. Rarity bounded over to the new arrivals, looking extremely distressed.
“Has Twilight been with you? Did you see her?” asked Rarity, somewhat anxiously.
“We ain’t seen anythin’” replied Applejack.
“Why? What’s going on?” interjected Rainbow Dash.
“Well Rainbow, at the risk of sounding pedantic, Twilight has disappeared…” replied Rarity, sounding a little more composed.
“Ya mean she left us?” asked Applejack, quickly jumping to conclusions.
We aren’t exactly sure, I mean she left Celestia’s saddlebags, and she certainly isn’t going to get far without the map” answered Rarity.
“Twilight wouldn’t just randomly disappear like this, maybe something took her? Maybe it was the same thing that did this to Fluttershy?” replied an optimistic Rainbow Dash.
“Or maybe she memerized th’ map an’ set off on her own?” said a slightly more pessimistic Applejack.
“Hmm, regardless of your theories, we should still continue onwards, hopefully finding Twilight along the way…” continued Rarity.
“But what about Fluttershy? We can’t exactly take her with us…” chimed Applejack.
The three ponies stared at their deathly silent Pegasus friend, who was currently being examined by Pinkie. Applejack was right; Fluttershy was only going to slow them down. Rarity suddenly spoke out, breaking the silence.
“I have an idea! What if Pinkie carried Fluttershy back to Ponyville, and you two continue on, whilst also looking for Twilight?” chorused Rarity.
“An what about yerself Rarity?” replied Applejack dryly.
“Hm? Oh, I’d go back to Ponyville with Pinkie, to make sure she stays on track. I could also search around to see if Twilight had gone back to town” answered Rarity confidently.
“It seems Dash an’ ah are gettin’ th’ short end o’ th’ stick…” pondered Applejack, tapping a hoof against her chin “but ah guess we don’t have another choice…”
“Excellent!” exclaimed Rarity, making her way towards Pinkie to inform her of their decision.
“Ya reckon she’ll do much searchin’?” whispered Applejack
“I think she’ll do a fair enough amount, but she’ll eventually go back to working at the boutique” replied Rainbow Dash in the same hushed tone.
“Applejack? Rainbow Dash? Could we get your assistance here please?” asked Rarity, gesturing to Fluttershy.
“Coming!” chorused the orange and blue ponies respectively.
Rainbow Dash clasped her fore hooves around Fluttershy’s midriff, with some difficulty due to her stiffened wings. Applejack and Rarity helped to raise Fluttershy’s rump and upper body off the floor. Once there was suitable room between Fluttershy and the floor, Pinkie slipped underneath, pressing her back against Fluttershy’s stomach. Gently the others began to lay Fluttershy back down. At first they thought Pinkie was going to topple over, but she steadied herself and was raring to go.
“Well I guess we’ll see you guys soon huh?” asked Pinkie.
“Real soon Pinkie, me, Rainbow an’ Twilight” responded Applejack.
“Farewell my dears” replied Rarity.
Before Rarity left them completely, she levitated Twilight’s saddlebags onto Applejack’s back as a sign of goodwill. She then turned and followed after Pinkie, leaving her friends behind. Whilst Rainbow Dash and Applejack ventured deeper into the Everfree Forest.
****
Twilight awoke screaming and sweating profusely. She hurriedly looked around, calming down once she realised she was in the library, safe in her bed. Had it all been a dream? The Princess’s task, the mysterious voice, the journal, had any of these things existed?
“Hmm, Spike hasn’t come running like he usually does when I experience nightmares…Spike? Are you there?”
“Twilight? Something wrong?” came the baby dragons response.
Outside of her window a thunder and lightning storm had begun to ravage the outside world. Random flashes of light illuminated her room, making the most harmless of objects seem scary for the briefest of seconds.
“Spike? What’s taking so long?” quizzed Twilight in a worried tone.
This time there was no response.
A flash of lightning lit up the room, illuminating a small shadowed figure near the stairs.
“Spike?” asked Twilight meekly.
Another flash of lightning tore open the heavens, preceded by an almighty roar of thunder. The lightning flash revealed that the figure had moved; now hiding somewhere else in the room. A low quiet hiss penetrated Twilight’s ears;
“Twiiiliiight…”
There was no doubt in Twilight’s mind that it was the same voice as before. She then realised that this meant that everything that was happening was just another episode in this terrible nightmare. A final flash of lightning illuminated a shadow at the foot of her bed.
“Who are you?” whimpered Twilight, pulling the bedcovers over her mouth.
“Now Twilight, it’s not who I am that should concern you, it’s what I am…”
“What are you?” replied Twilight with a fake bravery.
“Twilight my dear, I am the cause of your nightmares…”
With that said he lunged at Twilight, hoping to pin her down. However Twilight was too quick for him, she rolled out of bed, and raced downstairs.
“You can’t hide from me Twilight! You’re in my domain now!”
Twilight didn’t care; she just wanted to put as much distance between her and this mysterious pony as possible. She raced outside, and into the raging storm. A powerful wind had begun to work in tandem with a sudden rainfall, to slow Twilight down. She bravely made her way through the storm, not looking back until she was certain she was safe. She heard his voice inside her head trying to coax her back to him.
“Twilight, why run? You’ve got nowhere to go, no-one to help you; it’s a fruitless venture. Come back to me, and I can end your nightmares once and for all.”
There was something stranger about his voice this time; it relaxed her, made her feel calm. His words drifted through her senses, running along her synapses.
"Come on Twilight, you know you want them to stop. They've plagued you for days, they're an endless form of torture. Endless, unless you turn back now..."
Twilight stopped in her tracks and actually began to consider turning back. She did want her nightmares to end, she just wanted to be left in peace.
"What do you want from me?!" screamed Twilight, directing her voice towards the raging heavens.
"I want a moment with you Twilight, that's all I ask, and in return, I'll get rid of your nightmares...Isn't that fair?" responded the voice, in it's hypnotic tone.
It really wasn't much to ask, and Twilight really did want to have a peaceful nights sleep for a change. It went against plenty of her better judgements, but she turned around and began to walk back towards the library. Along the way she cursed the fact that she was going back, yet no matter how much she tried, she couldn't bring herself to flee. She continued into the stormy darkness, and just as she disappeared from view, she wondered how much she would regret her decision...
