Twilight groaned.
So much pain greeted her when she regained consciousness. Vague voices echoed around her, trying to shake her awake.
Please don’t wake me, I just want to sleep.
“Come on, my faithful student. It’s time to wake up. I don’t like this place.”
What was Celestia doing in her room? She should have been prepared for a visit! Oh this was bad, so very bad!
“Isn’t she cute when she resists like that? Trapped in the middle of nowhere and she doesn’t question it. How very boring!”
That voice was odd, considering that he SHOULD be with Fluttershy at her cottage. If he made a mess of her library, there would be Tartarus to pay!
“TWILIGHT SPARKLE, WE DEMAND THAT YOU AWAKEN POST-HASTE! ‘TIS NO TIME TO SLEEP!”
Twilight groaned in annoyance and shifted to the side. Anything to get away from that piercing, irritating voice.
“Let me do it, Celly! She would be so much fun to bother, and the chaos of someone wakening from a deep sleep is so amusing! The way their brain struggles to place their location... the way it struggles to return to consciousness...it’s all so very FUN!”
“How amusing, Discord. You must be so desperate to cause chaos that you are resorting to cheap pranks. I don’t like this place. My little ponies must be in danger, and I was having such a good dream too.” This last voice seemed sad.
A clamor of grumbles entered Twilight’s ears. She struggled to pay attention while still focusing on the desire to sleep. What were Celestia, Luna and Discord doing in her room? She was so tired--so very, very tired. She wondered what was keeping her like this. Although she could hear everything, she couldn’t see at all. Nothing but darkness, the inviting darkness of sleep...
“This is not a dream, Tia.” That voice was so timid and scared, Twilight almost thought it was Fluttershy. “We know dreams. By every right it should be, but I can’t sense the usual magic used in dreams. Why won’t Twilight wake up? We thought our voice would be enough to awaken her.”
This question was never answered, at least not by the others. A whisper echoed around them.
“Twists and turns at every turn....
Avoid touching the cursed ones...
Ceasing to exist is the least of your problems.
Head to the center.
Do not let your fear grab you...”
Twilight’s eyes shot open and she gasped. Her heart was pounding and pure adrenaline coursed through her veins. She shuddered and got a look at her surroundings. Celestia, Luna and Discord were standing nearby, staring around in confusion. A dark hedge maze surrounded them.
There was no sun or moon in the sky, but a weird light pierced the gloom. Dark and gnarled branches hovered in mid-air on the hedges. They weren’t climbing out, that was for sure.
Discord was the first to notice Twilight was awake.
“Ah, Sleeping Beauty has broken the spell. How stellar. We just have to figure out where we are and everything will be alright. I don’t like being taken away from reality. Only I can distort reality and make annoyances of everything!” he huffed.
Discord was ignored, but Twilight took everything he said into consideration. How did he get here? Why were Celestia and Luna here, too? Twilight hated leaving problems unsolved, but there were no clues yet.
“Are you alright, Twilight?” Celestia asked, concerned.
Twilight nodded shakily and struggled to her hooves. She almost fell over, but Celestia supported her with a wing. Twilight looked up at her and smiled in gratitude.
“We might as well head toward the center. I may not know much about where we are, but I can at least pinpoint a general area of our goal,” Celestia said, a grim expression on her muzzle.
“How do you figure that, Princess?” Twilight was still groggy from her enforced sleep.
“See that light just in the vague distance? Well, everything else is dark and shadowy, but that area is lit up. We should start there.”
Indeed, Twilight could see a light in the distance. There was nothing really significant--such as a sign saying “center”--but it was a reasonable assumption. She nodded and said, “Lead the way, Princess!”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Where was she? What did she do wrong to end up in this dark and very scary place? Her friends were gone, and Rainbow was nowhere to be seen. She could no longer hear the comforting words of her longtime best friend. She was effectively cut off from everything around her. Everything was so very dark. She began to shiver violently.
After a while, she realized that she was awake, but for whatever reason, she couldn’t open her eyes. They were glued shut by some unseen force. Fluttershy began to panic further.Where were her friends?
Soon, much to her confusion, Fluttershy felt a gentle caress of nothingness over her eyes. Slowly, she felt them open. She didn’t like where she was. For one thing, shadows littered the entire place. These weren’t the shadows where crevasses were, or where the sun never spread its warming light. No, these shadows were different.
She would have been terrified, but for some reason, she wasn’t. Or at least not nearly as bad as she should’ve been. A maze-like path stretched in front of her. Walls of shadowy hedge locked her in.
Those shadows whispered terrible things to her, the kind of things one usually didn’t want to think about. They laughed and tickled at her, promising vague gifts. Fluttershy could only squeak in reply.
Relax, Fluttershy. Just don’t touch the shadows. They can’t get to you if you don’t let them.
Relaxing thoughts washed over her and calmed her. It was a little voice in her head, the one that calmed her down when she was scared. Fluttershy didn’t hear it very often, only really when she was having a bad dream. She sighed in relief.
It was funny really, she had no idea where this relaxation came from. She knew she should be scared and shivering violently, and she knew just how to progress onward.
Smiling perhaps for the first time since arriving in this strange place, Fluttershy walked down the path in front of her.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Rainbow Dash had never crashed this hard before. She felt violent agony spread throughout her body. Her feathers twitched as something started to caress them lovingly. Ordinary, this would have caused problems for her wings, but she didn’t like the sensation.
“Where the hay am I?! Why does it feel like I crashed into a tree at point blank range?!”
She groaned and attempted to open her eyes. Her eyes refused to obey. This sent her into full-blown panic mode.
“What happened to my eyes? Did I crash? Oh my gosh, what happened to me?!”
Her other senses picked up when her brain realized she was blind. Rainbow didn’t know how long this would last. She could hear various rustling and shifting noises, but nothing that indicated hoofsteps.
What was happening to her? Why couldn’t she see? If only she could see! It would make everything so much better.
Suddenly, a very curious sensation washed over her eyes, a kind of tickle that panicked her further.
Rainbow’s eyes shot open and she soon wished she wasn’t able to see. Trees and bushes were everywhere. That wasn’t what was wrong.
Rainbow twitched slightly when weird shadow things swirled and danced around the trees and bushes. These weren’t normal shadows. They seemed to almost be a tangible thing. The trees and bushes also had a weird distorted look to them. Were they even real? The grass was colorless and shapeless, but she couldn’t think of anything else they could be.
“I’ve never seen bushes like that before...What is this place?”
Nopony answered, not that she expected any differently.
Rainbow Dash turned her head so that the odd bushes were out of sight. The path ahead wasn’t doing much to help her confidence. She could deny it all she wanted, but the fact she was alone in a weird place, surrounded by weird shadow bushes, was frying her nerves. She would have died of happiness right then and there if she came across anypony.
The path seemed to twist around in a confusing maze. Rainbow had no idea where to go and she couldn’t get her wings to work. It felt like she didn’t even have wings. If only she could know where she was going. Still, anything was better than just standing there doing nothing.
Rainbow Dash walked down the path, hoping it would take her to where she needed to go.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
That was a pretty crazy party. That topped the list of crazy parties. She had no idea where she was, what she was doing, or if she was even alive. Pretty crazy, right? Pinkie Pie usually knew where she was when she woke up after her all-night parties, but this could take the cake.
Boy, could she use some good ol’ cake right about now. It had a way of easing creepy-deepy situations, like this one.
Pinkie Pie struggled to move. She felt odd, slimy tendrils wrapping themselves around her. Normally, there was that faint buzzing in her ears warning her of things that would happen. She couldn’t hear it now. In other words, her Pinkie Sense was gone. That was bad.The only time she never had her Pinkie Sense was when she was....
“Something tells me I can’t giggle at them...” She sighed sadly and opened her eyes. This place was definitely not something she could giggle at. Evil, nasty little shadows covered her surroundings, turning them into super-creepy, nasty things. The kind of things found in the crevices of her heart.
“Oh, this is not good, not good at all! I almost wish I couldn’t see! I wonder where I am in the first place...?” Her pondering was interrupted when a groan nearby shattered the oppressive silence.
“Where in tarnation am Ah?! What the hay? Why can’t Ah see?! Did Ah hurt maself?!”
Pinkie realized that it was Applejackie! Oh, this was really good! Now she wouldn’t be alone in the nasty darkness!
“Boy am, I glad to see you, Applejackie! This place is about the scariest place I have ever been to! And I have been in some pretty creepy places!”
“Pinkie? Sugarcube! Oh, thank Celestia yer alright! When Ah saw that weird tree branch grab a hold o’ ya, Ah knew Ah had ta help ya! Where are we, an’ why the hay can’t Ah see?!”
“I don’t know where we are! I’m still stuck in the tree! Do you think you can help me out? I really don’t like this place!” Pinkie struggled to remove herself from the tree branch, but found escape was impossible.
“Ah wish Ah could, sugar, but Ah’m as blind as a bat right now! Ah can’t see so much as five inches in fronta ma nose!” Right as Applejack said this, her eyes shot open and she flinched.
“Oh lordy, Ah wish Ah never opened ma eyes.” She laughed weakly and slowly got to her hooves.
Pinkie was entangled in that same blasted tree that started this mess in the first place. Her entire body was wrapped in an intimate hug. Pinkie couldn’t get free even if she wanted to.
As Applejack walked over to her trapped friend, she wondered how she was going to free Pinkie in the first place. Well, she might as well see if she could work out a plan.
She placed her hooves on the branch and pushed. Instantly, the branches shriveled into dust, blowing away into an unseen wind.
There was only one problem: there wasn’t one.
Applejack felt herself getting scared. Pinkie collapsed to the ground, groaning in pain. “I had better falls, but at least I’m free! Thanks for that, Applejackie!” She gave the farm pony a hug, one which Applejack returned once she recovered from the shock.
“No problem, sugar, but we still have ta escape from this creepy place. Ya wouldn’t happen ta know where we are, do ya?”
Pinkie flinched and sighed. “Normally, I would. I have the ability to always know where, how, and why, but this time, I don’t! I have no idea what will happen. This has never happened to me before, and it freaks me out! What is gonna happen to us? Where are our friends?” Tears were falling down her face and she shivered a little. “I do know this--this scares me more then anything else ever has.”
Applejack had never heard Pinkie sound like this before. To see the bouncing, hyper, and somewhat annoying Pinkie Pie despondent spelled big trouble.
“An’ what is that, sugar?” Applejack asked.
“I lost my Pinkie Sense!”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
This was going to wreck her mane to no end. She was on the ground and weird noises surrounded her. However, in spite of everything, she was thankful to be alive. She never expected to live after that fall. The air felt a bit off. She’d never felt air like this before. Everywhere had a “feel” of sorts, but she felt nothing here.
Growling could be heard all around her. Rarity felt her insides shrivel. Those certainly didn’t sound pleasant. Just where was she, and why didn’t she care about her appearance for once?
Rarity opened her eyes after groaning for a bit, and almost wished she could close them again. She had a feeling she wasn’t in Ponyville anymore, though how she knew this was beyond her. The surroundings were normal in every way, but something was off. She had no idea why, but something just wasn’t right.
Rarity groaned and settled back down. One of her hooves was killing her dreadfully. She couldn’t so much as twitch without feeling intense agony. Oh, great. Just great! She probably had a broken leg, rendering her completely useless. She hated to feel useless.
It was THE. WORST. POSSIBLE. THING. EVER!!!!!!!!
She always needed to feel important and useful since she wasn’t nearly as powerful as Twilight, as strong as Applejack, or happy as Pinkie. Rarity wasn’t a pessimist by any means, but Pinkie had a way of making any situation positive--even something like this.
Rarity had her looks, but what good were looks really? Great, she was overreacting and she wasn’t even dead yet. Why was she having a crisis now of all possible times? She sighed and struggled once more, attempting once again to stand.
A wave of intense agony splintered into her hoof. She felt drained. How was she going to get out of this one?
A voice called out, “Is anypony there? This forest is really dark and creepy...
She knew that voice. Oh, she was never so glad to hear it in all her life.
“Spike? Oh, thank Celestia! It is you, darling! I am afraid I am stuck hopelessly on the ground. I think one of my hooves is broken.”
If she wasn’t in such a precarious situation, she would have laughed at how the baby dragon seemed to speed up just then.
He soon entered the clearing. She saw him stop dead in his tracks and wondered why. She didn’t have to wait long to find out.
“Rarity? Are you okay?”
Such a simple question. It sounded strained, almost as if he was confused.
“Yes, of course I am, darling. I just so happen to have a broken leg and can’t get up.”
Spike seemed to get more confused (if that was possible). Rarity paused. She began wondering why he would be confused at a time like this.
“It’s just...” Spike paused, struggling to get the words out of his mouth. He seemed hesitant.
Rarity found herself getting annoyed at the baby dragon. “Well, spit it out, darling! I need help with my broken--”
Spike interrupted, “Rarity, your hoof isn’t broken. You look perfectly fine.”
Rarity stared wide-eyed at the baby dragon, as if seeing him for the first time. Finally, after what seemed like hours, she recovered the ability to speak.
“N-N-nonsense dear! I felt the agony of a broken leg! There is nothing more. Pain like this can’t be faked or imagined.” She was trembling now. She couldn’t be delusional. She just couldn’t be.
“Try getting up. Maybe something caused the pain and made you think it was broken. You look fine to me.” His words were concerned for her well-being, but she saw the worry for her mental state in his eyes. She knew that he would never call her crazy to her face.
Rarity decided to at least humor him. She hated to make him worry for her, but she had to show him that this wasn’t faked with her usual dramatic flair.
She gingerly stretched the offending hoof and set it on the ground. She flinched, but not because of any pain. No, she was worried now. Rarity never felt any pain that time. She was so absolutely sure that it was real. It felt so real...and yet it was all in her head. She could feel Spike’s worried gaze piercing into her, but she ignored it.
Rarity muttered, “I don’t understand....” Her voice was calm, but she was anything but. “Why am I not feeling at least a twinge? I was so sure that there was something wrong with me!”
She stomped the offending hoof and groaned. “Oh, I hate this forest! I have no idea where I am or even how I got here! Where is my little sister? Where is everypony?!” Rarity was rambling and she knew it, but the nerves of hallucinating her weak and helpless state were overtaking her.
She felt claws wrap around her comfortingly. Rarity sighed and leaned back. She melted in his embrace and allowed herself to relax ever so slightly.
Spike calmly said, “Rarity, freaking out isn’t going to get us anywhere. You know I wouldn’t let anything hurt you. Please, settle down. Seeing you like this is killing me.”
Spike’s words allowed her to settle down. He was right. Losing one’s head wasn’t very ladylike. She tried her best to forget her delusions. It wasn’t easy. Thoughts of being crazy wormed themselves into her mind, taking root there and festering.
Rarity shook her head violently. She had to stop thinking about it. She pulled the baby dragon into her embrace, nuzzling him. “I can always count on you to cheer me up. Thanks ever so much, Spikey Wikey.”
Before the embarrassed dragon could deal with the implications of his crush nuzzling him, they heard a violent shriek pierce the darkness.
The color drained from Rarity’s face and she felt ill all of a sudden. That was Sweetie Belle’s scream! She had never heard such fear in a filly’s voice before. She didn’t even think anypony could even sound that scared.
“We have to save Sweetie!” Spike and Rarity’s voices both echoed in the darkness.
They paused, staring at each other. Rarity smiled at Spike, touched that he cared just as much as she did. Whatever the reason, they couldn’t leave Sweetie behind.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Apple Bloom groaned in pain as she felt the world appear. For an unknown amount of time, she wasn’t aware or even sure she existed. Such a thing was beyond confusion. She just suddenly became aware of popping into existence, and that was it.
“Where am Ah? Guys? Hello? Please, somepony answer me!”
She opened her eyes and instantly felt a blinding sense of fear. Oh, this was way worse than that incident in the Everfree a few weeks ago. The Everfree, she reckoned, couldn’t possibly get this scary. For one thing, that creepy forest had normal plants, trees, and somewhat normal things she could recognize. This creepy forest stirred a primal sense of sheer terror from within. She could practically taste her own fear and wanted to return to the non-existence.
Apple Bloom would rather be chased by those weird ponies over and over for eternity then spend another moment in this...place.
“This isn’t funny anymore! Ah wanna go home...”
She sniffled and was immediately thankful that nopony was around to see her. She had barely sniffled when she was being chased by them, barely even batted an eye. So much darkness entered her then, causing it to suffocate her with pure, unrefined terror.
It’s okay! The shadows won’t hurt you if you don’t let them. Come on, Apple Bloom, focus. Just go to the center and everything will be fine. You won’t get hurt.
That inner voice sounded so sure. Apple Bloom wasn’t even sure it was her own thought. She just felt okay. Like she knew that she would make it out of this creepy place.
Protect your friends, stick to the path, and you will be fine.
Again, confidence filled her and she recovered from her dread. Nothing seemed to matter to the young filly anymore, except to find her friends and escape.
Without knowing why it was the right path, Apple Bloom started walking further into the darkness.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
It had been several minutes since she had awoken in the dark and creepy forest. She had been absolutely terrified at first, but after realizing that there was nothing here that could have hurt her, she calmed down. Sure, the silence was getting to her and the lack of any direct sound was terrifying, but Scootaloo realized that she was fine as long as she kept moving toward the center.
It would have been at least 20% cooler if she had her friends with her, though. She grinned cheekily. She felt so awesome stealing her idol’s catch phrase. She dared the darkness to defeat her. She felt her heart race faster the further she walked in the forest. She had no idea why she was there. This beat anything she had seen by more than just a small margin. Just what kind of place was this?
Shadows covered nearly every square inch in front of her. The trees, parts of the path she was walking on, the bushes, even the sky had shadows swirling around. They almost seemed to whisper around her, beckoning her to join them. Quite a few times, she had to correct herself from not straying from the path.
It was confusing how she would end up venturing toward those swirling shapes. It terrified her that she had almost no control at times. Scootaloo wished Rainbow Dash was with her. She could do anything as long as her idol believed in her or thought the world of her. She would quite literally do anything for Rainbow.
A rustling noise stopped the pegasus cold. Something in her mind snapped at her to just run and forget the creepy noise. Something deep down told her that everything would turn out fine. So without knowing why, she stopped her march forward and waited.
“Damn forest! I hate this creepy forest! Arrgh! I have no idea where I am...”
Angry mumblings slapped her surroundings with their presence. They had a undertone of fear and annoyance to them.
Scootaloo knew that voice and was thrilled to hear it. She nearly squealed out in happiness right then and there. “Rainbow Dash? Wow, it is you! Thank Celestia that I found you!”
The reaction of her idol was immediate and intense. “Scootaloo? Oh, wow! I’m so glad you’re alright! Where are you? I really want to get out of this horrible place.”
Rainbow Dash wasn’t denying she was scared, which was a really good thing, or a really bad thing, depending on how the young pegasus decided to take it.
“Hang on while I find you! I can’t really see all that well.” Scootaloo stared around her, hoping to find the correct path to Rainbow Dash. She took three steps down the path before stopping dead in her tracks.
She had found Rainbow Dash, that was the great news. She didn’t jump for joy--how could she? Chills shot down her spine and fear stapled her to the ground. Rainbow Dash wasn’t alone.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Hearing the Squirt’s voice did wonders for her fractured nerves. She would have done a few tricks to celebrate, but for some reason her wings refused to work. It was similar to Fluttershy’s occasional flying problem. She didn’t think it was due to her fear. Her wings were useless and refused to so much as twitch. She couldn’t even feel them. It was like she was stranded on the ground.
That couldn’t be right. Things like this didn’t happen for no reason.
Soon, her fan stepped seemingly out of nowhere. If she wasn’t caught up in her wing drama, Rainbow Dash would have questioned that. She saw the filly stop cold in her tracks. Scootaloo’s eyes were wide and she was struggling to move. She also had a look of intense fear on her face, staring at something behind Rainbow.
“H-Hey Squirt, why are you staring at me like that? What's wrong?”
Her voice was starting to tremble and she felt an ice cold grip of dread wrap itself around her heart. She tried moving a hoof to try to snap the filly out of her fear, but soon she realized that she wasn’t moving. Her hooves twitched as if they wanted to move forward, but they disobeyed.
More of that feeling wrapped itself around her. Rainbow felt something on her wings. That was when she panicked. Witnesses be damned, this place was getting to her. This feeling of helplessness increased violently when she felt herself move backward.
“Scootaloo, please, don’t just stand there! Help me!”
Scootaloo struggled to move. She tried anything to move, but she was glued to the ground. Rainbow struggled to move her head, to maybe get a look at her tormentor, but her head was locked into place. The only thing she could move was her eyes.
Tears slid down her face when she was moving further backwards. Was she really going to die here? She didn’t know if she was going to die in the first place, but this definitely wasn’t a good thing.
“Rainbow? What are you doing just standing there in the middle of the path like that?”
That voice wasn’t Scootaloo. The question was, what was she doing there? What did she mean by standing in the middle of the path? Wasn’t she aware of her situation?
“Fluttershy? Can you help me? I think I am getting pulled by something. Get Scootaloo and get out of there!”
She could see Fluttershy, a panicked expression on her face.She wasn’t trembling in fright--not much, anyway. She was giving the pair of them an odd look. If the situation wasn’t drastic, Rainbow would have laughed at the irony,
“Rainbow, I don’t know how to tell you this, but there is nothing there. You don’t have to take my word for it, but why are you standing in the middle of the path like that?” Fluttershy’s voice was gentle, caring, with no hint of judgement.
Rainbow opened her mouth to respond. “Can’t you see t-t-that I am in trouble?” Her voice trembled, and she was doing everything in her power to look behind her.
Fluttershy spent the next few minutes staring at her friend, then a small smile lit her face.
“This maze is playing tricks on your mind. Dashie, can you do me a huge favor? It is the biggest thing I have ever asked you to do. Try moving something. I assure you, everything will be fine.”
The situation was tense, and if it wasn’t Fluttershy who had come across her, Dash would have lashed out. But, this was Fluttershy, and Dash didn’t have it in her to yell at her oldest friend.
Rainbow stared at one of her hooves on the ground. Nothing threatening surrounded them, but she could never be too careful these days. Slowly, tentatively, she sent a signal to her hoof to move. It twitched once and raised a few inches into the air. She reacted as one expected of her, which was panic.
“I was so sure that I was stuck! How is this possible?”
There was more that she said, but it came out in a trembling mumble. She shook once violently and collapsed to the ground. Her breaths came out in a wracking tremble and she was sobbing. Rainbow Dash felt two pairs of hooves wrap themselves around her.
“Please don’t cry, Dash! You are too awesome to cry! This nasty forest has no reason to get you down! Please, don’t cry.” She felt the little filly nuzzle her, holding her close. Even when Scootaloo knew Dash’s nerves were shot, she never abandoned her.
Fluttershy hugged her best friend tightly, whispering words of encouragement. The situation was reversed from earlier. “Everything is alright, Dash. There is nothing to be frightened of. Just take deep breaths, and you will be just fine.”
“Scootaloo? Oh, thank Celestia I found you! Dash! Fluttershy! Oh I am so glad that you guys are here! Have you seen my sister at all? Spike is also missing...”
The voice shattered the moment and everypony turned to the new arrival.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Rarity and Spike crashed through various hedges. The rush to get to Sweetie Belle was top priority at this point. Nothing could stand in their way. The whole way had Rarity panting frantically, with her dear companion next to her, a look of determination on his face.
Soon pony and dragon reached a clearing. They were still in the dreaded maze, but at least they seemed to be making progress. Rarity, after panting roughly for a few moments, looked up. “Sweetie?! Oh, I am so glad that I found you!”
Sweetie was standing in the middle of the path, smiling up at her sister with admiration. “Hello Rarity! I’m so glad you found me, too! We can escape from his horrible place.”
Tears sprang to the elder sister’s eyes and she began walking toward her sister. A claw shot out and grabbed hold of her.
Spike warned, “Rarity, I don’t think that’s Sweetie Belle! She looks a bit off. Why isn’t she scared?”
Rarity just couldn’t comprehend his words. Why wasn’t that her sister, and why should Spike fear her?
“Silly dragon, nothing can get me down for long.” A giggle escaped Sweetie’s mouth and she turned to Rarity. “Besides, I am a big filly, and no creepy maze is going to upset me.”
Rarity smiled at her younger sister. “That’s right, my sister is a big girl and is so brave! Let’s get you out of here and figure out what to do next.”
She began walking once again toward her beloved sister. Spike glared at her. Why couldn’t Rarity see? Her “sister” wasn’t really the Sweetie they knew. Sure, she had the same coat and mane colors--even the same facial features, but...he couldn’t put his claw on it, there was something just off.
“Please, Rarity, stop moving. That isn’t Sweetie Belle. I don’t know why, but it just isn’t.”
He tried to stop Rarity, to get her to see reason. Nothing he did made any difference in the end. He tried grabbing ahold of her hooves, but she somehow shook him off. He tried breathing fire on her, burning a part of her mane.
Rarity didn’t so much as bat an eye or give him one of her lectures about how setting fire to a lady was rude. Spike grew desperate. He just had to stop her! Rarity had almost reached what she believed to be her sister.
He tried one last time to shove Rarity off her path. He slammed as hard as he could into her side, hoping to knock her off balance. She didn’t move once, her hooves still planted firmly on the ground.
Finally, Rarity reached her sister and looked down with a smile.
“Play with me, Rarity. Let’s soar high and never look back.” Sweetie stood on her hind hooves, not wobbling once and held them up, gesturing for a hug. Without the slightest hesitancy in her actions, older sister wrapped her hooves around the younger.
“I thought I had lost you! You are really dear to me, Sweetie Belle, and I am so very sorry that I haven’t been the nicest to you. When we get back, I will let you help me. Does that sound wonderful? Who cares if you ruin my dresses? You’re my little sister, and I love you so much...”
As Rarity spoke, the baby dragon noticed her horn start to shrivel. It shortened slightly and flashed a violent red color as it began to turn to dust. Rarity didn’t so much as twitch. She was too involved in hugging Sweetie. There was no sinister look on the younger’s face. She just took great joy in hugging her older sister.
“I am looking forward to the next Sisterhooves Social this year, Sweetie. Maybe we can even come in first this time! If you want, I will train with you every day until we win.”
“That sounds just lovely, Rarity! Can we go camping as well? I always wanted to go camping with you.” Sweetie smiled and Rarity nodded.
“Of course dear, anything you want.”
Her mane shriveled and began to turn to dust, vanishing from sight. Spike’s panicked cries went ignored. Soon, her hooves vanished from sight, causing Rarity to collapse to the ground. She never shrieked once and instead turned to the traumatized dragon.
“See Spikie, I knew my hooves were injured. It just was too real to ignore.”
She sighed in happiness as Sweetie resumed her hug. The filly was caressing the older unicorn. Rarity couldn’t move, but she still was alive, slowly turning to dust.
“Such a beautiful older sister. Rarity, what is your biggest dream?” Sweetie Belle asked.
Rarity’s tail was the next to go, vanishing into space. Spike was glued to the ground, unable to do anything but watch as his beloved faded away.
“I just wanted recognition, dear. The world of fashion was the biggest source of fame I could muster. When I was a filly, I was afraid of just fading away without leaving my mark on the world. Is anypony going to remember me many years from now? Sounds a bit silly when you think about it, but I didn’t want to just fade away without first succeeding.”
Sweetie nodded and still continued to smile. All that was left of Rarity was a skull. Sweetie continued to nuzzle the skull, and it seemed to smile back.
“Spike?”
Said dragon jumped violently when Rarity’s voice pierced the night.
“Rarity?” he said, his voice shaking.
She asked flatly, “Why does it hurt all of a sudden?”
There was no answer Spike could muster.
“I feel such pain. I don’t know what happened.”
Crying could be heard in the distance. There was no source, just sobbing. Rarity’s voice sounded pained and there were whimpers.
“Oh Celestia, where am I, Spike? I’m so scared!”
Sweetie cooed, “Hush now, quiet now, sister. It’s time for everlasting peace and to soar into oblivion.”
Sobbing soon turned to screams. Spike winced and tears slid down his face. He was helpless and could do nothing except listen.
Rarity screamed and screamed, as “Sweetie” continued to nuzzle the skull in front of her. She hummed a lullaby. Spike felt chills shoot down his spine as he listened to the tuneless song. The skull soon turned to dust, and Rarity’s screams began to fade into the darkness around them.
“That was fun, sis. Maybe we can do it again soon.” “Sweetie” got up and turned to look at Spike. “You were very good, Spike. Would you like to go on a Crusade with me? That would be so much fun. I have a ton of wonderful ideas for the two of us.”
Spike froze in fear as he watched the little filly stumble over to him. She didn’t touch him, just stared in rapt curiosity at him. “What's the matter, Spike? Don’t you want to play with me? You can see Rarity again. Wouldn’t that be fun? You wouldn’t want to doom Rarity to loneliness, now, would you?”
She stepped closer. Still, the dragon couldn’t move. His legs seemed to be glued to the dark grass. He couldn’t wrap his mind over Rarity’s death, it just wasn’t possible. Those screams still tormented him and wrapped him in their embrace, nuzzling him.
“I could always use one other member on my crusades, Spike. You won’t get a better offer here.”
“Sorry, but the Crusaders already have three members, an’ you aren’t gonna be invited.”
Both “Sweetie” and Spike turned to look at who had interrupted them.
Apple Bloom stared at the thing that was posing as Sweetie. It looked just like her, it wasn’t her friend. She knew it.
“Sweetie” exclaimed happily, “Apple Bloom, you made it! Would you like to play with Spike and me? We were just about to go crusading.”
“Ah don’t know what happened, but why do ya insist upon tarnishin’ the sacred Crusade? Crusading is meant ta be a journey o’ self-discovery, not tormentin’ baby dragons.”
“Sweetie” cocked her head, curious. “What about the time we were dragon hunters? We used him then. Remember how fun it was tying him up and conquering the mighty dragon?”
“Why do ya insist upon bein’ Sweetie Belle? You aren’t ma friend.”
The thing that was Sweetie seemed hurt. “You don’t know what you are saying, Apple Bloom. I am Sweetie Belle. I have a sister named Rarity, and I played with her. You and Scootaloo were so much fun to play with, too. Why wouldn’t I be your friend?”
“Ya jus’ ain’t. The real Sweetie Belle wouldn’t act so dang creepy. Also, why isn’t Spike playin’ wit’ you himself, if yer supposed ta be the real Sweetie Belle?”
Again, the thing that was posing as Sweetie tilted her head curiously. Then, a grin seemed to spread over her face. “You were so close, Apple Bloom. All you had to do was make your way to the center and not worry about anything.”
She stepped away from Spike, who was shivering a little. “I can feel so many sources of warmth in this place. So many friends to play with. You can’t make it to the center, and even if you could, the usual rules don’t apply. What good are friends if they can’t stop it?”
She grinned wider at Apple Bloom. “Overcome things on your own if you hope to succeed. Others would just slow you down in the long run. This isn’t your standard darkness, Bloom. It feeds on your little insecurities. What hope can you ponies possibly have if I have control over your entire bodies?
“Little filly, you are in over your head. Rarity is mine, and I still need five more friends to play with. How could you possibly overcome this? I would have succeeded in nabbing Rainbow Dash, but difficulties arose and something freed her from my grasp. Just one touch, and you will fade and what seemed to be a dream will become reality. Enjoy what little life you have left.”
The filly vanished with nary a sound. As soon as she was gone, Spike felt himself gain control of his body.
Apple Bloom trotted up to him. “Are ya okay, Spike? Ah was lookin’ fer Applejack an’ came across this scene.”
Spike didn’t answer the filly’s question at first. His thoughts were still on Rarity. He couldn’t believe this was real. It just had to be some kind of dream. No way could Rarity be gone.
He felt warmth flood him and realized Apple Bloom was hugging him. “Shh, Spike, everythin’ will be okay. Ah’m here, an’ we’ll escape from this wretched place.”
For a long while, they were silent, taking comfort in each other. Spike felt somewhat at peace after that.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
“Sweetie Belle? You’re alright! I was so worried when you weren’t around when I woke up!” Scootaloo practically threw herself at her young friend. She had tears of happiness sliding down her muzzle as she allowed herself to nuzzle her friend.
The unicorn filly looked confused about the sudden displays of affection, but didn’t drift away from the vice-like grip. She smiled slightly and patted her pegasus friend on the back. “Does anypony know where we are? I have never been here before.”
There was no answer. Rainbow Dash was being comforted by Fluttershy after the brash speedster recovered from having no control over her body.
“This maze isn’t in Ponyville.”
Everypony turned to stare at Fluttershy, who instead of shrinking down like they expected of her, continued to stare grimly back at them.
“How do you know that, Flutters? It has to be located somewhere,” Rainbow replied. Rainbow shared a look with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. Something seemed different with Fluttershy. Not in a bad way or anything, but she oozed confidence in droves.
“That is a really good question, Dashie. In all honesty, I should be terrified and cowering, but I just know deep down everything will work out alright. To answer your question, this maze isn’t actually a danger to us.”
Dash scoffed at that. “Newsflash, Flutters, but something was dragging me back into the dark! I couldn’t move, blink, or gain control of my wings! If that doesn’t spell danger or harmful intentions, then nothing does.”
“You misunderstand, Dash. I didn’t mean that the maze is harmless. It just messes with our bodies. It will do whatever it wants to get to us. If we just stick together, we won’t succumb.”
“How the hell do you know that?!” Dash screamed leaping to her hooves and causing Scootaloo and Sweetie to jump in fright at the sudden loud echo around them. “There is no way to know things like that!”
Fluttershy ducked down, wincing at Dash’s outburst. “I don’t know why I know! I just do! The information is coming from somewhere. I just know. However unlikely it is, I can just tell.”
Fluttershy was shaking slightly, worried that she was going to be accused or yelled at again. She didn’t want to lose any of her friends, especially Dash. Dash was so important to her. “Please, Dashie, don’t be angry. We have to stick together. It’s the only way we can beat this.”
Dash’s angry look faltered and eventually died. How could she consider Fluttershy a liar? She wrapped her wings around her oldest friend. “Sorry, Flutters. I guess this maze is messing with me.”
She glared at her surroundings, punishing them for messing with her. She shivered violently and started to grip tighter to Fluttershy. “I hate this freaking place! I felt so helpless when I couldn’t move. I wasn’t able to feel my wings and I wasn’t even able to breathe normally. Just what is this maze’s deal, Flutters? Why are we here?”
Rainbow Dash was starting to lose it a little. Her breath quickened. She felt a tingle down her face and spine that told her she was hyperventilating. So big an impact that the darkness had on her, she barely even noticed that they weren’t the only ones there.
Fluttershy quietly rocked her friend, hoping to calm her down. She noticed that Scootaloo was shifting uncomfortably on her hooves. She didn’t know what to do or even if she was supposed to comfort Dash. Sweetie Belle too was frozen by indecision but of a different kind.
“Dash?”
A tiny voice interrupted Dash’s freak out. Both Fluttershy and the panicking pegasus turned to stare at the source of the voice. Scootaloo had tears in her eyes, her desire to help had won out over her indecision.
“I don’t think anything less of you for this.” She held her tiny forehoof in gestured to her surroundings. “Why do you have to be strong at every waking moment? This isn’t something that can be passed off as silly. I’m terrified! I hear things everywhere, there is no wind, and everything feels wrong. Just because you are the coolest pegasus around, doesn’t make you unbreakable!”
Scootaloo hesitated slightly, then stepped closer to her hero. A weak smile was on her face. “Sometimes, it is okay to break.”
She threw herself at Dash and hugged her as tight as her small body would allow. Somehow, though the little filly didn’t understand fully why, Dash felt a tiny bit better. For a few minutes more, they hugged. Each and every one of them held it together in light of their terrible situation. It would be a while before they moved on, but for now, they were together.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Applejack cursed sharply as she and her companion trudged onwards. Where they were going, they had absolutely no idea. All they could do was stick together.
The minutes blurred to an undetermined amount of time and Applejack had no sense of direction. She stumbled constantly and cursed loudly for yet another time. Just how much further until their goal?
“No worries, Applejackie! All that grumbling and grumping isn’t going to get you very far. I may not know where we are, or even have my super-duper Pinkie Sense, but it doesn’t pay to stay in Downerville! I really hate that place! It’s so boring! And the light fixtures in the ice caves are out of date.”
Pinkie’s rant was cut off as Applejack stuck her forehoof in her friend’s mouth. She noticed that Pinkie was scary when she wasn’t chipper and found the lack of her mysterious power a bit disconcerting. But her random and constant jabber could only be tolerated so much.
“Sugarcube, ya know Ah love you, but Ah don’t need ta hear yer ramblin’s ta know yer Pinkie! This is a strange an’ very creepy place. Can we jus’ sit in silence fer a while?” Applejack had a smile on her face, despite her annoyance.
Pinkie nodded rapidly and Applejack removed her forehoof. As soon as Applejack lost herself in her walking, Pinkie just stared ahead. She found it surprisingly easy to not talk. Mentally shrugging, she figured it was the maze and the intense atmosphere.
She hadn’t heard from the farm pony in a while. The grumblings had faded from her hearing. “Applejack, did you get ahead of me?”
Nothing. Applejack wasn’t anywhere nearby. No problem, Applejackie must have gotten ahead of her since she was lost in her thoughts.
“I am a such a silly billy falling behind like this. I really must have been out it.” Pinkie chuckled and galloped after her friend.
She ran for a really long time, but still couldn’t find a trace of Applejack. She slowed, realizing that she was panting. “Applejack?”
Still nothing.
“Laughter in the air...
Why are you so alone?”
She jerked at the words she heard. That wasn’t anypony she knew. Still, she shouldn’t be rude.
“I’m not alone! My friends are right along beside me.”
“Applejack isn’t.
Are you sure she didn’t leave you behind?
You are remarkably slow, and she must have not felt you were worth her time.”
“Silly mysterious voice, I already went down that road! Discord already told me that laughter hurt and I became such an angry pants. I also turned grey, can you believe that?”
“Such a sad Pinkie.
All alone, with no one to find her.”
“Don’t you mean nopony? I have such super friends! They wouldn’t leave me. I also learned the foalishness of assuming my friends didn’t like me. I don’t think I need to go down that road again!”
“Oh, but Laughter can’t always solve all your problems.
You say that you know your friends will be with you,
But are you talking about in general or your current situation?
I don’t see anyone near you right now, pink one.”
“Sure, they may not be near me right now, but I just got sidetracked. No biggie. It happens to the best of us.”
“I can smell you.
I know you are just that shorter of breath.
Do you think you can outrun me?
I already got one of you...
Just one touch, and you won’t be heard from again.”
Pinkie stopped short, her eyes wide. Her hooves were stuck and she couldn’t move and she couldn’t breathe on her own. Short breaths that weren’t her own joined her frantic breathing, overlapping it.
Why couldn’t she move? She had absolutely no control over any part of her body.
“ALL ALONE WITH NO ONE TO SEE HER!”
That voice no longer sounded so amusing to her.
Where was Applejack? Why wasn’t anyone seeing her?
“Applejack!!! Please, where are you? I don’t want to be alone! I need my friends! I need you!”
“Pinkie? Where are ya, sugarcube?”
Her breathing hitched and she felt overwhelming relief. She was saved! “Oh Applejack, I am so relieved! I just lost track of you.”
“It’s alright, sugarcube. Jus’ tell me where ya are, an’ Ah’ll find ya.”
Pinkie, still weirdly paralyzed, couldn’t get a look at her surroundings. “I can’t move, Applejack! I can’t even twitch my tail! Please, help me, Applejack! Please, don’t let me be alone...”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
It had been so odd when Pinkie had just up and vanished. One minute she felt Pinkie next to her, and the other, nothing. Applejack ran all over the place trying to find her, but found neither hair nor hide of the party pony.
Then, Pinkie’s voice echoed around her surroundings, startling her with the fear in her voice. Pinkie seemed on the verge of tears and borderline hysterical.
Applejack called out, “Can ya at least talk ta me, sugar? It will keep ya occupied while Ah look fer ya.”
There was a long silence. Then Pinkie in a trembling whisper said, “O-O-O-Okay...just, please, don’t let me be alone for so long.”
“Jus’ talk ‘bout a random subject! Ah’ll find ya. Jus’ stay calm, Pinkie. Ah won’t leave ya there fer long.”
Pinkie paused for a second before replying, “It’s so funny, Applejack! When I escaped the rock farm after seeing Dashie’s Rainboom, it was the happiest moment of my life. It wasn’t very colorful on the farm, and my sisters were never really nice to me. I was the youngest and always the target of numerous meanie-pants pranks. Once I threw them a party and went all out to add a bit of color to their lives, they were much nicer to me.”
As Pinkie spoke, Applejack galloped down the maze, turning at random when she hoped it would lead her closer to her friend. Pinkie’s trembling voice was scaring the spit out of her. She had never heard Pinkie use that tone before.
“Mister and Misses Cake were friends of my family. I don’t know the specifics, but when I decided to leave, Dad got in touch with Carrot and asked if I could find a place to stay. They had always been fond of me and agreed. I occasionally go back to the rock farm and spend holidays there.”
Silence greeted this recollection. Applejack grew concerned when Pinkie stopped talking and was just about to speak up when Pinkie’s asked, “Have you ever dreamed that you were forgotten, Applejack?”
The random question caused Applejack to halt in her tracks. Before she could even begin to process the strange question, Pinkie interjected, “I don’t want to be forgotten, Applejack. I really don’t! Please, don’t let them forget about me.”
Pinkie began to sob. Applejack became frantic and sped up her chase. The sobs became louder in Applejack’s ears, and she once again turned down a path. Nothing! Where was Pinkie? Why was she crying like that?
“Pinkie? Where are ya?”
Applejacks pleas went unanswered and she continued to hear such heart-wrenching sobbing.
“Please don’t forget me! I promise I won’t be bad!”
Applejack continued to frantically search for her friend. The voice got louder down this path, so maybe--
“Please, sugar! Ah promise Ah won’t forget ya! Please, jus’ tell me where ya are!” Hearing her friend sound like a scared little foal was distressing, sending tears sliding down Applejack’s face. She just had to find her!
“When I was a little filly and the sun was going dooooown...”
Pinkie’s voice cracked slightly as she sung. Applejack halted dead in her tracks, eyes wide.
“The darkness and the shadows would always make me froooooown...”
Applejack was no longer aware of her surroundings as she continued to listen in shocked awe. Pinkie’s voice was so small, so fragile, that she had to strain to hear the words.
“I’d hide under my pillow, from what I thought I saw...”
On and on the song continued. The farm-pony’s legs were stuck to the ground, almost like they were glued, but she couldn’t have noticed that. That cracked, terrified, filly’s voice continued to haunt Applejack’s ears.
Soon, Applejack recovered from her shocked state and opened her mouth. “That isn’t how ya face yer fears! Pinkie, ya gotta stand up an’ face yer fears! You’ll see they can’t hurt ya. Jus’ laugh ta make ‘em disappear.”
Applejack’s voice was broken, flat, but she had to help Pinkie. Pinkie’s voice sounded different from her usual cheer...it sounded almost like it belonged to a different pony.
Pinkie Pie continued to sing.
“Sooo...giggle at the ghostie...
“Guffaw at the grossly...
“Crack up at the creepy...
“Whoop it up at the weepy...
“Chortle at the kooky...
“Snortle at the spooky...”
Two voices harmonized perfectly with each other. Applejack would sing one line, and a scared little filly would take up the next line, and on and on it would go. After the last line, several tense moments of intense silence followed.
Then, in a very small voice, a filly spoke and what it said would haunt the farm pony for a long time.
“They never went away. You can’t giggle at these ghosties.”
Then, a choked and pained gasp echoed through the farm pony’s ears. And then, silence.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
“Are we there yet?” Discord’s asked in a bored monotone. Celestia groaned and glared at the draconequus, one of her eyes twitching. Luna and Twilight, quickly recognizing the danger, fell back, trying to avoid the sun princess and her eventual wrath.
“You have been asking that for the past twenty minutes at five-second intervals! I will tell you the exact same answer I gave you all those times, Discord! I don’t know. I have absolutely no idea where I am going. If you ask me again, I will do something terrible to you.”
Even Discord felt the ominous way she said those words. He simply replied, “I see.”
Discord paused, thinking about what Celestia had just told him. He finally looked back at Celestia. “It was fun the first nineteen minutes, but then it got old. This place is rather dull, and I can’t really do anything to spruce it up.”
Celestia, realizing that Discord wasn’t going to annoy her again, found interest in his words. “What do you mean? I thought nothing except the Elements can really cut off your powers.”
He rolled his eyes. “Thanks for reminding me, Celly! No, I have pretty much control over all my powers at all times. As soon as I found myself here, I couldn’t so much as do anything. No fun teleporting or illusions. I found myself helpless. Surely, you’ve noticed how you can’t do magic or anything.”
“So we are essentially helpless. Interesting. I feel my magic reserves there, but I can’t really do anything to use it,” Celestia answered.
Discord nodded. “This maze likes to play around and not the kind where it is amusing. It draws upon your insecurities and hidden angst. After that, I don’t know. I have never heard of being killed by fear.”
Celestia nodded once and fell silent. For a long while nopony spoke. A rustling nearby caused them to look around.
Discord rolled his eyes. “Really? Horror movie cliches is what we are reduced to.”
After five seconds, a figure arrived out of nowhere, her eyes frantic and wide. She panted wildly. Twilight realized that she knew the intruder.
“Rarity? Oh wow, I thought I was the only one here. What happened? You look like you saw a ghost!”
Twilight went up, hugging her friend, hoping that it would reduce the shivers she could feel.
“Oh, Twilight, hello darling. This place really does my mane injustice, and running away in fear ruins it! I heard all sorts of noises and just had to get away.” Rarity continued to pant wildly.
Discord was staring in rapt interest at the two friends. He leaned forward hoping to speak with Celestia and Luna. “Does anypony else realize that something is off about Generosity?”
Celestia frowned and glanced at the shivering fashionista. “No, but she seems to be shivering violently. Poor dear.”
Rarity relaxed after another nuzzle from Twilight. “I am alright darling, nothing to go overboard about. I am here now, so we can move on.”
Both unicorns joined the group again, with Rarity leaning against Twilight, complaining about a stitch in her side.
“I found Spike, dear.”
Rarity’s words cheered Twilight, who visibly perked up.
“Really? Where is he?” Twilight asked.
“I don’t know. He escaped before I could get started. He would have been a help.”
Rarity’s odd choice of words weren’t noticed by anypony except Discord. He kept silent though, not wanting to say anything. He would simply keep an eye on her.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The emotional scene from before left everypony slightly tired. Rainbow seemed visibly relieved to not be judged for losing it. Everything was calm, everypony seemingly not suffering from any other nasty emotional problems or body lockups.
Dash had requested Scootaloo hitch a ride on her back, claiming that she looked tired. However, Fluttershy had noticed that small shivers still wracked the racer’s body every now and then.
“Gee, I hope Rarity is doing alright.” Sweetie sighed with worry. “This place must be doing wonders for her mane.” She laughed for a split second, then resumed worrying.
A rustling and sobbing soon broke the deathly silence, startling them all. Rainbow Dash jumped and huddled against Fluttershy. Bravery was thrown right out of the window and forgotten.
Sweetie huddled next to Scootaloo, hoping nothing would jump out and get her. Fluttershy was relaxed, yet guarded. She would have questioned her confidence, but in light of the weird events, she was distracted.
They didn’t have long to wait, as a pony collapsed seemingly from nowhere right in front of them. The Stetson on her head was a dead giveaway on who it was. Only, why was she crying and trembling?
“Applejack? What are you doing here? Oh, I’m so glad you’re alright!” Fluttershy gathered the traumatized farmer into her wings and rocked her gently.
“Pinkie! She...she vanished from ma sight! Somethin’ killed her! Ah heard everythin’!”
Applejack’s words sent waves of horror over them all.
“Gone? How could she be gone?” Dash felt herself growing ill. Pinkie just couldn’t be gone. Such a thing was unheard of.
Applejack nodded and convulsed briefly. She began to explain that she had been walking normally, occasionally grumbling over tripping. She hadn’t heard from Pinkie in a while, so when she started to turn toward her friend, she noticed that she was gone.
She paused, bursting into tears. “Ah called out ta her over an’ over ‘gain, but she never answered! Then, outta nowhere, Pinkie started calling out ta me, soundin’ mighty terrified ‘bout somethin’. Strange thing was, she sounded like a lil’ filly.”
Silence greeted these words. Fluttershy looked on in horror, while Dash couldn’t seem to wrap her head around the thought of Pinkie being gone.
“Pinkie is gone? What happened to her?” Sweetie Belle asked, looking scared.
Applejack choked, “A-Ah don’t know! Sounded like s-she was g-gettin’ the life choked outta her.”
Sweetie burst into tears and started saying something that sounded like “Rarity” repeatedly.
Dash glared at Applejack. “You could have been gentler about delivering the bad news, AJ! We have fillies here!”
“‘Cuse me, Dash, but Ah jus’ heard ma best friend get murdered! She begged not ta be forgotten, an’ Ah had ta listen ta her sobbin’ like a scared foal in the dark!” Even now, both Dash and Applejack were having a go at each other.
Applejack continued, “She choked on her words an’ Ah had ta jus’ sit there an’ listen! It’s dark, an’ everythin’ is all messed up! Forgive me if Ah can’t sett--”
“QUIET!!!!!!!!”
The loud yell startled everypony violently. Fluttershy had yelled those words at top volume. Except cheering loudly at the Best Young Flyers competition, Fluttershy had never so much as raised her voice as loudly as that.
Scootaloo had her eyes wide at the timid pegasus, who was panting and glaring at Dash and Applejack. Sweetie huddled closer to Dash, as if using her to shield herself against the outburst.
Fluttershy said, “Now, I am sorry for yelling at you two, but you are yelling at the wrong target! Pinkie wouldn’t want us fighting each other like this. She would want us laughing at the darkness.”
Applejack flinched and mumbled something under her breath. She looked even sadder if that was possible.
“We have to stick together at all times, and not wander off. All we have to do is head toward the center and not kill one another. We have enough problems with the maze and we do not need to go at each other’s throats when we are in enough danger as it is.”
Fluttershy glared at both Dash and a shocked Applejack for several seconds before finally allowing a small smile to grace her face. “Now that we are done yelling at eachother, I have a feeling we are close to the center. We just have to follow this path further and not get sidetracked. Maybe we can find the others while we are at it.”
Applejack and Dash glanced at each other and smiled sheepishly.
“Fluttershy is right scary when she wants ta be. Let’s say we put this argument on hold ‘till we’re safe an’ not hoof-deep in trouble like this?” Applejack held out her hoof in Dash’s direction. “Friends?”
Dash agreed, “Friends. That was scary. Let’s never argue in front of Fluttershy again.”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
“Come on, Spike! We need ta find the others now.”
Apple Bloom had allowed Spike to recover in her embrace for ten minutes now. He still seemed traumatized nonetheless. Apple Bloom had rocked the dragon from side to side and whispered comforting nothings in his ear. He had found that it was actually helping having the filly there with him.
They finally broke apart, Spike still randomly sniffling every now and then while he got to his feet. Both of them turned around and nearly came face-to-face with a very close and very widely smiling Pinkie Pie. Naturally, this proceeded to terrify both of them.
Apple Bloom jumped a few feet into the air and fell over, hitting her head against the hard ground. Spike nearly lost all his scales in his fright. He settled for glaring harshly at the random pony.
Pinkie laughed uproariously. “You should have seen the looks on your faces! Priceless! Haha! I keep getting better and better at random jump-outs. Though, the effect isn’t as rewarding if you can’t visualize it at all. There is nothing rewarding about reading about it.”
After realizing that she wasn’t being attacked, Apple Bloom recovered enough to get to her feet and brush herself off. “Geez Pinkie, ya scared the apples outta me! Aren’t we on edge enough without havin’ ya pop outta nowhere?”
“That was nothing, Bloomie! If you thought that was scary, I have a lot more in store for you.” Pinkie smirked and leaned in closer. “This place knows all, and really, what's a little scare between friends? Now, why don’t we get you up and on the way to where Twilight is?”
Spike perked up at hearing Twilight was okay. “Twilight’s here?”
Pinkie shrugged and smiled, leaning closer to the dragon. “She should be. As long as she keeps following the path and doesn’t meet any surprises, she will be juussst peachy.” Grinning wider, she bounced along the path ahead of the two youngsters.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
An unknown amount of time passed. Twilight couldn’t see anything different about the path they were walking. She continued to walk next to Rarity, as the traumatized unicorn continued to lament about her mane and the Boutique and how it must be doing poorly with her away from it.
Rarity perked up at her surroundings then and looked around with interest. “We are just about there. I do believe they are almost here.”
Rarity’s words were confusing, but before Twilight could question anything, Pinkie Pie skipped merrily in front of them and grinned widely.
“Oh goodie, we made it! See, Apple Bloom? I told you we were close.” Pinkie had motioned for her companions to come forward. Spike was the first one that appeared, and his expression brightened considerably once he glimpsed his mother figure.
“Twilight!”
The angst from earlier forgotten, he ran right up to the visibly-relieved unicorn and attached himself to her leg. He was crying and trembling from his overwhelming relief. “I thought I would never see you again! I was so scared! I missed you so much!”
Even Discord was touched at the scene of baby dragon and unicorn reuniting. His outward expression remained neutral, but inwardly, he was an emotional wreck.
Celestia leaned up against Discord. “Face it, Discord, you aren’t as tough as you appear to be.”
Discord looked annoyed and glared at the sun princess leaning against him. “Oh, spare me that crap, Celestia. I’m not in the mood for your psycho-relationship babble. I just wanted to sleep in Fluttershy’s cabin and be done with it. I ended up here, and I can’t use my magic or make a fool of anything. This sucks!” He finished his rant and realized that only Celestia had been paying attention.
Twilight recovered from the emotional reunion with Spike and settled the dragon on her back. “Spike, I’m so glad you’re safe! We’ve had absolutely no luck with finding ourselves closer to the center.”
“It’s just up ahead, sillies! All you have to do is hop, skip and jump just a biiiiiit further.” Pinkie was grinning and jumping all over the place. She allowed that sentence to sink in and settled down. “Besides, the others will be here real soon, and we can’t leave anypony behind yet.”
Twilight again noticed that her friend had said something weird and was about to say something about it when she was interrupted.
“Pinkie, why did ya run off like that wit’ Spike? We were supposed ta stick together! Applejack is still out there, an’ Ah haven’t seen her since the start o’ all this.” Apple Bloom was the next to appear and she initially glared at her pink companion, but paused as she realized that she had stumbled upon Twilight, Celestia, and everypony else, minus Applejack. “Where did y’all come from? Ah looked all over the place before Ah found Spike. Have y’all seen anypony else?”
Unlike Spike, she didn’t launch herself at Twilight, though she did step closer to the familiar unicorn. It wasn’t Twilight who answered the question.
Pinkie replied, “I saw her, not too long ago. She ran off before I could say anything. She was being quite sad about something, so I couldn’t cheer her up at all. I was close! She should be here very soon, and then we can begin.”
Pinkie was acting very odd and Twilight was tired of enigmatic party ponies. She was again interrupted before she could voice her objections.
“Twilight, there you are! We have been looking for you everywhere.” The voice was a familiar one, and, sure enough, it revealed a very relieved Rainbow Dash. She had Scootaloo riding on her back, though Twilight was sure that there was a good reason for that. “This forest is beyond Creepy Town! You won’t belieeeeeeve what I went through!”
Fluttershy strode through next, carrying Sweetie on her back. She looked relieved as well. “Oh, I’m so glad we ran into you, Twilight! Now, we can find the way out of this dreadful place and be done with this.”
Feeling visibly much better since arriving, Twilight watched as her two friends joined her. Now all that was needed was--
“Twilight? Is that you? Ah’ve been lookin’ fer ya all over the place! How much further ‘till we can leave! Ah’ve had enough! Ah jus’ wanna go home...” Applejack trotted in and joined them. She had a puffy face and looked to be have spent some time crying about something, but was otherwise alright.
“What happened to you Applejack?” Twilight asked, striding over to her. She’d never seen Applejack cry openly. It worried her.
“Ah’m afraid Ah have some bad news, sugarcube. We’re one member short in our group.”
Twilight felt dread shoot through her heart. Did something happen that she wasn’t aware of?
Applejack said, “Pinkie Pie had an accident! Ah tried ta save her, but somethin’ got ta her. It didn’t sound good!”
That didn’t make sense. Now, her confusion had been doubled. Twilight had some difficulty trying to speak. What Applejack was saying was impossible. Before she could reply, Spike spoke up.
“I saw something happen to Rarity, too! Something caused her body to turn to dust. I can’t believe Rarity is gone. She was there one minute, and gone the next!”
Sweetie Belle gasped and mumbled, “Rarity’s gone?”
Twilight winced as she realized that she had forgotten about Sweetie Belle. She felt confusion ripple through her. She protested, “But that makes no sense, guys! Rarity and Pinkie can’t be gone.”
“And why is that, Twilight? How am I not here?”
Twilight wasn’t sure how many more surprises she could take at the moment. She turned to where Pinkie was standing next to her, replacing where Luna was not too long ago.
“You don’t look too good, Twilight, like you just figured something out that doesn’t agree with you. Why don’t you tell your Auntie Pinkie all about it?” Pinkie was leaning against her and smiling.
“Yer supposed ta be dead, Pinkie! Ah heard ya gasp like that! There’s no way ya can be here. How are ya here?!” Applejack looked to be confused and was glaring at her pink friend.
Pinkie Pie turned to Rarity. Both of them giggled lightly. “You hear that, Rarity? We aren’t supposed to be here. We’re supposed to be dead. That sounds crazy, Applejackie.”
After giggling for a few moments, Rarity turned back to the remaining eight ponies. Twilight didn’t know what happened to Celestia and the others, but hoped that nothing bad happened to them.
Rarity spoke to the group, waving them off with a forehoof. “Anyway, you will be pleased to know darlings that you are almost out of the maze. Just over that way are three doors. One of them will take you back to a familiar world, one will take you to a different place from what you know, one will strand you in the maze doomed to be forgotten forever. It’s a game of chance, isn’t that exciting?” Rarity was smiling, but only for a moment.
“How do we know that what you say is the truth? This place has shown us nothing but lies the entire time! Why would it suddenly make it easy to escape after an effort to trap us?” Spike seemed annoyed and was glaring at Rarity and Pinkie.
“You can’t, darling, but Celestia, Luna and Discord all made their choices. Now, it is up to you to make that decision. All you have to do is pick one door. You can all make the same choices as each other, or different ones. You won’t have any memory of this once making your choice, so that is where the fun comes in.”
Rarity still had that smile on her face. “Although, if you choose the right door, maybe we will be there too. We will all go back to our normal lives and continue to save the world like we always do. Doesn’t that sound like fun?”
Applejack stomped a hoof in anger. “How do we know y’all are the real Rarity o’ Pinkie?! This maze screwed wit’ our minds worse than Discord did! Ah saw Pinkie struggle an’ cry an’ die...that was too real ta be faked! Y’all ain’t our friends, an’ yer jus’ makin’ things worse by pretendin’ ta be ‘em. That’s all this is...one giant lie!”
Rarity snorted and shot back, “Enough of this, darlings. Regardless of who or what we are, it is time for you to make a decision. Go through a door and wake up.”
Rarity walked off to the side, and it was at that point that Twilight realized that she and her friends were surrounded by three doors. She could see that numbers were etched on them.
“Just open and step on through. We will take care of the rest.” Pinkie gave a salute and waited off to the side. There was no trace of a smile. Just a blank look. She and Rarity didn’t talk or move, and Twilight realized that, for all intents and purposes, she was alone with her thoughts.
She stared at her friends and then at Rarity and Pinkie. “Which door did Celestia go through? Can you at least tell me that?” She looked hopefully at the entities that were once her two dearest friends.
Rarity’s face twitched into a small smile. “She took door number three, darling. Luna took door number two, and Discord took door number one. The choice is up to you, dear.”
Twilight stared at her friends and headed slowly toward the third door.
“Twi, where are you going?” Fluttershy was staring at her with concern. She didn’t look happy. “That isn’t the correct door. You should take the second door.”
Before Twilight could even begin to give a response to how illogical that sounded, she was interrupted by Applejack.
“Now hold on there, Fluttershy. Ya can’t possibly know that. That kinda stuff ain’t real.” Applejack looked panicked at the idea of Fluttershy knowing things she shouldn’t.
Fluttershy protested, “I know it sounds strange, but I think you shouldn’t take the third door. Please, Twilight, consider it. Take the second.”
For a long moment, Twilight simply stared at her friend. “Fluttershy, I can’t. Celestia is my teacher and I have to send friendship reports to her. I love her. Why don’t you come with me? We can at least be with Celestia and go back to saving the world.”
Fluttershy shook her head. “This maze played tricks on us and lied to us at every step of the road. It even disguised itself as our friends and made us believe something horrible happened to us. They could be tricking us.”
“They have no reason to lie about who went through each door! Celestia is waiting for me and I have to be with her.” Twilight sniffled. She stepped closer to her desired door. Once she was right in front of it, she turned to her friends. “Anypony want to come with me? I just have a feeling that this door is the right one. Please, don’t let me be alone.”
For a long time, nopony moved. Fluttershy gripped Rainbow Dash tighter, as if concerned she would leave her. Scootaloo stood rooted to the spot, gripping Dash’s mane tighter. She was sobbing quietly to herself.
“I’m with you, Twilight. You know I will always be with you, no matter what.” Spike broke off from Apple Bloom and wobbled over to Twilight. “Anywhere you go, I will follow.” He hugged Twilight and nuzzled her.
Twilight smiled and lowered herself down so Spike could hop on. “Thanks Spike!” Then she turned to her remaining friends. “Anypony else want to take the door to Celestia and a better world?”
The silence was longer this time. Twilight didn’t give up hope. She was sure her friends would join her in this together.
Applejack made her decision. “Ah love you, Fluttershy, but Ah don’t trust this feelin’ o’ knowin’ without bein’ sure. There’s no way ya can know ahead o’ time what’s gonna happen. Nopony can. Ah’m sorry, but Ah’m goin’ wit’ Twilight.”
Applejack began the journey to Twilight’s side. Before she got all the way, she turned, hoping to address one other member. “Come along now, Apple Bloom! We’re goin’ wit’ Twilight.” Applejack smiled at her younger sister, hoping that she would be compliant.
Apple Bloom flinched and flattened her ears. “Ah...Ah...Applejack...But...” She looked confused and didn’t walk forward. “What ‘bout Fluttershy?”
The older sister sighed in annoyance. “Ah trust Twilight wit’ ma life. She knows Celestia is behind door number three, so Ah trust that’s the right choice.”
Apple Bloom still didn’t look convinced. “But Twilight don’t know fer sure if Celestia’s behind it! Same as how Fluttershy believes the same thing ‘bout her door. Ah don’t want ta leave mah friends.” She still hadn’t budged and tears were falling down her face. “Applejack, Ah trust Fluttershy.”
“Now listen ta me, missy! Ah’m yer older sister, an’ Ah say we’re goin’ wit’ Twilight.” Applejack’s patience was being tested, and she would resort to dragging Apple Bloom off if she had to.
“Ah don’t wanna go! An’ we don’t know what ta believe. Those two ain’t yer friends. They wanna trick ya an’ mess wit’ yer mind. If nothin’ bad would happen, Ah would go wit’ Twilight, but Ah’m goin’ wit’ ma friends. It’ll work out better that way.” Apple Bloom stood stubbornly to the spot.
Applejack’s angry expression softened slightly. “Please Apple Bloom, yer ma family, an’ family sticks together no matter what. Please come wit’ me.”
Apple Bloom paused, and then said, “Sorry Applejack, but this time, Ah ain’t choosin’ you.” She stood next to Fluttershy and hunkered down. Her ears were flat and she was sobbing.
“Fine then! Ah hope yer happy wit’ yer decision.” Applejack slowly walked to stand next to Twilight. Her pace was slow, just in case Apple Bloom changed her mind. But the younger sister never followed, and Applejack’s heart broke with each step she took.
Sweetie was staring at Spike with an extreme sadness in her eyes. “Spike? I have something I would like to tell you. In case the choice I am making turns out to be the wrong one.”
The baby dragon turned to look at Sweetie Belle, his eyes conflicted. “Why don’t you come with us, Sweetie Belle?”
It was ever so tempting for the unicorn to go over to Spike’s side, but she realized that she didn’t want to be the only one among her friends to go over there. She sighed in regret. This was going to be the hardest thing she had ever done.
“Spike, when you first came to Ponyville, it turned out to be the greatest thing ever in my entire life. I felt drawn to you the first chance I got. I had never seen a dragon before. I couldn’t move or speak, and I would embarass myself around you. I even have a few shirts I stole from Rarity that you had touched.”
He was silent for a long moment, but Sweetie didn’t notice. Her eyes were glued to the dragon’s. She had to say this before she chickened out again.
“I followed you around, hoping we could hang out.I even came up with some crusades to try to get to speak to you. Every moment you noticed me was the happiest moment of my life. I embarrassed myself, and the humiliation was worth it some of the time because it would mean that I was close to you. Spike, you are so special to me. I think I.... I...... you see..... Spike..... “
Her voice trailed off for a moment before she quickly added, “See you later. I hope you are happy with the choice you made, and I am so very sorry that I can’t join you.”
Sweetie huddled deep into herself. When the sobs started, Fluttershy picked her up gently with one of her wings and settled her on her back. Apple Bloom quickly joined her friend.
“So, I guess this is it, then.” Twilight stared sadly at Fluttershy and a conflicted Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash never spoke up about her decision, but it was obvious that she had made her choice. “We are all going our separate ways and we might not see each other again.”
Fluttershy nodded and smiled slightly. “I guess so. I am so sorry Twilight.” She was sniffling a bit, and her smile didn’t reach her eyes.
“Don’t worry about it, Fluttershy. If it makes any difference, you were the greatest friend I could ask for. You all were.” Twilight was crying and she didn’t make a move toward the door. At least, not yet. On her back, Spike was staring at Sweetie Belle with wide eyes. What was Sweetie talking about when she said all those things?
Eight ponies, all making two very different choices, all prepared to open their desired door.
As two different hooves reached for their choice, Spike realized the similarities between what Sweetie was doing with him and what he did with Rarity. Brightness entered his vision just then and he saw that Sweetie was looking at him with tears in her eyes.
Just before everything vanished from his sight, she saw him mouth three words. Three terrifying little words that would haunt him forever.
I love you...
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Swimming through the air. She just had to swim. A wave of colors passed through her. She was struggling just to wake up, and that was proof on how deep in sleep she was.
“Come on, wake up! It’s her big day. You promised you would support her.”
She knew that voice. She knew it very well. But why was it taking so long for her to just wake up? Sleep had never been this deep for her before. Such a weird dream that she witnessed. It was always the same. Every single time.
“Please wake up, I don’t want to be late. We are already behind schedule.”
She was trying. That was the problem. This dream was stubborn and refused to let her awaken. Finally, her eyes slowly opened, and she got a good look at her surroundings. Yes, she was in her bed, upstairs. That part wasn’t different, but in the dream, she fell asleep in a different place.
Rainbow Dash was in her room, bouncing in place and struggling to keep her composure.
“Finally Fluttershy! It’s about damn time you woke up. We promised Sweetie Belle we would be there for her first concert. Apple Bloom managed to get some time off from apple bucking and we don’t want to be late. Scootaloo would kill me if we were late, and the Princess is going to be there. If you make me look bad in front of her, then there will be problems.”
Yes, how could she have forgotten that? She had only been listening to her long-time foalhood friend go on and on about her number one assistant.
Rainbow Dash had adopted Scootaloo as an assistant flight instructor. She was very well known all over Equestria for being the best darn flight teacher imaginable. Finally, Princess Celestia had noticed her and took her on as a protege of sorts. Being a pegasus and not a unicorn had been difficult for the masses and stuck-up snobs, but Celestia had been very persuasive and managed to stop all the rumors.
Scootaloo had met Rainbow Dash the first time when the latter was teaching a class and graduated with top honors. Dash eventually noticed that Scootaloo was the most talented flyer she had ever seen and took her on as an apprentice.
Scootaloo’s foalhood friends from her filly days, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, had of course been ecstatic for their friend’s success. Apple Bloom was a part-time farm worker with her older brother, Big Mac and full time inventor.
“So, what’s the plan, Dash? You got me out of bed and out of dreamland, so what’s next?” Fluttershy loved that about Dash. She was always so organized. She was stubborn and hardheaded, but she loved to categorize her day out to the last second.
Fluttershy had lived next door to her special friend back in Cloudsdale, and had been rather quiet and subdued. Dash had changed that rather quickly by introducing herself and adopting Fluttershy as her best friend. Fluttershy had, of course, found Rainbow way too crazy and fast-paced for her, but she was loyal to a fault. The bullies that had decided to pick on Fluttershy could testify to that. Dash was scary when pissed off.
“We are supposed to meet Apple Bloom next to Sweet Apple Acres and she will take us to where the concert will be.” Rainbow, now that Fluttershy was awake, prepared herself to take off. “By the way, you were pretty involved in your dream. It took at least seven minutes to wake you. You are lucky I planned for this and arrived two hours earlier than necessary.”
Fluttershy allowed a small giggle to escape her throat at Dash’s tendency to overplan.
“What were you dreaming about Flutters?” Dash looked curious and, if she wasn’t mistaken, a bit interested.
Fluttershy thought back to the dream that she just had. It was still sketchy, but the same ponies were still in it. She had been having weird dreams lately, and she didn’t know what they meant or why she was having them.
“I will tell you on the way. We might as well walk and talk, or we can fly. That is, if you want to.” Fluttershy’s old habit was really hard to break, and some consequences of bullying led her to worry over being a burden.
Dash shook her head sighing in slight annoyance. “Flutters, I keep telling you, just be assertive. Don’t worry if you have a change in opinion, just stick with what you feel like doing. To answer your question, we should walk. Walking is good for long discussions of dreams.”
The two pegasi walked out of the house. Fluttershy gave a smile to her pet rabbit Angel, who glared at her and shook his tiny fist at her. For the next few minutes, Fluttershy explained what she could remember about her dream. It had been rather scary.
“Who were the ponies in the dream again? You mentioned them before. I know myself rather well. Scootaloo and her friends too, obviously. And Celestia. But, who were the other five ponies?”
“To answer that Dash, I would have to go back a long time. At least two years, I think. These are recurring dreams, and this one was only the latest one.” Fluttershy allowed a small smile to form across her face as she heard Dash sigh in annoyance.
“Whatever, you do what you must. As long as we aren’t late to Sweetie’s performance.”
Fluttershy cleared her throat, and she began the tale of her dreams and her friends in them. “Well, two years ago, I dreamed about a unicorn named Twilight Sparkle and how she became Celestia’s personal student....”
Author's Note
A lot of my earlier nightmares had a lot of these themes in them. Watching my loved ones die or leading to their demise and I was initially powerless was a big theme. Alone in the face of darkness and the unknown was another. I hope that this story was enjoyable. This is the only ending you are getting. Yeah, it leads to that question "What about the other's decision?" as a great alternate ending, but no...
This can be changed, if a majority of people ask and beg for an alternate path, but this is the canon ending. I like to refer to this as a "Happy Downer" No other explanations will be given. But feel free to interpret it how you see fit.
