The Big Three

In a dark cave somewhere deep inside of the forest, Markus wakes groggily his vision in shades of green and white. He goes to wipe his eyes to only find that he can't do so due to restraints holding him back. Fear and paranoia starts settling in about the different possibilities of what could have done this to him. The biggest threat is that somebody has caught him and has sold him back to Celestia and that other princess.

He tries to find his voice and yell out, but it only comes out as a whimper of sorts. His throats is parched and his voice hoarse from lack of use. He isn't too sure how long he's been like this, but the pain settling into to his bones tell him for a while. Sounds of something chittering can be heard from far off. It almost sounds like a cross between a squirrel and a bird. It's so unnatural as it is intriguing to him.

He would call out if he could. For now, he struggles with his binding hoping to find that he can get out of these ropes. In the back of his mind, he starts to wonder if this is how Indie felt when he told them the tale of how he was captured. Tied up while being stiff and very much in pain. Except for one thing he may have left out. Markus doesn't remember him ever telling him that he was blind when they were with him.

He knows his eyes are open, but for some reason he can't see. The green and red have all but faded away into the blackness. He knows he'll have to go through this blind. Literally.

The chittering stops as Markus manages to rock his chair too much and fall to the side causing further injury to his right arm. He lets out an unpleasant sounds as he crushes his hand underneath his weight. He can hear their steps. They sound much just like the clopping of hooves, yet their voices sound so different from ponies. He can't figure out what would ever cause this.

He recalls Franklin telling them once about how the forest has a bunch of traps. Maybe one of the traps changed these ponies? He can only guess and grasp at the hope that these ponies are too ashamed of themselves to return home. Unless they use him as a barging item to keep there dignity. The thought is less than pleasant.

They chitter between each other in their strange language. It sounds even more alien like now that it's even closer. They seems kind of... sad. It's almost like he can feel the sadness radiating out of their strange twitting and chirping language. The sound of something starting up is heard and soon the feeling of something dancing along his skin can be felt. He immediately recognizes it as magic . He's used to that sensation due to a mad tyrant always casting spells on him and his friends. He feels the pressure of the ground disappear and he knows he's been set right up now.

"Now stay still." The voice says in a cross between a harsh whisper and a hoarse shout.

Markus replies with sitting still waiting on what they'll do to him. He would ask what's going on, but he's afraid that when he speaks his throat will tear apart. It's that thought and the soreness of his throat that keeps him quiet for the remainder of his wait.

He spends the next couple of minutes, or hours as it feels to him, sitting in fear waiting for their return Soon loud chittering is heard followed by the sound of hooves. Theses hooves sound louder and more authority like. The sound of magic is heard followed by his sight returning to him. His sight is replaced from blackness to bright lights in a instant. He squeezes his eyes shut and slowly reopen them to let his eye get readjusted to the world of light.

When his sight comes back, he's shocked and scared. Before him an Alicorn stands. But she's not... normal. Or normal to the sense of him. She stands there completely black but not with fur. No. From the looks of it, she seems to have the body of that of a bugs. It looks all leathery and natural despite how unnatural it is. Her mane is an unkempt blue and stops at different point suddenly. He wings are those of insects, but they have holes all in them. Upon closer inspection he realizes that she has holes all over her body! He can practically see through her body.

The fear inside of his throat turns into a giant lump ready to leap out at any moment. Even his body feels as if it could rip through the bindings that hold him there. The Alicorn looks unimpressed at the human before her as if it's just another creatures of the woods that she's so used to seeing.

She moves forward and lays her horn on his forehead. Well, attempts would be a better word. She leans her head down and Markus immediately releases his powers in fear. The shadows burn through the rope and chair before immediately lashing out at the Alicorn in front of him who is clearly shocked by this.

He stands and backs away from everything his breath coming labored. The shadows pull back but stay close to the Alicorn and the two changelings entering in the room. The room is almost being turned into a void by the darkness. They've already snuffed out two torches and are going for the last two. The Alicorn, who only assumed that this was going to be another routine stealing of memories and consumption, is made very excited by this change of pace. This creatures fear is almost as tasty as love. And he radiates it a lot.

"Don't just stand there! Back out of the room!" The Alicorn says addressing her subjects that are staring into the void as if it's taking their souls.

The two snap out of it and look at each other scared before following orders. The insect like Alicorn lights up her horn as the last of the light in the room is extinguished. He horn is the only light and it shines just enough to allow her to see Markus sitting on the floor holding his knees to his chest. Tears seem to be streaming down his cheeks as he lose control of everything. The Alicorn can feel something crawling along her body and trying to chock her, but she dispels it with timely magic bursts as it keeps coming back.

It's almost as if the darkness is alive. Or something is alive in the darkness besides her and this human before her.

She manages to get close before something lashes out and tackles her to the ground. It wraps around her horn and cuts off her magic. It's almost like a void is trying to swallow her whole. She radiates magic off her body to get it off and even puts her strength against it. It takes a minute, but she tosses it off and moves towards the man a spell charging. She fires it as something jumps onto her back and quickly pin her down. The spell makes contact though and all the darkness is sucked back into him. His eyes go wide and than he slumps to his right and his legs become uncurled.

The insect Alicorn can only smile with all the things she can do with this at her disposal. She rises before falling to her knees again. It's than that she realizes that she's bleeding out her back and legs. There's scar along her neck and the holes along her body have also been cut into.

She chitters and soon her followers that look like her, except no wings for some and no horn for some others, and drags Markus away. She can only chuckle darkly to herself wanting to know much much more.

Celestia rereads the letter before her once more. She puts it down and gives a heavy sigh. She levitates a bell to her side and rings it. Soon a guard enters dressed in white armor.

"Yes Princess?"

"Bring me Olde." She says not feeling like she needs to be sober for the rest of the night. Or morning either. Perhaps the entire week from how she is feeling at this current moment.

"P-Princess." The guard starts.

"Please.... Just, bring it to me." She says without saying anymore as she curls up the letter and places it with the others labeled friendship reports. Even though she thinks it belongs in its own stack.

"Yes Princess." The guard says shaken by the princess' choice.

Celestia just sits there letting her mind stir everything. She had a plan. She had a plan. But now it's all falling apart. She never expected things to fall into the dark so fast. Guess that's why everything eventually runs out. She looks to her right to see the journal she and her sister used to write in. It sits collecting dust. She levitates it to herself.

"Perhaps... it's time I start again." She says to herself as a servant brings in a giant bottle with Olde XX written on it.