Echo in the Dark

The Everfree Forest has long had a reputation as one of the darkest, scariest and most horrible places in all of Equestria. Trees thrive and blot the sun whilst monstrous creatures pave their way between the shades, splintering all fern and shrub beneath their mammoth paws. Every year over-adventurous ponies are lost to its wicked ways and every year parents everywhere advise their fillies and foals above all else, not to dare the vile Hades of the forest.

This is however merely an interpretation. After all, what the ponies know to be monster ridden and evil is merely overrun. Quite simply the Everfree Forest's only 'crime' is that of supporting far more life, plant and animal alike, then is ordinarily expected of such a place. In essence it is not evil but the ponies are just unable to control it. What can not be controlled is feared and what's feared must be evil, or so one can reason.

Even so this wasn't always the case, an age ago the forest was at peace and little different to it's kin that populated Equestria. Naturally, something changed, something made the forest stronger, filled it with energy. Engorged it till it lay bloated as life as remains it's current state. What exactly could do such a thing? The greatest artefacts known to Equestria, the Elements of Harmony.

Corruption is not a word usually associated with the elements but it is the one that ponies use with regard to the Everfree Forest all the same. The elements, brimming with energy, require constant tempering, lest their energies bleed wildly into the world. As we know Twilight Sparkle and her friends do an admirable job at the task but times have not always been as such... For we also know that many many years ago Celestia and Luna wielded the elements, until the tragic rebellion that tore the two of them apart. It was this severance that triggered the first cataclysm of energies and ultimately 'tainted' the forest, a disaster that would have spread to the whole of Equestria had Celestia herself not sealed the elements in hubris, chaining their final and most potent part, stealing it away from the world, and denying Equestria its greatest legacy and ultimate weapon.

This was a risk of epic proportions and a tale of many woes but this is not that story, no, this story begins with the second cataclysm of energies, the grand ordeals taken to halt it and the ramifications and trials thereof.

A hushed crowd gathered before Ponyville's town hall, their centre and attention one Zecora, resident sage of the Everfree. Her brow furrowed and eyes flickered to the tale of a tense fear wrapped oh so tightly around her scattered emotions, fear of the future she had uncovered the prologue of mere hours before. Upon arriving in Ponyville Zecora had spread word of some impending and devastating crisis and naturally a crowd had formed. Despite this she had been waiting, waiting upon her one bastion of hope, Twilight Sparkle, to catch wind of her emergence and make way to greet her. Eventually however it became too much for the others of Ponyville and the crowd quickly turned restless before their visitor. So, with the crowd's undivided attention, she took a deep and steady breath and wove her tale of woe before their waiting ears:

“I am sorry to call you in such a rush, but I have seen what none can shush. Lying deep in the Everfree, something has tainted many a tree. What this is I can not tell, but I would guess its surely fell.”  Ever sharp  eyes squinted amongst the waiting throng and were glad to see a familiar violet unicorn methodically traversing her way to the crust of the crowd, politely but firmly squeezing between each row of spectators like an errant raindrop slipping through the canopy. “I wish the trees to be restored anew, that is why I ask for you!” With that, the zebra directed a hoof at the blossoming unicorn and, as one, the crowd turned to tribute their attentions upon the newcomer.

“What exactly is the problem?” Twilight asked, a quizzical glance sweeping her face.

“The trees have died, devoid of green. A sorry shade of what has been. Yet now I know, I've have searched the acre, I fear it's nothing found in nature.” Zecora returned, “The source I fear it must be magic, something dark and mighty cryptic.” Straightening up, Zecora withdrew attention from Twilight and once more spoke to the crowd as a whole, ushering one last decree. “This curse of woe, it must be shed. Else the plight will surely spread.”

Silence toppled the crowd and Zecora and Twilight silently drew upon each other. The course of action to follow was obvious, yet Zecora rested on little hope, and so, Twilight fared no better.

Eventually though the small charm Zecora had drawn over the crowd faded and mutterings crept up from all around. This grew as expected until Twilight and Zecora were at once alone, isolated in their tiny bubble of a world, ignored by the world who took to assuming themselves unconcerned now that a potential saviour or sacrifice had been outlined.

“Very well...” Twilight started, arrested by conflicted schools of thought. “At the very least I think we should find Applejack, she understands much more then I do about trees, those of the Everfree or not. As soon as we find her I want you to take me to where this 'blight' has manifested itself.” Zecora nodded solemnly and the pair made way against the crowd. Citizens parted in their wake but otherwise did little beyond exchanging views on this sudden and sullen bombshell. Already divisions were being drawn between those who merely thought to ignore the foul place whilst others stood afraid of this 'curse' encroaching beyond the boundaries of the forest.

Zecora and Twilight were not to get very far however before finding their plans interrupted, a distant individual throwing Twilight's name out, across the streets, before them.

“Twilight!” The second time it came the shout was much louder, closer and interjected by the peppering of tiny feet upon the cobblestones. Arriving as quickly as his tiny legs could carry him Spike wove between the suspended crowd and skidded to a not so graceful halt before his greatest ally. “Twilight-” he repeated once more only to have his breath elude him.

“Spike, I'm really busy right now so-” She stopped, frigid. Inside her chest Twilight's heart  shied from the world and wailed into the darkness, her face left numb with dread. “Oh dear.” She managed after a few moments spent gazing emptily upon the huffing dragon and the all too familiar seal that emblazoned the scroll in his hands. “I think this is an even more serious matter then expected.”

“-the Princess.” Spike concluded, having finally wrested control of his draconic lungs.

* * *

It took a stretched half an hour to locate all of Twilight's closest friends, but, no sooner had Twilight gathered the intrepid eight then they had descended upon the Everfree Forest, a cabal of minds taxed by worry and fear.

Present were all those to be expected; Twilight to lead them, Spike and Zecora. Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had likewise been rallied to the cause and even Rarity had been conscripted despite an ever keen aversion to nature as a whole. It went without saying that despite Twilight's rather lacklustre explanations none gave even the slightest question or hesitance to Twilight's call for aid.

“Its probably about time I told you what's going on.” Twilight announced as the crew navigated the lush webbing of bush and branches. “Though I know very little very myself. For starters, Zecora has told me that a whole score of trees has suddenly died without warning, deep within the Everfree Forest.”

Leading the pack was Zecora, who moved fluidly and efficiently as though familiar to every step. “This is true I'm sad to say.” she added politely, not even breaking step for the less experienced ponies to catch up. “Withered roots and leaves of grey.”

“At first I assumed this some sort of arboreal disease, a fungus or some such but then...” Twilight continued, talking slowly for sake of inner thoughts. Each word was picked carefully and slowly but Twilight listened as much as spoke them, perhaps hoping to uncover so overlooked facts nested within the wisdom. “But then I received a letter from Princess Celestia with some further troubling news. Apparently the magical force that sustained the forest has been, whilst not completely gone, crippled.”

The other continued to follow, though a little lost in Twilight's musings. In the end it was Applejack who asked. “Magical force?”

“Indeed.” Twilight returned with a sheepish nod.

“But I thought you said magic comes from within us?” Applejack prompted once more. Twilight was evidently wrapped in many a layer of thoughts, leaving her quite distant and detached from the conversation at hand. As such she needed a bit of gentle nudging if only to remind her to open her mouth.

“I did, and it does, but there is magic in the land itself as well. It nourishes the land and provides the spark needed for plants and animals alike to survive thrive. The Everfree Forest is one of the most magical places in all of Equestria, or at least it was.” Silence slipped over Twilight once more, coupled with a face most grim. The others shared concern but with no way to qualm her worries, and with seemingly no further knowledge to strain out of the unicorn, all thought best to leave her to private brooding. After all, one must let the think-tank think if one expects results.

Soon enough though, Zecora had taken them to the cusp of the taint. “Now prepare yourselves my little friends, for this is where our journey ends. Just beyond this final pass, a hundred witherin' trees alas.”

The crowd pulled around one final hill bank and there had certainly been no exaggerations on Zecora's part. Before them lay dozens of the faded trees, each one more  greyed and wilted then the last. Gnarled trunks still reached skywards, but as little more then putrid husks of what once was. Their leaves battled bravely against the odds but many had fallen and passed already, a rich bed  of browning leaves already sheeting the soil. Of birds and critters there were none and the usually vocal forest had found itself coveted by the most unnatural silence. A rare and distant bird chime would occasionally mock the stunned silence, but, they were just that, rare and distant.

“Lets head to the centre and see if we can discover what has prompted this... malediction.” Twilight declared, words seeped in an unwelcome revulsion for the sight. True to her words she soldiered on, though not without more then a paltry amount of fear. The Everfree Forest was one of the most dangerous places they had ever been; despite experience it was still a foreboding place and the deathly grips of this 'taint' only served to heighten these fears.

The ponies ventured on and sank into the dank depths of the forest. It was very much like treading upon a haunted cemetery and Fluttershy in particular would have folded if not for the ready support of her friends. With each intrepid step taken the proverbial darkness crept closer and closer around them. Very soon they found themselves a world completely unfamiliar to even a place as nightmarish as the Everfree Forest.

It was clear that the closer they got to the source the harder the taint had hit the world around it, a dire calamity that had broken like a wave across the bush and canopy alike, devouring all that dare stand in it's wake. Around them hung a haunted silence, broken only by the ponies' own footsteps upon the film of leaves and twigs that footed them and around them a coldness, a chlling yet windless cold that wrapped their bodies in shivering embrace, mocking the sun's meagre attempts to stand against it. The emerald world of memory seemed so readily forgotten in the dull vibes of grey and brown that echoed so mournfully of Tartarus.

An era past in this dark place, yet none would have believed it took a pitiful five minutes to dredge across it's depth. It was a trial upon the courage of each pony and dragon alike but eventually they hit upon a glade, an all too familiar and populated clearing.

“No way. It can't be!” Twilight cried aloud. She was not one to put too much faith in signs, but, the bold omen cut before them laughed in the face of coincidence. A rickety bridge lead precariously abreadth the misty gorge cut deep into the very earth; beyond it the carious ruins of a castle long forgotten by history itself stood in monument against time, the very same they recovered the elements of harmony from so many moons ago. “I... I should have expected this.” She conceded, muttering beneath her breath.

Taking a strong breath Twilight turned and addressed the party, folding into the role of the leader she so readily filled in times of crisis. “Prepare yourself ponies, Spike, Zecora. I don't have any idea what lurks inside those ruins but... I very much doubt its pleasant. I'm not going to force you to go inside with-”

“Now now, don't go being no worrywort, we can all handle ourselves.” Applejack cut in confidently, dousing the bulk of Twilight's worry. “If there really is some nasty doohickey in there don't you think its better we tackled it together?” This got a murmuring of agreement from the crowd and further bellied a support for Twilight to stand on.

“Well I suppose you're right. I'm sure we've faced worse.” With that, Twilight lead across the bridge and the eight of them swiftly found themselves pushing aside the great oaken doors and once again setting foot upon the deserted grounds. “Okay friends, be ready for anything.”

As one they braced for the most horrific of malformations... and so what lay before them was the last to be expected.

“Its exactly the same as it was the last time we were here.” Rainbow Dash announced bluntly. No nefarious villain perched within the shadows, no abominable artefact lay waiting for them. The room was merely as empty as the last time they saw it.

“Almost. I don't remember these plants being all droopy like this.” Applejack said, highlighting the once green mosses and lichen that had shrivelled into pitiful greys and drab browns.

“Hey wow! Remember when we found the elements of harmony over here?” Pinkie Pie asked, clearly not amused by the dying flora. In doing so she bounded up to the central dais and gaped at the now vacant receptacles. “Eek!” The cry cut across the hall, sawed through each pony's ears and with good reason. No sooner had Pinkie Pie reached towards the podium but a streak of electricity, flashing an oh so brief breath of blue, leapt the boundary of stone and pony and discharged into her body.

“Pinkie? Are you okay?” Twilight called out, already rushing forwards.

“Erm... yeah.” was the earth pony's reply. Shock aside, there hadn't been any pain to couple with the event. It was merely a surprise. “Brrrr. It just felt kinda weird.” she stated, offering a brief giggle to put the others at ease, it had felt pretty funny after all.

There was no time for relief however as the ground trembled beneath them and  a low droning noise danced into the air around them. The vibrations escalated with haste before, once more, a flash of brilliant blue lighting cleaved the air, cutting a line from dais to ceiling and showering the air in incandescent sparks. Another and a third broke the air, scattering bold lights and sounds throughout the hall, leaving the ponies to quake in shock and fear.

“Pinkie Pie! Get back!” Twilight called, but, the earth pony was firmly rooted to the spot: too laced by fear and wonder of these mysterious bolts.

There was another burst of light, this time erupting like a supernova. A globe of light bolstered in the air before them, a pure white light growing into a burgeoning sphere several feat across, along it's crust blades of lighting danced and waved, occasionally brushing the dais below. A wave of air knocked against the ponies as the greedy aberration matured and soon the thing's noise overpowered all else.

Everything had happened oh so quickly, yet, the enigma hadn't even finished. It gave one last pulse of light, akin to the last flare of a candle, before collapsing. With a final thunderous cry the nimbus shrunk inwards, devouring itself till nothing remained but a tiny jewel of light, yet even that failed to quell it's greed. A strong current built in the air around them, snaking its way towards the glowing bead.

It grew once more but this time as an absent hole in space itself. It was not merely black, no, black still had an outline, a surface. Light merely disappeared upon hitting its mysterious surface. The vortex grew and continued to swallow the air around it, before long it became apparent that staying in the vicinity was a very dangerous matter indeed.

Twilight looked around in panic, only to find all equally terrified. She cried out but the words was quickly lost, barely grazing her own ears. It was quite possibly too late to run, Twilight could already feel it tugging at her own body, and most of the others had already latched to any steadfast fragment of masonry they could get their hoofs around.

There was one however, who acted against the norm. Pinkie Pie had not moved, no, in fact if anything she had moved closer to the snarling vortex. Wondrous eyes looked upon it as though in servitude to its mesmeric influence.

Twilight shouted with all the force she could tear from her lungs, but it was no use. This time she couldn't even hear herself over the booming of the black hole. That left only one choice. Tensing her body, Twilight concentrated upon the pink pony and... nothing happened. With gritted teeth she tried again, focusing all her will into her magic and... nothing happened. No way! Why wasn't it working? Why had her magic stopped working now of all times? A cold slither of tears treaded across Twilight's cheeks but it went unheeded, the unicorn trying again and again despite all results to muster her magical talents.

The vortex continued to gather strength and finally it became too much. Much to everyone's horror Pinkie Pie was plucked from the ground, a glazed look still rolled across her eyes, and thrown into the swelling pit of energies. The thing rippled as Pinkie Pie passed into it, sparks cascading all around as the pink pony disappeared into the dark void, and then it calmed down. Apparently 'fed' the spasmodic fluctuations of the pit ceased and it drew itself into a simple oval, the air around them finally calmed to the overpowering droning noise, reduced to a tolerable, though very much audible, hum. The gale that had wrapped them was quickly  vanquished and one by one the terrified ponies unfroze, only to lament in the horror that had befallen them.

“Pinkie Pie!” Raindow Dash called all too much vain, venturing closer to the now waning hole. It was a slow progress but it did seem to be shrinking...

“What is that thing? What exactly has it done with Pinkie Pie? Twilight? Twilight?” Rarity asked, drawing up alongside Rainbow Dash but otherwise looking to Twilight.

“I don't know.” Twilight half said, half whimpered, in response. The tears from earlier had rallied a crew of reinforcements though she was by no means the only one afflicted. “I think... It might...” Certainty was in short supply, though Twilight knew she had to do something. Settling on a few possible ideas she settled on the most optimistic and pulled herself up to the velvet hole.

It was a bold move and Twilight's heart frenzied from within it's ribcage cradle. Lifting a hoof up steadily, she reached towards the void and... snap. No sooner had she got within a few inches but the pull of the darkness had become all too much and snatched her hoof out of the air. Strange sensations wrapped around her enclosed hoof, a suction drawing her in. Not strong enough to drag the rest of her inside, or cause any real amount of pain but certainly enough to feel the thing trying to absorb her. All around her friends watched in horror, but there was no real call for such a thing.

Pulling the hoof back out triumphantly Twilight even managed to bridge a smile.

“I think... its a wormhole.”

“Ah don't think any worms are gonna crawl out of that.” Applejack replied earnestly, though a might confused.

“No, a wormhole is like a magic portal that connects two places that aren't otherwise connected in space.” There was still an air of uncertainty so Twilight ploughed on. “Basically if you go in one you'll come out of a second connected wormhole.”

“So Pinkie Pie is just on the other side of this wormhole business?” Rarity asked, first to catch on to  the eldritch concept.

“Yes, though I have no idea where that is she should hopefully be okay.” A wave of relief broke across the crowd at once as agonised thoughts bowed before this new brandishing of hope.

“Well then, what are we waiting for? Lets go get that pony back!” Rainbow Dash cried, first to break into action though hardly without her own fears. “...and you're sure its safe?”

“...probably. I thrust my hoof into it and there appears to be no negative effects. I don't feel any different.”

“Well then? What are we waiting for?” The pegasus asked, coiling as a spring before exploding into a dash, rocketing towards the midnight hole. “I'm coming Pink-” Sparks cast themselves off in a fountain as Rainbow Dash bolted into the void and, just like that, she disappeared.

“I guess that decision is made.” Twilight said, noting Rainbow Dash's ever present recklessness. She made a step towards the hole but faltered, a frozen hoof dangled in the air.

“Hesitating darling?” Rarity asked, coming up beside her. Neither would admit it but both were equally terrified of the thing. Two litter hearts pummelled against their chests but the grief of being without Pinkie Pie, and now Rainbow Dash, was enough to spur them on. “Why don't we brave it together yes?” This got a silent nod from Twilight and the two shakily advanced upon the would be portal, each propelled by their sister companion they wouldn't dare let down. As they left another crescendo roared from the depths and then there were four.

“Well, I guess I'm nex-”

“W-wait!” Fluttershy finally stammered, cleaving Applejack's words in twain. It took every ounce of courage for this alone but Fluttershy extended a shaky hoof and whimpered “P-please... hold my hoof for me.”

For a moment Applejack brokered surprise, then a smile curled her lips. “Sure.” she said warmly, taking Fluttershy's hoof around her own. The yellow pegasus' legs clattered beneath but the two pushed forward regardless, sinking through the gate the others had passed moments earlier.

Then there was near silence, the gentle hum of the gate the only thing to echo across the walls.

“Wait for me!” Spike called, finally pulling into action. Powered more by fear of being left behind then courage the little dragon bounded up to the vortex and ran against it with all his might.

Something was different however. Where as the others disappeared with ease into it's shadowy folds, sinking as though through water, Spike felt a unseen force working against him. Something throwing him back as he pressed against the darkness. He fought against it with all his might but no sooner had he weaved a claw into the darkness then it became overpowering and he found himself thrown back, sent skimming across the stone floor.

“Are you okay there little Spike? That mighty blow looked quite a strike.”

Before he could reply however a clatter erupted from the hole. In one final show of power the thing gave a mighty 'snack', dying with a mighty clap of air that bludgeoned wall and dragon alike to an unseen fist. On recovering Spike looked onwards and crumbled before panic, for the thing was gone, whatever it was. The darkness his friends had stepped into was gone, seemingly without a trace

. “No!” He roared, catapulting upon his feet and racing at the dais that had housed the dark void in the first place. He swiped the air and fell upon the large stone monument but it did no good. It had stolen them, stolen his friends, and now it was gone. The anger seeped tears had already started flowing thick and fast from his draconic eyes and already he found the world blurring behind the watery veil. “Don't leave me behind.” He weeped, sinking into a muddled heap of blitzed emotion. Sobs echoed across the stone walls but it was already too late.