The Fourth Wall

Mind Games

(What Happened In Equestria Pt. 2)

Twilight Sparkle lay awake in bed next to her friend, Fluttershy. Her friends had decided to stay the night to comfort Twilight if she needed it or if she tried something brash. On the bed opposite lay two sleeping mares that were Applejack and Rarity. The two ponies volunteered to sleep together since they had done so before. Rainbow Dash offered to sleep downstairs and even though Twilight objected, Rainbow insisted. Spike didn't seem to be affected too much. Although he was shaken by Pinkie's disappearance, he believed Pinkie would be okay, knowing the pink mare.

Twilight wished she could think the same. The purple mare couldn't go to sleep, no matter how hard she tried. Her mind was swirling with terrible thoughts and all the dangers that Pinkie could be in right now. A small tear formed in the corner of her eye.

"If only I hadn't use that spell, none of this would have happened. It's all my fault." Twilight thought glumly.

The unicorn got out of bed solemnly and walked towards the window, minimising the sounds of her hoofsteps on the wooden floor. She needed some fresh air. Luna's moonlight filled the room as Twilight opened the curtains and a small, relaxing breeze came in as she opened it. It did little to calm her nerves but she was grateful nonetheless. She gazed at the night sky and proceeded to look at the stars. She looked up and noticed something. Or rather, a lack of something. The night sky was completely empty. The only thing that could be seen in the sky was the moon.

Twilight's eyes widened with shock. She hesitantly stepped back from the window, as if it was something was going to attack her. Princess Luna would never make the mistake of forgetting the stars. What could it mean? Not looking where she was going, she tripped over Spike's basket, causing him to awake from his deep slumber.

"Rarity!?" He screamed causing Twilight to jump and wake up everypony else in the room. Sweat was pouring down his neck and he was panting heavily. Once he realised where he was and what he did, he turned a deep shade of red. Luckily everypony had been too drowsy to understand what he said, excluding Twilight.

The three mares sighed when they finally noticed Twilight standing next to Spike's basket.

"Come on, sugarcube. We've got a big day head' of us."  Applejack said, stifling a yawn.

"Yes, darling. One cannot afford to lose their beauty sleep" Rarity added.

"I know, but..." Twilight said, with a solemn look on her face

"C'mon., get to bed. We're gonna be looking fer' her in the mornin' and we'll need plenty of energy"

"I guess you're right" Twilight said with a sigh.

Fluttershy moved a bit so Twilight had more room. The unicorn smiled at the pegasus and tucked herself in, bringing the bed sheets to her neck. The others did the same, and the room was quiet once again. Twilight closed her eyes, hoping the sweet grasp of sleep would come, but she wasn't so lucky. Just as she was about to drift off, a green flame lit up the room, and finished with Spike holding a letter.

"Consarnit' Spike! Can't you keep-" Applejack yelled, but quickly stopped once she realised who the sender was.

Twilight pondered about the reasons that would make her mentor send a letter at this time of night, but once she had finished reading the letter, her face was the definition of terror. She read the letter over and over again, not believing the information that was pouring into her head.

"Is everything alright, darling? You seem awfully pale" Rarity said, genuinely worried for her friend.

Twilight read out the letter from her mentor and they all shared look that Twilight felt when she had first read the letter. Fluttershy hid under the covers, as if they could repel all the bad things. Applejack tried to remain calm and composed but she was nibbling on her hat. Rarity's eyes widened and her mouth was agape. She was pale and looked like she was about to faint, while Rainbow Dash's snores could be heard from downstairs.

"But what are we gonna do without Pinkie?" Twilight blurted.

"Well, sugarcube, looks like we're gonna hafta' face this one wit' out her"

~~~

"So let me get this straight. You woke me up so that we could beat some bad guy, save Equestria, get a big celebration and go home?" Rainbow asked no one in particular.

"Yes" Twilight replied.

"There's only one thing that I don't understand. Why couldn't we wait until morning?" Rainbow Dash said with annoyance in her voice.

"We had to! The princess said that this was important!"

"Can you please keep yer' voices down. We're almost there!" Applejack whispered harshly.

The city of Cantorlot came into view. The magnificent city which housed many ponies, which included many famous ponies. The once beautiful city was dark and quiet. Even if it was late, there should have been some light on.

Twilight built up her magic and teleported herself and her friends into the city, causing a flash of purple light. The group materialised in the middle of the city.

The street lamps were off, and everything seemed to have a gray tint, as if the life had been sucked out of the city. The street was deserted, nopony could be seen and there was an eerie quiet that was unnatural for such a big city.

The five mares wandered down the street, packed together, heading towards the Princess Celestia's castle.

"Ah don't like the looks of this, Twi'". Applejack said with hesitation, which was a first for the mare.

Twilight scanned the street for movement. You'd think that if something bad happened, there would be some destruction. Yet there was nothing. The  streets were immaculate. Nothing tipped over, no broken windows or broken-down doors, not even litter on the streets.

"Is anypony here!?" Twilight called out, hoping for any kind of response.

Rainbow Dash swooped in and clamped a hoof over Twilight's mouth.

She looked around before hissing "Are you crazy!? We don't know what's out there!"

"Calm down, darling, we must work together for this mission to be successful, even if we are one pony short" Rarity said, looking a touch saddened.

They all thought of the pink, party pony and couldn't help but wish she was here right now.

After around twenty minutes of walking through the desolate city, they reached the royal castle, which housed Princess Celestia and Luna. Normally, the castle would be well lit and very inviting, it's magnificence showering Canterlot and putting many mansions to shame. However, like the rest of the buildings, it seemed to have a gray tint and seemed to radiate and sense of dread.

Twilight gulped and took a step forward. She pushed on the giant doors which revealed a dark, winding corridor, which seemed strangely long for the castle. Fluttershy was cowering at the back and emitted a small "eep!"

Twilight took the first step forward. Her horn started glowing, causing a her surroundings to light up. She made her way forward with a gulp and the group followed behind her, Fluttershy trailing behind.

The group of mares walked cautiously towards the main throne room, constantly looking around for something that wasn't there. The corridors were pitch black with only Twilight's light illuminating the walls around her. It was unnerving and Fluttershy was slowing down.

"Come on Fluttershy! Keep up!" Rainbow yelled with a hint of annoyance.

"Don't worry sugarcube! We'll be right next to ya'" Applejack said in a reassuring tone.

"Okay..." Fluttershy replied meekly.

The yellow pegasus hurried back to the group, but something caught her eye.

"Angel?"

It appeared to be her bunny rabbit, however he was glowing gold. He had an impatient look on his face and was tapping his foot.

"What are you doing here?" Fluttershy asked in a calming voice.

The rabbit bolted as soon as Fluttershy trotted in his direction.

"W-wait!" Fluttershy yelled as she chased after her glowing pet.

Rainbow turned her head when she heard the sound of her friend yelling. She just got a glimpse of Fluttershy's rear before it disappeared into the darkness.

The rest of the group reacted slower than Rainbow Dash and didn't manage to see what had happened, however they did notice that they were one pony short.

"What happened!?" asked Twilight to nopony in particular.

"It was Fluttershy! she ran off in that direction!" The cyan pegasus said as she lifted her hoof towards the place where she managed to get a glimpse of her.

"B-but Rainbow Dash, that's impossible. You're pointing at a wall"

~~~

Fluttershy's wings ached as she flew after the bunny. She had been flying for about five minutes but a pony like her wasn't used to these hard, enduring tasks. However, Angel wasn't even breathing hard.

He was running at a steady pace that was the same speed as Fluttershy's flying. After a few more minutes of flying, Fluttershy's wings were begging her to stop and eventually she listened. Her hooves touched the ground, or so she thought. Once the yellow pegasus looked down, she saw... nothing. No floor, no walls, no nothing. Just darkness.

The timid pegasus emitted a loud squeal and trotted slowly backwards towards more darkness. The endless darkness.

"No! This can't happen! Where am I?" She whimpered, close to tears.

She ran forward, tears rolling down her cheeks. She ran left, right, forwards and backwards, she flew high and low but there was no end to the darkness.

However, for the timid pegasus, that wasn't the worst part. While the dark was terrifying it was nothing compared to her biggest fear, second only to dragons. And that fear was being lonely. Nopony to share her feelings with, to talk too, to hug. Nopony to comfort her fears.

The pony's mind was swirling with thoughts that plagued her, slowly driving her into madness.

Will I be here forever? Will I ever see my friends again? Am I going to die?

After what felt like an eternity, she fell to the ground (or what seemed like a flat surface) and silently wept, with a small, demented smile on her face.

*SNAP*

~~~

"We can't just leave her!" Rainbow pleaded "She might be in pain right now!"

"Ah agree! Fluttershy ain't a strong pony like us!" added Applejack.

"That may be true but we can't risk going to find her! Something might happen to us!" Twilight countered.

"We have to be rational about this! Haven't you heard the expression 'Live to fight another day'?" Rarity said.

The mares were in a heated debate about Fluttershy. The group was split cleanly in half for 'for' and 'against'. All the while, the group was running out of time. The dark corridor echoed with their voices.

"We gotta look fer' her!"

"We must stay true to our task!"

"She's all by herself! Fluttershy! All by herself!"

"The princesses are counting on us!"

They glared at each other, the magic of a certain being sprinkling on them, causing resentment and fear to bloom in their hearts. They were divided and nothing would bring them back together. Or would it?

"This is getting crazy!" The cyan pegasus screamed, clutching her head. "I'm gonna look for her myself!"

She flew off at maximum speed, gritting her teeth and hoping for the best. It was so sudden that Twilight and Rarity didn't react fast enough to catch her with their magic. All they saw was a blue figure disappearing into the darkness.

~~~

The rainbow maned pegasus flew as fast as she could for as long as she could. However, maintaining a 400mph speed for an extended period of time is an incredible feat and she was soon slowing down.

She came to a stop in the middle of the corridor, squinting her eyes and trying to look around. It was futile, as everything was pitch black, so she ended up against the wall, feeling for anything that would help her locate her friend, Fluttershy. She didn't know if it would help, but she was tired and was running out of ideas.

After a couple of minutes of stumbling and cursing, a small light began to emit from the end of the corridor. Her wings were still tired from flying so she ran as fast as she could, happy to be able to see something. Upon closer inspection, she noticed a curved figure that resembled a pony.

"Fluttershy!" She yelled triumphantly.

As the cyan pegasus ran towards the bright light and her friend, the pegasus seemed to disappear behind something. Nevertheless, she kept running until she was right in front of the glowing light. It was blinding her and she held a hoof up to her eyes. It came out of a narrow door way while the door itself hung ajar.

The loyal pony entered hesitantly, eager to find her friend. As she stepped in, the door slammed shut behind her which caused her to jump a little.

"Hello? Fluttershy? Are you there?" She yelled.

She was in an abyss, yet it was completely white. She looked around, not sure what to think or do. Luckily, the door behind her still remained. It was untouched and floating, like herself. She hesitantly reached out to it, unsure of where it would lead her.

"What am I thinking? Where else could it lead me but back to the corridor?" She thought to herself, however she couldn't get rid of that inkling of doubt in her mind.

She gripped the knob with both hooves and pulled slowly. She gulped and peeked at the other side of the door. To her surprise, it replied with the interior of Twilight's library.

The cyan mare looked puzzled but relieved. At least it wasn't some pony-eating dragon or something. She walked through, looking around. She saw her five friends, standing side-by-side, including Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. She ran up to the two mares and grinned wildly. She gave them an uncharacteristic hug with unexpected consequences.

"What are you doing?" Shouted Pinkie Pie.

"Get off of me!" Yelled Fluttershy.

They pushed the mare off and she fell to the floor with a loud thump. The mare had a bewildered look on her face as she stared at the two ponies, who were growling at her. Fluttershy, a kind and loving pony and Pinkie Pie, an excitable and friendly mare had just refused a hug.

As soon as she regained her senses, she shot up and faced the two ponies.

"What was that for, huh?!" Barked Rainbow Dash. "I was worried about you two! As soon as I saw you, I was so happy! And then yo-"

That was as far as she got until she felt a sharp pain on her body. She soon found her hooves had left the ground as she tumbled into a bookshelf. She was assaulted by encyclopedias and dictionaries but that was nothing to the pain she felt in her rib cage. It felt like she had just been hit by a hammer. Something was definitely broken.

She looked up to see an orange pony smirk at her. She had an evil glint in her eye as she stared back at the cyan mare.

"Oh I'm sorry. Did tha' hurt?" She asked sarcastically.

The pony laid a hoof on Rainbow's wing. Just the weight of the hoof managed to send waves of pain. A pegasus's wings are her most precious and most sensitive part of her body. Applejack applied more pressure until Rainbow was screaming in agony. Tears streamed down her face as the four other ponies surrounded her.

"W-w-why?" She managed to say between the sobs and gasps.

"Why? It's because we're tired of you, Rainbow Dash" Twilight snarled.

"We hate how you look and how you act!" Added Rarity.

"You don't mean a thing to us now!" snorted Pinkie.

"This friendship is officially over" Fluttershy said in a matter-of-fact way.

Applejack just smiled at her, which just made the pain hurt more.

Mercifully, Applejack lifted her hoof off of her wing. The five mares walked away without looking back. As soon as they were gone, Rainbow Dash looked back at the door. Although the bruises on her body and her broken ribs hurt, they were nothing compared to the pain she felt in her heart.

*SNAP*

*Author's notes*

Sure has been a while, hasn't it?

I know, I know, I've been a bad person and I am truly sorry for it!

If you haven't read my blog post about it then here it is.

And I totally haven't been playing video games non-stop for the past couple of weeks. Especially Man vs Machine

Anyway, hope you enjoyed!

~Armarillos