Fallen Crown, Rising Sword

You know, if two years ago, you came up to me and told me that I'd meet an otherworldly being whom I'll fall in love with,  then leave only to have another otherworldly being to take over Equestria. I would've called you the craziest pony alive. But now... not so much. And two years ago, I would be welcoming anypony to Equestria instead of trying to keep astray from our home. After he left, it all fell apart, I kinda can blame him, but did he know this was going to happen? I could tell you an answer if I had his response. He promised me, he promised that he would return one day, and that day hasn't come.

A year after, well almost a year after he left, these dark clouds were rolling in, and not just in Ponyville, but in Canterlot, Las Pegasus, Manehatten, and Vanhoover. Weather teams tried their all to rid these clouds from our lands, but they persisted. Celestia appointed me to track where these mysterious clouds were originating from, and with extensive research, tracking, and observations, these clouds were coming from somewhere deep in the Everfree.

But even then, I was dumbfounded even though the answer was right there, the only pony to ever have known where otherworldly things lie. That's when I had to report to Celestia that these weren't clouds, but *something else** entirely. Sure, it might have actually taken me a few weeks to even figure it out, but how did I know at the time?*

I'd like to blame him, but I can't. He did miss my coronation... but how would I have even let him know? He left me with a pendant and told me one thing; "I will return, that's a promise, and when I do, this will let you know." I was going to ask him how, but even then, I think I know. Reports are coming in from my informant network I successfully established. Each report is a sighting, and these sightings are appearing more and more amongst citizens, and more importantly, Ponyville. Each one the same; a cloaked figure with one eyes covered, the eye is a bright red that can be seen in the night, hangs around bedroom windows, stares to his targets for a few hours, then disappears.

If it weren't for the red eye, I wouldn't know who it was, but then again, I could be wrong. Anyway, these clouds, this being I suppose, made itself know the day Canterlot fell. Fear, it called itself, announcing to the entire population simultaneously. Tell all of us to bow before it like our rulers were forced to. Too bad it overlooked me. But I have hope, a hope that someday, the one that can stop this all, will come back, to save Equestria form this rule, to comeback for me.

Twilight closed her journal with an audible sigh, placing the quill down and wrapping a hand around her pendant. A lone candle flickered as the only light source in the room Illuminating just her front and the desk. Shadows crept along the backdrop of the flickers, dancing on the walls with the fire.

"Dammit Infinity..." She silently cursed to herself.

Tears started to stream down her face, thoughts of the wolf-slash-pegasus filled her thoughts. They were good, sometimes bad times, still could bring a smile to her face even when crying. Twilight's hand released the bronze pendant as she let out a small whimper. The peridot jewel in the center of the bronze shining in the dim light. She slid her chair back, the tee that covered her torso, quite possibly the only thing she had on tonight, and trudged towards the stairs. The candle went out with a bit of magic, but even then, she forgot to check the window.

With slow movements, Twilight climbed into her warm bed, though now if felt empty to her without her love there. She faced away from her bedroom window. Spike was sleeping comfortably in a guest room somewhere downstairs. Some wind rustled the outside branches of the library.

"Happy anniversary Infinity, I guess." Twilight spoke softly again closing her eyes and turning over to face the window, opening them again.

Twilight almost didn't believe what she saw. Even though it was pitch black, there was a single, red eye staring in at her. This intrigued her since that was a second-story window with no support for any one pony to be sitting as still as this figure was. There would've been atleast some sway if the figure was on a ladder or the shoulders of some other ponies.

She just stared back, immediately sitting up, not wanting to blink out of fear that the figure would be gone. They both stared for while, Twilight starting to fall sleepy. A flash of yellow-green fell over the red iris for a brief moment. A familiar dizziness fell over with a small smile, now she knew.

The next morning was a bit of drag, like it has been for the past year. Dreary grey clouds just barely letting any of Celestia's glorious morning rays to break though. Twilight's eyes fluttered open, an elongated yawn,and a slow push of her chest off the bed. Propping herself on her elbows, Twilight rubbed the sleep from her eyes, wings standing on in from the previous dream. Even though those around her were having nightmares, she wasn't. Twilight had guessed that Infinity had put some magic over her, the pendant, or the library. It was anypony's guess. But she continued one with her day, getting ready for a long, boring day ahead.

Twilight was awoken from the makeshift pillow of books on the front desk by a knock on the front door. With a slink here and slunk there, Twilight was being a bit lazy considering how late she was up last night. She trudged, like she did to her bed last night, to the door and opened it just the slightest. Rarity quickly barged in without a question nor aware that Twilight was just on the other side of the door, ready to poke her head out for a greeting.

"Darling, I know that're you're busy and all, but something just came up and it calls for an emergency meeting." Rarity rambled on.

"And what's so important to have you barging on in?" Twilight asked, rubbing her snout.

"It has to do with Rainbow dear."

Twilight didn't ask any further questions and rush out the door with Rarity following close. If it involved her friends, something was going down. The question is, what? Rarity soon took the lead, their meeting locations usually changing due to the fact that various scouts have been put under the Fear's control. Sometime Twilight would have to be gotten and sometimes she'd have to send ponies to fetch ponies. Very confusing at times, but worth the secrecy.

It didn't take too much time to reach their new meeting location, and it looked like it was being held in Applejack's apple cellar, not ideal, but again, worth the secrecy. Rarity closed the door quietly behind Twilight and the two continued down the hall. Upon meeting the brightly lit main room of the cellar, standing in a circle, were Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie. Dash actually looked more timid than Fluttershy would on any given, a characteristic unlike the brave RD.

"Rainbow..." Twilight caught the cyan mares attention, causing her to jump a bit, "... Are you all right?"

"All right? I'm far from 'all right' Twi! I got a visit last night, by two things!" Rainbow blurted out, nervous breakdown was occurring.

"Just calm down RD, tell us what happened." Twilight insisted, looking at the pegasus with a soft look.

"Well... it was late, right? And I was..."

Rainbow was getting ready for bed, performing some of her routine nightly exercises in her room. For all she knew, she was all alone inside. Some motivational music blaring as she finished up. Her mane was matted down with sweat along with her fur, a sure fire sign that it was time for a shower since she didn't like sleeping in her own filth. Grabbing a towel and fiddling with the thunder cloud for the right temperature, Rainbow stepped in, letting the warm falls take her.

"Rainbow...." A whisper called out.

She tugged the curtain open and looked around the bathroom. Noone was there. With a shrug, Rainbow went back to her shower.

"Rainbow Dash....." The whisper called out again.

This time, the way the whisper sounded sent a chill up her spine. Rainbow quickly finished up her shower and got  out before anything else sorta creepy happened. She stopped at the doorway when she spotted a single red eye staring into her bedroom, what made her uneasy is that it was staring at her. Rainbow quickly flew over to close the blinds, she noticed that the eye belonged to a figure with no wings, but was floating at least 30 yards up to her window from the ground. The eye flashed a yellow-green tint over its red for only a second. Rainbow started to feel dizzy, sleepy even, collapsing to the floor and pulling the blinds down.

She awoke the next morning on the floor of her bedroom, still not an ounce of fabric to cover her assets. When she rose to her hooves, she noticed a folded up piece of paper on her nightstand.

"Do yah still have that there note?" Applejack asked.

Rainbow nodded and dug it out of her pocket and showed it to AJ, AJ then gently took it from Dash's hand and unfolded it, reading it over:

You have nothing to fear in your own home or outside of it. I have protected you and will be protecting you when you read this.

-IDA

"Well that's strange." Applejack commented. "It reads right here the same like mine, the same initials n' all."

The other four peeked over the farm pony's shoulder.

"Mine also." Rarity commented, fishing out the note.

"Mine reads the same too.." Fluttershy inserted, brining hers out too.

"Oo.. OOOO! Mine reads the same also! Isn't this just fun?" Pinkie Pie burst with joy, pulling her note out of her cotton candy mane.

"Signed by the same feller?" Applejack asked, the three nodding. "Well, I reckon that whoever this pony is, we might as well teach him a few things or two about peepin' on ponies."

"Especially mares." Rarity huffed.

"Wait a moment girls. You all just so happened to have been carrying these notes for whatever reason, and the only one who brought this to attention was Rainbow?" Twilight looked at the lot of them.

"Yeah it seemed important!" Rainbow stated. "Why just a few nights ago, this creep visited Fluttershy."

"And a few night before that, AJ." Fluttershy went on.

"N' a few nights before that, Rarity." Applejack nodded towards the fashionista.

"And that ruffian visited Pinkie first." Rarity had a finger at the mare in question.

"I thought it was exciting to be watched while I slept!" Pinkie perked up with a big smile, a few of the others looking at her strangely.

Twilight rolled her eyes, "So if this mystery figure visited Rainbow last night, then how was he also at my bedroom window?"

"You're usually up late studying, Egghead." Rainbow smirked.

"A bit more clever than we all think then, hm?" Twilight grew a big smile on her face. The other girls looking at her with questions on their minds.