Chapters Chapter 1
One Day Before Arrival
The young man groaned painfully as he opened his eyes. He coughed heavily, furthering the pain throughout his body with his uncoordinated body spasms. He felt himself crash to the floor, shooting massive amounts of agony through him. The young man felt cold against the hard floor.
He opened his eyes slowly. Blackness. He could see nothing but eerie darkness. But his eyes were fine?! How could he be blind?! He went to rub his eyes with his hands but felt himself fade into unconsciousness.
+++
Pain shot up through his spine and body, like something was exploding out from his back. He screamed in misery, but no words came out of his mouth. He screamed for someone to help him, but no one came.
The young man then felt his hands shrinking, forcing their ways into his hands like retractable claws except with the bone-crunching sounds they made as they imploded. He screamed even more, still afraid as he heard nothing. When his fingers had completely imploded, his hands began to widen.
He felt the unfathomable amount of pain in his hands as the widened and thickened, twisting his bones and ligaments into an absurd shape that he couldn’t quite place at the time.
At least the floor wasn’t hard anymore. It felt more like he was floating; not falling, but floating in place. Floating in the blackness he saw that swallowed his consciousness one last time.
+++
The pain in his back didn’t stop. The agony in his limbs didn’t cease. His brain was becoming overloaded as the pain of his transformation quickened to impossible speeds. He felt like he would explode.
But what was he changing into? He was well aware of the transformation within him now. He had felt the fur on his chest grow immeasurably. Was he to become a grotesque creature of hell, or perhaps his transformation could be an explanation to Bigfoot?
But whatever it was that he was to turn into, he did not want it. He wanted it to all be a dream; he wanted it to all be a hallucination caused by something he ate or drank. The pain was just too much. He couldn’t handle it. It was starting to crack his mind and soul…
The agony…
The misery…
It all came at once as his disproportioned body began to take new form. He felt his body give birth to two new appendages that grew out of his upper back. There was a moment of reprieve for him. He felt himself become blissful. Was it over? Was he to wake soon?
Suddenly, his neck snapped, cracked, and crunch under his head. He could scream as his neck began to deform itself like the rest of his body had. Then his mouth and nose began to grow too, hitting all of his senses with an overload of anguish and torment.
When would it just stop? He couldn’t take much more of it…he was going to lose his mind if the pain kept coming…
Just…
So much…
Pain.
+++
The pain subsided for increments of five minutes for each hour of agony until finally he felt his body begin to settle with its physical form. He couldn’t move anything though; the phantom pains still existed in him.
Then…
Everything became blissful, euphoric even. He felt his body finally come to peace with itself. Peace to end the war his body had fought.
But the peace was soon broken.
“Ah!!” he screamed, finally able to hear the blood curdling cries of anguish escaping him.
He felt his insides being to move around. He felt sick as his internals shifted and moved. He could feel his kidney press against his wall of skin and muscle, the only things keeping him in place. He felt his lungs begin to grow in size slightly, pressing against his diaphragm and ribs.
Crack! He felt his ribs shatter as his lungs pressed upwards against his body. He couldn’t breathe anymore. It felt like something was smothering him, choking his windpipe and preventing him to inhale or exhale.
Crack! He couldn’t scream as he felt bones begin to form in his new limbs all the while his ribs began to reform around his newly shaped internals. The bones in his new limbs grew from nothingness and out of the tiniest of spaces in-between the muscles and blood vessels. He felt said muscles and blood vessels begin to tear within him.
He couldn’t move still. The phantom pains and present pain were too much for him. If he moved his strained body even a little it hurt. Even breathing was starting to become impossible.
Just stop…wake me up please, he pleaded in his head.
He felt his heart tear into two. Then there was no more pain, phantom or otherwise. He shook, quivering in place as he floated in nothingness. He felt his heart split into two, literally. Straight down the middle his heart separated, gushing blood inside of him and all along his newly formed internals.
His eyes rolled into the back of his head…
Chapter 2
Day of Arrival
Twilight Sparkle looked in awe as the moon and sun connect into one. The moon was completely covering the sun, casting a hazy orange halo around the satellite. She didn’t dare look directly at it; she knew it would blind her.
“Now ain’t that a beautiful sight!”
Twilight looked over to her friend Applejack who sat on a patch of curly, green grass. They all sat in a line at the edge of a grand cliff starting with Twilight Sparkle at the far right followed by Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, and finally Rainbow Dash, who lied on her back, basking with a pair of dark sunglasses.
“It is quite nice,” Rarity spoke up, brushing some dirt off her quilt.
“I can do better,” the rainbow maned pony at the far end boasted. The other five ponies looked at her flatly. She turned her head and said, “What?”
Twilight Sparkle went back to watching the eclipse out of the corner of her eye. “Remember girls, don’t look straight at it. You’ll go blind.”
There was a moment of silence until the pink mare in the middle jumped up and shouted, “This calls for a Moon-Covering-The-Sun Party!”
“Pinkie,” Twilight giggled. “It’s called a solar eclipse.”
“Then this calls for a Solar Eclipse Party!”
The mares all giggled for a moment until Twilight herself jumped up.
“I forgot about Spike!”
“Oh, he’s fine, Twi,” Applejack started. “Besides, din’t he say he din’t want to come?”
Twilight nodded. “Yes. But I didn’t make dinner for him and I don’t want him blowing up the library.”
“Wait!” Pinkie exclaimed happily. “Just bring him to the Solar Eclipse Party! He can eat there!”
“Spike eats gems, darling,” Rarity interrupted casually. “I don’t suppose you…”
Pinkie, for seemingly nowhere, pulled out a massive gemstone cake and said, “Yep!”
There was a moment of silence as Twilight rolled her eyes. “I’ll bring him by. See ya, girls.”
Twilight began her quick gallop away from the cliff and through the small ticket of trees, back to Ponyville.
+++
“Spike!” Twilight called out as she entered through the library’s front door. She looked all around the entrance hall noting that nothing seemed to be out of place except that there was a fire burning now. The lamps weren’t on as well. She lit them with her magic and blew out the fire.
“Coming Twilight!” the high pitched squeal of her baby dragon called out. She watched the reptile come barreling down the stairs that wrapped around the tree to the other rooms of the library that served a dual purpose as Twilight’s residence. “What’s up?”
“We’re going to a party. Get ready.”
“A Pinkie Pie Party?” the purple reptile asked curiously.
The mare nodded, giving the dragon incentive to increase his movements to Twilight. He yelped as he jumped off the floor and onto Twilight’s back. “There ain’t no party like a Pinkie Pie Party!”
“Spike,” Twilight said softly, looking back at the baby dragon with contempt.
“Sorry. There isn’t a party like a Pinkie Pie Party.”
“Better.” She smirked and trotted out of the door. She held a hoof over her eye to look up at the sun and moon. They were still together. “This eclipse has lasted a long time. The moon should have moved by now.”
“Maybe Princess Luna has decided to move it yet.”
“The sun and moon move on their own now, Spike. They should’ve moved by now.”
The baby dragon shrugged and nudged Twilight to proceed to Sugar Cube Corner. She complied hesitantly, unsure of the length of the eclipse.
“What is that?!” Spike screamed fearfully, pointing up to the sky.
Twilight rolled her eyes and said, “That’s an eclipse, Spike. A rather long one, to be exact.”
“No!” He gripped Twilight by her pointy ears and reared her around as she yelped in pain. Twilight looked up into the sky and saw what Spike was pointing at. “That!” he hollered.
A small meteor was falling from the sky at alarming speeds. Twilight looked in awe as the clouds exploded into rings as it passed through them. Her lip quivered, watching the meteor fly past a flock of birds, turning them to ash immediately. A loud, concussive noise shot through the Unicorn’s ears, forcing her to clamp down on her ears painfully. She whimpered as the meteor flew past the overhead, casting a massive, deathly red shadow along the ground.
Twilight closed her eyes to not see it; she feared that it may soon turn to blood. She couldn’t stand the sight of blood and it always made her queasy. When the shadow had passed and the noise had finally ceased, she stood up slowly and worriedly, looking around at the ponies that had all down the same as her.
“It’s okay, everypony! It’s gone!” Twilight called out, catching their attentions. The many assortments of colors and sizes of ponies began to lift their fearful bodies from the ground and trot over to one another for protection, hoping it might help.
But when it seemed safe, Twilight looked up to the sky and saw a dreadful sight. The twisted and contorted shapes of the clouds exploded outward and disappeared in the air
Twilight felt a small pressure against her chest that knocked her back a step or two. She smiled in relief. She looked back at the baby dragon and said, “I thought the concussion would be…”
Boom!!
Everypony felt the massive blast of air toss them several feet backwards, but Twilight, having been directly underneath it, felt a massive shove to her back and knocked her head on the ground.
+++
“Wake up, egghead!” a rough voice demanded impatiently. Twilight’s eyes opened slowly. The world around her was a blur and nothing had a definite form; all she could make out was the cyan eyes of her friend Rainbow Dash. “We need you up and ready!”
“W-where’s Spike?”
“He’s okay, Twi,” Twilight heard Applejack speak in her syllable-slurring accent. “He’s just unconscious, but we need you up right now!”
Twilight shook her head and blinked numerous times until her vision had become completely restored.
“What happened?” she stammered. The Unicorn looked all around the neighborhood and saw that all of the windows had imploded into the houses and businesses. She looked back at her library and saw a large crack running down the middle, ready to split.
“Something fell really fast!” Rainbow Dash shouted, brandishing one of her wings. A few feathers were blackened around the edges. “It charred a couple of my feathers!”
“Oh my Celestia!” Twilight gasped. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, but I’m in the mood to kick some meteor butt!”
Applejack rolled her eyes and nudged Twilight briefly. “We’ve got ta go check it ou’ and make sure it’s safe.”
Twilight nodded and took one final glance around the now empty streets of Ponyville. “But where is everypony?”
“Pinkie Pie and Rarity evacuated the town with Mayor Mare,” Applejack explained hastily, “and Fluttershy is taking care of Spike in the library.”
Twilight nodded in confirmation. “Okay, then. Let’s go.”
The trio then galloped through Ponyville and to the Everfree Forest as quickly as their legs would take them. Rainbow Dash flew ahead to see the damage the meteor had caused and if it was okay to proceed.
Twilight Sparkle and her two friends stood at the boundary line of Ponyville and the Everfree Forest. Rainbow Dash ascended fearfully hoping that her eyes would deceive her.
“There are a lot of burning trees and a dust cloud in the distance.” She descended and looked at Applejack first then Twilight. “Maybe we should wait until someone gets here from Canterlot. We aren’t exactly experts on meteors.”
“R.D.’s got a point, Twi. Maybe we should wait.” She rubbed the back of her head, realizing the irony of her words.
Twilight glanced at her friends for a brief second and shook her head. “No. Zecora lives in the forest and might need our help. Plus, the meteor might be emitting dangerous radiation. I have to get there and cast a barrier spell around it before it can do too much damage.”
The two ponies sensed Twilight’s uneasiness and fear of the journey ahead. None of them wanted to go, but Twilight’s reasoning drained theme of all their fear and replaced it with bravery. Twilight was right. They had a duty to make sure Zecora wasn’t hurt. She was their friend, but Rainbow Dash was unsure if the forest was worth protecting.
Twilight took a soft step forwards, crossing the naturally drawn line and entered the Everfree Forest. Applejack and Rainbow Dash followed slowly.
+++
The smell of sulfur and burning leaves stained Twilight’s nostrils and brought tears to her eyes. She couldn’t imagine anything more horrifying. The trees were no longer burning, however, and the smoke and dust that the meteor had thrown into the sky had begun to slowly drop to the ground, obscuring the trio’s vision.
“We can’t hardly see two feet in front of us,” Applejack stated, squinting her eyes and rubbing one when some dust caught itself in her eye. “Can you help us out, Twilight?”
The Unicorn nodded and her horn began to glow brightly. Suddenly, the fog spread thin around them and disappeared right before their eyes.
“Thank ya.”
Twilight merely nodded as the continued walking. She hadn’t spoken a word since she had entered the forest. The other two mares hoped it was simply fear preventing her speech. They were in fact in the Everfree Forest and heading towards a meteor’s crash site.
But they were wrong. Fear wasn’t holding Twilight’s lips shut. She could feel something around her, like a black veil of shadows washing over her. She felt cold against the heat ever increasing heat as they approached the crash site.
She felt dirty too. Twilight looked around herself briefly and noted that she was only dirty on her hooves, but that was an everyday occurrence. Why did she feel so dirty and sinful? Had she done something wrong earlier and wasn’t feeling the guilt until then? She looked back on the previous hours of her life and couldn’t think of anything. Had she been late for a letter to the Princess?
She shrugged off the thought. She had sent one only two days prior on its due date about embracing your friends’ differences and compromising with them. She smiled with remembrance as she thought of her sleepover with Rarity and Applejack, who were perhaps polar opposites. It had been an interesting night.
But she felt so…dirty?
“Hey, guys, I don’t mean to worry you but…”
Applejack and Twilight turned their attention to Rainbow Dash who floated gracefully in the air with her hoof pointed towards the thicket of trees surrounding them.
“Whatcha lookin’ at?”
“Someone’s out there,” Rainbow Dash said, voice cracking with fear. “Or something …”
Twilight looked towards the trees lining the path they walked the same path they had trekked the day she confronted Nightmare Moon. There was definitely something there and Twilight knew she couldn’t continue without her friends. They were the pillars of her momentary courage and without them she would simply fall apart on the way through the dark and foreboding forest.
“Who is there?” Twilight Sparkle called out, legs beginning to shake.
“No need to fear,” a stranger’s voice said calmly. “Tis I who is here.”
“And who is ‘I’?” Rainbow Dash replied.
A form came out of the thicket wearing a dark cloak over her head. A black toed hoof pulled back the hood, revealing the familiar face of the Everfree-dwelling zebra.
“We need to find the meteor and seal it off, Rainbow,” Twilight pointed out.
“But…”
“No, buts. I need to do this and
“Zecora!” Twilight exclaimed gleefully. She raced over to the zebra but was stopped by her outright hoof. “Are you alright?”
“I am quite fine, but I believe this to be a sign.”
“Of what?” Applejack asked worriedly.
“I know you feel the presence of self-disgust”—Twilight nodded alongside her friends, giving sudden relief to Twilight—“but its roots’ finding are a must.”
“Can we just get out of here?” Rainbow Dash replied fearfully.
“What’s the matter, RD? A little scared?” Applejack taunted.
“No!” she snapped back, taking a quick look around at the forest. “This place is just really…really creepy.”
“I shall head back to Ponyville, friends,” Zecora stated coldly, interrupting Rainbow Dash’s fearful explanation. “And you’d be wise to follow and avoid your ends.”
Twilight watched Zecora start down the path towards Ponyville, throwing her hood back over her head. Rainbow Dash looked from Zecora to Twilight, catching her attention. The purple mare gave a look of doubt towards Rainbow Dash, hoping she wouldn’t leave.
The blue pony sighed and went to Twilight’s side.
“For a moment there,” applejack started, “I thought yer gonna leave us.”
“I couldn’t leave you guys, anyway.” Rainbow Dash laughed uneasily. “Besides, who’s gonna be there if you guys get in trouble?”
Twilight smiled happily and the trio continued their walk down the path.
After several minutes of walking, Twilight turned her head around to see her friends far behind her. Their paces had become less and less lengthy. She galloped to the two mares and nuzzled them both affectionately.
“What’s wrong?”
“I feel…” Applejack cast a look downwards. “Dirty.” She spoke of it like it was unusual for her. The Apple family lived and worked on a farm so being dirty wasn’t a big deal, but Applejack couldn’t help but feel different about it this time. It wasn’t an outer filth that she felt, but a disgusting nature inside of her.
Twilight looked at Rainbow Dash, who now stood on the ground with her wings drooping at her sides depressingly. She must’ve been feeling the same way.
“Do you see now? If we don’t seal it off, that meteor is going to make everypony feel like this. We can’t let that happen. Come on, girls. We’ve got to keep going.”
The two mares looked at one another and nodded confidently.
“Let’s go!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, wings popping into the air for a moment in her excitement.
Twilight Sparkle smiled at her friends as they began to lead the way instead of her.
+++
The trees became more and more charred, burnt, and destroyed—sometimes even turning to ash—as they drew near the crash site. The ponies barred their senses and minds from the strange effects of the meteor, but the meteor was not what was affecting them now.
Twilight watched Applejack fall to her side and begin coughing wildly. The smog of the meteor was beginning to smother them once again but this time with a much thicker smoke. The ponies could feel their lungs straining to keep up with the low amounts of oxygen around them.
The Unicorn squinted and made her horn burn brightly, but the smoke was too thick for her magic. Twilight felt her legs begin to shake underneath her and she too fell to her side. Rainbow Dash hurried to Twilight and lifted her up carefully.
“We have to go back…” she stuttered.
Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Just give me ten seconds.”
The blue mare stood up on her back legs and unfolded her grand, mighty wings. With a single, massive wave of the feathery appendages, the smoke had spread thin once again. Applejack coughed painfully and whimpered in misery.
“My lungs…” she moaned. “I…I couldn’t breathe…”
Rainbow Dash cuddled her friend gently. “Come on! We’ve got a job to do!”
“No!” Twilight exclaimed, slamming her weak hoof to the ground she lay on. The Unicorn brought herself up and said adamantly, “It’s too dangerous for all of us, but this needs to be done. You two head back and get help, I’ll stay and try to contain whatever this thing is causing to us.”
“Twi…”
The purple Unicorn didn’t give the two ponies time to object before her horn glowed brightly and a blinding light shined throughout the section of the forest they were in. Twilight coughed and gagged and winced in agony as her horn sparked from its massive overload.
Her eyes opened and saw that she was alone with the smoke beginning to come around her. Without dwelling on her choice of action for long, the Unicorn slowly continued walking along the path in the forest.
She wobbled back and forth along the path until she came to a clearing.
But Twilight’s vision became blurry from weariness. She trotted along the open clearing, feeling the warm sand beneath her. The Everfree Forest didn’t have sand though. As she continued to, nearly, blindly walk towards what see could only assume was the center…
Something inside of her was sad. It felt so miserable. Why did she feel that way? She had friends and family that loved her and that was what she had ever truly wanted. Even learning had never brought her as much joy as her friends and family…
But it also felt like it wasn’t her feelings. It felt like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle that didn’t fit with any of the other pieces given. Like a square trying to fit into a circular hole.
Twilight Sparkle saw something begin to glow ahead of her, but her blurred vision prevented her from seeing what it was. The glowing was outlined in white but filled with black…a black she could only describe, even with her massive vocabulary, as eternal and destructive. The white outline looked familiar though, like she had seen it somewhere before within a small amount of time.
Then the outline began to pulse, and with each pulse of light, a small wave of heat blew across Twilight and it created feelings of hatred through her. Hatred not unlike that of self-loathing. It was like another jigsaw piece that didn’t belong.
“AHHH!!!!”
A massive flash of light exploded from the object ahead of her as the sound of a blood-curdling and animalistic scream, full of agony and misery, rang through the Unicorn’s young ears, racking every nerve throughout her body with fright. With the sudden terror she felt as well as the massive amount of light entering her eyes at once, her vision became instantly unblurred.
The light faded from existence, leaving a twinkling trail in the sky that shot towards the north.
Twilight looked around slowly, still tired and horn still in agony to the point that even the slightest of winds could cause her pain. At least the smog had vanished as though it had never been there…
But what caught her eye was the gigantic crater directly in front of her as well as the surrounding area. Trees were blown backward away from the impact zone and were scorched, curling their branches to terrifying forms, a normal encounter should a meteor fall…
But the ground was no long made of soil but loose, grainy sand; and everything was cold.
Twilight watched her breath become steam right before her eyes despite only moments ago it being exceedingly warm. It was summer anyway; there wasn’t to be a cold front for months. Then she inspected the ice sickles that had suddenly formed in front of her on the branches of a nearby tree…
Her lip quivered with fear and anxiety as she saw frozen fire. The flames created by the meteor had been frozen…pure heat had been crystalized in a single moment of worrying cold.
Everything was so confusing to the young Unicorn that her brain began to hurt with these new and impossible discoveries. Nothing could cause these things to happen, not even magic. She advanced towards the large crater, hoping to find an explanation to what was causing such changes in herself and her environment. Why was she feeling things that weren’t her feelings? Why was everything around her destroyed?
But what she found was only the more terrifying and mentally attacking than anything she could have imagined…
There was nothing occupying the depths of the crater. Nothing but smoldering rocks and frozen flames that somehow were able to co-exist so close to one another.
Twilight felt her brain begin to fall apart and she soon became unconscious, unable to deal with her discoveries and the final and single most powerful and devastatingly horrid feeling to become a part of her:
She felt lonely.
Chapter 4
One Week After Arrival
“Twilight! Wake up!”
The Unicorn mare sat straight up in her bed, knocking a scaly animal to the floor. She looked around wildly, breaking out into a cold sweat. Her eyes were wide, bloodshot, and shaking with her body. Twilight looked down at her pet dragon and took him in her arms sacredly.
“Oh Spike!” She squeezed the baby dragon helplessly.
“Twilight…” he gasped, pushing himself away to no avail. “Can’t breathe…”
But she didn’t hear him. Terror still coursed through her veins. “I had another nightmare…”
“I can tell…” he replied still gasping for air. She finally let him go. “That’s three in one week. I think you need help.”
Twilight nodded. “But who do I talk to?”
“Celestia, maybe?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know if I should tell her about my dreams.”
“What about Rarity or Applejack? What about our friends?”
Twilight merely shrugged. “I don’t think I should tell them either.”
Spike edged closer to the purple mare and nuzzled her shoulder affectionately worried. “You can tell me.”
She pushed Spike away slightly and placed her head on her pillow again, leaving the blanket down at her waist. She didn’t know how to talk to anyone anymore. Her dreams were her escape, but now they seemed so plagued by metal monsters, blood, and war, not to mention the inevitable mantra at the end of each of her dreams:
Find him.
But find who? Her brother? Father? Some unidentified stallion that may have crossed paths with her? But the dreams hadn’t began until after the meteor incident; she could only theorize that whatever was making her act so differently near the crash site was also making her dreams so strange.
“Spike, can you promise me something?”
Spike leaned in close and nodded.
“Please don’t tell anyone about my nightmares. I need to figure a few things out first.”
Spike raised a scaly eyebrow to his owner and sighed compliantly. “But only if you don’t get hurt. The moment you get hurt because of this, I’m going straight to Princess Celestia.”
“Agreed.”
+++
The doorbell rang at the library front door and Twilight stumbled out of bed lazily. She rubbed her crusty eyes open and looked around her bedroom for Spike. He was nowhere to be found. She stumbled out of her room and walked down the stairs wrapping around the inner edge of the tree she lived in.
The doorbell rang, sending an annoying screech through her ears that made her wince. The Unicorn looked around the main level of the library and saw Spike lying in front of the unlit fireplace, sleeping soundly.
“Spike!” she snapped angrily. The purple baby dragon shot awake and looked around intensely.
“What?!” he called to attention.
Twilight waited for the bell to ring one last time, but even then Spike hadn’t noticed the source of her frustration. She scoffed angrily and opened the door with a sneer.
“What?”
“Twilight, dear,” the white mare in front of her started. “I have the greatest thing to share with you…”
“I don’t care.” Twilight shut the door on Rarity and started for the stairs once again. The doorbell rang once again, echoing painfully through Twilight’s ears. She looked to the door and saw Spike ready to open the door for his beloved. “Open that door and I’ll starve you.”
Spike felt a sudden stabbing at his heart. “What?”
How could Twilight threaten him in such a way?
Why would Twilight even threaten him in the first place?!
The doorbell rang one final time and the purple mare immediately contemplated making the door disappear along with the doorbell, but she remembered her horn and how much it still pained her to even lift simple things.
She went to the door, grabbed Spike by his tail, and opened it, slamming it against the wall adjacent to it. She tossed Spike out to Rarity, who screamed in horror.
“I’m on my period,” she lied. “Leave me alone.” She shut the door one last time and headed back up to her room. She felt nothing when she curled up in her bed.
+++
“Has anypony else noticed how Twilight ain’t acting right since she got out of the hospital?”
Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity looked at Applejack, not wanting to admit something was wrong. Applejack needn’t any words.
“Plus, she’s hiding something.”
Pinkie Pie gasped from behind Applejack. She quickly bounced over to her empty seat at a round poker table that belonged to Applejack’s older brother, Big Macintosh. They were in the basement of the Apple Family Home and the smell of fresh apple pie always seemed to linger, though no pastries had been made.
“Twilight wouldn’t hide secrets from us!” the bubblegum mare exclaimed in disbelief. Her playful nature had seemingly escaped her completely with Applejack’s statement. “We’re her friends!”
The group all nodded as Spike came in with a pair of mugs full of apple cider. He set one next to Rarity and the other to Rainbow Dash, who gulped hers down quickly and lavishly spilling some on her muzzle. Nopony seemed to notice or care at the given moment; there had been other pressing matters.
“I know, Pinkie,” Applejack started doubtfully, “but I know when a pony is uh lyin’, and Twili’ isn’t a good liar.”
“But why would she want to hide things from us?” Rainbow Dash added.
“I don’t know. Spike, do you know anything?”
Spike turned away, passing a façade of heading back to the upstairs kitchen for more cider. He knew if he looked Applejack in the face and told her he didn’t, she would see through his lie. He would inadvertently be breaking his promise to Twilight.
“Nope,” he said, half pretending to be worrisome and the other half acting nonchalant. When he had left, the girls all looked at the sections of the table.
“I think it might be something about that meteor that came down. Maybe we should ask Celestia about it.”
“How are we supposed to get a message to Celestia, Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash scoffed.
“Well, we do have a dragon that regularly sends messages to Celestia.” Applejack pointed towards the steep steps leading to the ground floor of the Apple Family Home. “He’s bringing us cider.”
The cyan-eyed Pegasus nodded. “But what do we tell her?”
“We tell her the truth, or what we know of it.” Applejack nodded unwaveringly. “If I know anything, it’s that the truth is the best course of action.”
It wasn’t long until Spike came down with yet another pair of apple cider filled mugs and was immediately probed with demands.
“We need ya to send a letter to Celestia, Spike,” Applejack said.
He dropped one of the mugs and slipped in the mess, landing on his back with a loud bang. The first one to him was Fluttershy, who greeted him with a soft and kind smile.
“You okay?” she asked compassionately.
He nodded. “Why do you need me to send a letter?”
“Twilight needs help,” Rarity started. “Please Spikey-Wikey?”
The baby dragon felt sudden conflict in himself. If he agreed, he would informing the princess that something was wrong and Twilight would blame Spike, but if he didn’t then it would look like he was hiding something and therefore showing that he knew something. It would only take a little of Rarity’s sweet talk to get the truth out of him and he knew it.
But after a single second of thinking over the pros and cons of each, he threw it all away and realized that it was Twilight he was thinking about. She needed their help.
“I’ll get the paper,” he said quickly.
+++
Princess Luna looked down from her ledge at Canterlot Tower, feeling the sun lower and her sister’s moon rise. It was a splendid sight to watch the sun set to the west and moon enter its cycle to the east. She saw at the bottom of her vision her capital city bustling and growing microscopically below her. It was an even more prideful and magnificent sight. Lights and colors of all hues radiated below.
There was a soft knock at her chamber door. “Come in,” she said quickly.
“Um, we have something we’d like to show you down in the lab.”
The grand Alicorn princess turned from her balcony and trotted to the door where her citizen-worker stood. She looked at him curiously. “Truly?” He nodded to her. “Then let us go.”
She followed the properly dressed stallion down her spiraling staircase and out of her tower. They walked along a path lined in ostentatious tapestries dedicated to the Three Royals, but as she passed the final one and through a small door to a compact, stone corridor, the alabaster Alicorn felt the scratching at the back of her throat yet again as well as the swelling in her mind.
She couldn’t help but cough tremendously.
“Princess!” the scientist exclaimed worriedly. He went to her side but she shook her head.
“I’m fine, really. I just don’t like small spaces.”
The scientist nodded and led the way through the small corridor as fleetingly as he could and held open the metal door at the end of the hall. The room inside was a pasty white color with bright lights hanging above by small, but strong, strands of wire. All around the room was equipment ranging from doctoral to experimental and even to destructive.
The three other workers didn’t look up from their posts until the princess patted the ground with her hooves. They all looked up and stood at attention like militants.
“It’s okay. Please show me what you have discovered.”
“Okay.” The scientist walked over to the nearest display was. A large rock of crystalized flame was placed on a burning pad connect to a nozzle in the wall. “We have no idea what this is, so we’ve decided to just call it fire rock, but it’s not a rock.”
“Then what is it?”
“We don’t know, but all rocks have a degree of melting down or amount of pressure it can withstand without crushing. We had Luna’s dragon, Lilith, burn at this for hours and it hadn’t even bent. We also had three Unicorns as well as Percy over there to use their magic to crush it. Nothing.”
The princess raised an eyebrow at the strange and unsettling discoveries.
“Moving on”—he took several steps farther and stood next to a small cage—“and you’ll see this cage.”
“What’s so special about it?” Celestia felt something tickling her horn; it felt unpleasant. She looked at the bottom of the cage and saw a small pile of dirt.
“There used to be a squirrel in here.”
“What happened to it?”
“It died when we left it near the fire rock for too long.”
“It died? How?”
“We don’t know, but it decayed incredibly fast. Far too fast for even magic.”
Celestia looked at the fire rock and her citizens. “Is it safe for you to be working near it? I do not want anyone dying because of my own curiosity.”
“It is fine, princess. None of us have felt any different since it came here. Well except for one thing…”
“What?”
The scientist looked at his feet and at his colleagues. “When we went to study the crash site, we…uh…we didn’t act like we should have.”
“What do you mean?”
“We felt dirty,” one voice said behind Celestia. “And we’re scientists so that shouldn’t bother us…but it did.”
The princess nodded and said, “Do you care to elaborate?”
“We don’t know how really. Equestria has never experienced anything like this before. There hasn’t been anything recorded like this in all the years you have ruled and even prior to your rule. No myths, no legends. Nothing. Nothing has ever come to the planet that would cause things like this. Plus…” He hesitated.
“What?” Celestia suddenly felt an abnormal amount of worry.
“We were only there for ten minutes. Who knows what it could do to somepony if they stayed any longer.”
+++
Princess Celestia stood at her balcony once again, this time basking in her sister’s moonlight. The grand Alicorn closed her eyes slightly, feeling the nearby fireplace grace her flank and backs of her open wings with warmth.
Then she sensed something. Something that made her smile, washing away the itching sensation in her throat. Celestia turned towards the open fireplace and watched the orange flames transmute into flickering green and blue. The fire burst outward suddenly, charring the silk sheets slightly, but it did not bother the princess as the sheets and covers had always been charred from the first letter Twilight had sent.
Out of the sputtering flames, a rolled up piece of paper shot across the room, tearing hanging drapes and tapestry. It startled the princess, but she kept her composure. Instead, she went to the scroll and found it strangely out of Twilight’s style. The letter was highly out of order: it was folded and not rolled; there wasn’t a stamp indicating it was from Twilight, though the flames bore the same fire her dragon assistant had; and it wasn’t with Twilight’s Slimtree Gilded Paper, but with a common piece of lined parchment.
Why had Twilight chosen not to follow any of the guidelines set by Celestia? Had she simply been pressed on time and needed to send a letter quickly? It worried the princess, but she simply waved it off. Twilight was obviously just trying to adapt to her new life in Ponyville; being a little messy was going to be a norm.
The letter was embraced by a majestic white glow and unraveled it before her eyes. The first thing she noticed was that it was in fact written in Spike’s perfect cursive, one of his proud accomplishments, but it looked slightly rushed. Plus, the briefness of it was alarming.
Dear Princess Celestia,
This is Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and the whole group. We believe that there is something wrong with Twilight. She isn’t acting the same. She’s acting very differently and it worries us. Come as soon as possible.
Your Worried Subjects,
Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Spike
Princess Celestia looked over the letter numerous times, hoping that it was simply a cruel trick, but when nothing changed about the words and letter itself, the Princess of the Sun felt the itch at the back of her throat come back.
Celestia shook her head in disbelief. Was Twilight really acting differently? How different? Did she become a sex crazed mare or did she have murderous tendencies? Celestia had known ponies to have sudden shifts in behavior, but never expect her prized student to have such a thing happen.
What if she was simply growing up, and the traumatic experience with the meteor was simply hastening such an event? Celestia didn’t want to lose her innocent little filly. She wanted Twilight to stay adorable and pure forever, though knowing such a thing was impossible. Instead, she would settle for “as long as possible”.
The princess sat on her haunches and coughed for a moment, setting the paper on her night stand. Thoughts began racing through her head that worried her tremendously. The princess looked to her nightstand and used her magic to slide open the small drawer. She lifted the contents out and smiled at the large leather and yarn bound book.
She set it front of herself and looked at the hoof etched words on the front: Memories . Celestia always found it rather cliché to have a photo album, but for some reason, Twilight made her feel like she needed to have something to record their memories, even if they were only in single frames.
The princess flipped the photo album open to the first page, making an immediate mental note to take a carriage to Ponyville at dawn.
+++
Twilight Sparkle felt herself rise out of bed instinctively. The sun was barely over the horizon and the closer she looked out her bedroom window, the clearer she could make out a spot against the sun. It was growing large and large until she realized that it was heading straight for the library.
With a gasp, the Unicorn leapt out of bed and cried, “Spike! Meteor!”
But Spike was nowhere to be found. It took her mere moments to remember she had thrown him out to Rarity and locked the door. The Unicorn shook her head in self-disappointment. She had sent her friends away yet again.
The Unicorn went to her window slowly and peered out. The object flying towards her was not a meteor at all, but Princess Celestia riding on a carriage being pulled by two strong looking Pegasi.
There was small moment of dread that washed over her after seeing herself in the window’s transparent reflection. Her mane was out of control and unkempt; her eyes looked dark underneath and bloodshot. It had been a long night of dreams. Then she saw how the rest of her looked…
She looked miserably gray and pale, like all of the color and life had been flushed out of her.
Twilight returned her attention to the coming princess and noticed there were passengers with her…six randomly colored passengers. She recognized her friends sitting behind her mentor and became even more worried.
Fear struck Twilight in an imposing way, sending jolts of terror up and down her spine that raised the hairs on the back of her neck. The purple unicorn looked around her room wildly and unsure what she should do. She wasn’t ready to talk to anyone; she wasn’t even sure what was wrong with her.
What if Celestia was coming to chastise her?! The Unicorn shook her head furiously at the thought and flattened her ears to the back of her head. She couldn’t go through it again. Twilight wasn’t strong enough and knew that she would break down if Celestia brought her dreadful wrath upon her.
The Unicorn decided in a single flash of the instance her only choice…
She ran away from the library.
Chapter 5
One Week After Arrival
He felt like he had been drifting for an eternity. He felt so empty and cold. The world was so black and empty. He could feel grass sprouting out from underneath him, tickling his sides and new appendages that had grown out of his back. He opened his eyes but could only see black.
“Help…” he choked out and either he made no sound or he was deaf as well, but he heard nothing. “H-help…p-please…”
He felt the ground below him and it felt hard. The dirt stuck to him; he could sense it. There was wind, throwing itself over him malevolently. There was no warm.
Why was it so cold? Was he dead? Either way it wouldn’t matter to him. He’d rather be dead anyway.
But why was it so cold? Was death really that cold…or that painful? Had he become yet another twisted demon in the Devil’s army? Was that his new form?
He didn’t hurt anymore, but why did he still hurt? His worries should be gone; his misery should be missing and his doubts should be nonexistent. That’s what death was…right? A cowardly escape for a cowardly man?
No…not even a man. How could he even call himself human anymore?
But why was it so cold?
Was death truly a frozen grip or was Hell simply so far from Heaven’s light that everything was cold? Was Dante right with his interpretation of Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory? He surely deserved the place at the bottom of hell.
But why did it have to be so cold? Why was there grass? And wind? And…
Then he heard footsteps approaching him quickly. Two pairs beating against the ground.
Satyrs of Satan coming to take him to his pit to be held in place by ice made of the fires of hell. But the footsteps moved in a patterned unison, a beat that could only be created by a dog or horse.
They approached him slower when they had drawn relatively near. He heard a woman’s voice, kind, gentle, and…warm, speak to him:
“Are you okay?” It was oddly familiar. Lovely but familiar.
“Help me…” he choked yet again. She gasped and ran over to him quickly.
Why was a denizen of Hell trying to help him? Even if this was a lost soul, wandering the Devil’s mazes, she wouldn’t stop to aid him.
Then she touched him. She had hooves; he wasn’t sure how he knew what hooves should feel like, but he knew the feeling could only be hooves. She held him, cradling his head gently, in her arms…or forelegs He wasn’t sure, but she felt so soft against him; he wanted to just melt into her embrace.
“You look terrible! What happened?!” Her words sounded so caring and concerned. He never had such a tone sent towards him in such a long time that it felt sickening.
But he was lost in her soft embrace. He nuzzled against her chest wordlessly with a slight whimper. He tried not to injure his new, extended mouth so he set his head and closed eyes against her.
“I’m so cold…” he whimpered, voice muffled by her soft fur. She smelled like lavender.
He felt her wrist touch his forehead gently. “You’re burning up…”
He felt his head hang backwards, limp and lifeless. He was fading away again.
No no no no no…Hell or not, she’s being nice to me. I don’t want to go yet.
Exactly. Every time you want something, something bad happens. Don’t let her kindness end up hurting her. She’s in hell. She’s clearly got enough misery.
But I don’t want to sleep anymore. I don’t want to hurt.
You deserve it…
“Everything’s so cold…” he whispered placidly. He saw the slightest of colors beginning to appear in front of him. Something brown and yellow. Leaves?
He felt the stranger lift his head and his view of dead leaves was replaced with purple eyes…
Those eyes…he had no words for them. They were so beautiful, gazing back to him worriedly. He didn’t know if he was smiling, but he would have if he could feel anything.
But why was everything so cold?
+++
Twilight Sparkle had no idea where she was going, but she knew that it had to be away from the library. She couldn’t face her friends and mentor. She was too scared. She simply ran forward. She ran as fast and as far as her legs could take her. She didn’t stop for anypony; she crashed through crowds to escape her fear and people were beginning to yell at her angrily.
It only upset her more.
She ran and ran and ran, closing her eyes for most of it and hoping she wouldn’t run into anything hard. She ran until her legs began to hurt and then she kept running. She felt herself come to a slow halt despite her desire to keep going. Her legs would only take her so far.
Her legs began to buckle under her and she finally let herself rest against the slightly trodden path. She looked around, taking in the scenery of brown and yellow leaves littering the world around her. She took a breath inward, feeling her lip begin to quiver sadly.
The purple Unicorn began sobbing helplessly into her hooves. She felt so cowardly running from her problems. She would never do that but… she did. She cried heavily as she gazed around the forest around her, hoping to see somepony so she might to feel so alone.
But there was no one. She had run away from everypony. Her friends, neighbors, and even her teacher.
Something brilliant began shining to her left, something small and barely noticeable, but somehow, by some random chance, Twilight had noticed it. She turned her head towards the direction of the twinkling, but there was nothing indicating any kind of light except the sun above. Yet, for some strange reason, she was drawn towards that direction.
She stood slowly and trotted towards the small thicket, blindly following her instinct. She eventually came upon a strange sight far ahead of her.
There was a pony in front of her lying on their side. She could see the thinness of the pony even from her distance. She took several steps forward. She felt a surge of worry course through her, washing away her previous fears with new ones. She heard the pony ahead of her mumble something. It was pained and disgruntled, miserable even.
“Are you, okay?”
“Help me,” they replied painfully.
Twilight gasped and raced over to the pony on the ground and looked at them. It was a stallion, no older, if not a little more, than herself. His wings were curled around his shivering body. His eyes were open, revealing pale blue irises, but looked nowhere. There were dark spots under his eyes, turning his brick red fur into a disgusting purplish hue. Leaves had become entangled in his thick gray mane that was far more out of control than her own, and his face was cringed with fear and pain.
Instinctively, Twilight reached down and cradled the stallion’s head in her forelegs. He felt so warm against her and it was so comfortable. Just holding him there made Twilight begin to feel normal again…holding him protectively was making her feel…
Clean again.
“You look terrible!” she cried worriedly, unsure of what had happened to him to make him look so horrid…so thin and unhealthy. “What happened?”
He only shivered as though he were frozen and stuffed his face into Twilight’s chest like a scared child. “I’m so cold…” He whimpered so miserably that it was starting to upset Twilight.
The purple mare reached over and placed her wrist against his forehead. He resisted only slightly and she didn’t think he intended to. He must’ve done it completely out of instinct. But whatever instinct that controlled him didn’t explain why he felt like he was on fire. He felt as hot as boiling water.
Well, maybe not that far, Twilight thought. I wouldn’t be able to hold him otherwise.
“You’re burning up…” she replied, hoping it would calm this strange stallion in her hooves. Then, like it was queued by her words, his head hung backwards weakly and as though all support in his neck had given out. She quickly propped up his head, supporting his head even more. She looked all around hoping to find someone nearby, someone who he had been with. Maybe a friend who he had simply trailed away from.
But there was no one but the tiny creatures in the trees who were looking down at them curiously.
“Everything’s so cold…” he whispered plainly. He was so placid in saying it. Twilight was unsure of what he meant though. He was on fire.
Then their eyes met. He looked up at her helplessly, life in her hooves. His entire body was limb and lifeless, but his eyes were so lively and curious despite their pale and depressing look. He smiled strangely at her after a few moments and buried his face into her chest once again.
“You’re so warm…” he whispered, trailing off. Twilight pushed him off her chest to look at him; he had passed out.
“Oh no!” she said aloud. “What do I do? I can’t leave you here.”
Twilight looked up at the curious creatures above her and thought of something.
“Hey, I need your help!” she called out. Not even a second later, squirrels, birds, and other small animals came to Twilight’s side. No, they went to the stallion’s side and stood by him protectively. Twilight dismissed it quickly and said, “I need you all to go into town and tell Fluttershy where to find us. Tell her I’m in trouble and I have a friend with me.”
The largest of the pack of squirrels stood on its back feet and saluted Twilight affirmatively. The pack of small animals scurried away as the birds flew into the sky towards Ponyville.
Twilight looked down at the seemingly dying stallion in her arms and saw the strange smile on his face as he slipped farther and farther into death; his body began growing colder and colder just like he had said he felt. Yet she felt so horrible, and cold as well, with him dying before her. She didn’t know what to do! It was a feeling she was unfamiliar with.
She brought the stallion’s limp head up to her once again and began rocking back and forth, humming a tune from her childhood. She could hear him groan in discomfort, but each time she stopped humming, he would stop groaning and continue to fell farther and farther.
If humming was keeping him latched onto something in the physical world, then she would hum until her lungs and cheeks began to hurt.
Please don’t go, she said in her head, still humming a fillyhood lullaby. She looked around her and noticed how the trees had begun curling and the sky had darkened drastically. High above her, the clouds had disappeared and stars filled the sky. It wasn’t anytime near night, so why was it getting dark out.
Twilight was becoming more and more afraid as the darkness began surrounding her. Why was the sun gone? Where was the moon? The moon wasn’t in the sky, leaving only the stars.
I don’t want to be alone here. She listened to her own humming and felt herself become calmer and calmer.
His breathing became very slow and in the long pause between his two breaths, Twilight thought he had stopped completely, but his slight inhale brought her needed relief. She looked down at his unconscious body with a weak, uneasy smile, unsure of what to do for him.
At least he isn’t alone .
“I won’t leave you.” She placed her head and neck over his head as she cradled it caringly. And from seemingly nowhere, he spoke through his sleep:
“Don’t…” He didn’t speak another word.
Don’t leave. I know.
But Twilight could help but feel that she was wrong.
+++
Twilight woke up in her bed. She felt weak and was unable to more herself. There was nothing holding her down except the thin, lightweight blanket on her, but she couldn’t get up. She inspected her room and saw that it was exactly like she had left it: scattered books and lists with an assortment of dressing accessories she had bought for seasonal weather patterns.
But she didn’t feel different anymore. She felt normal and…clean.
She looked all around herself to find anyone, but there was no one. The curtains had been pulled over the windows, but light still slanted in through its transparency.
“Hello?” Twilight whispered weakly. She coughed for a moment and looked around once more, finally noticing the object on her nightstand. There was an oddly colored slinky that Twilight recognized from only a week before, a note with Celestia’s personal seal (a phoenix rising from a willow tree), and a many assortment of balloons that Twilight assumed were from Pinkie.
Twilight pulled her hoof out from under her blanket that still managed to restrict her to the bed and grabbed the letter first. Slowly, she opened it and read it:
Dear Twilight,
We found you and your friend and I have taken him to Ponyville General. He was in a pretty rough shape with bruises and cuts so you will have to do some explaining when I return. Plus, your friends wish to speak with you about a few things, though I believe that they misunderstood what you meant by “friend”, so they will understand your lack of communication and overall change in attitude.
However, I do know that this stallion you found was a complete stranger to you. You have said nothing to me about anypony like him, so do not try to use his presence as an excuse. You and I will speak about your sudden change here shortly.
Your Mentor,
Princess Celestia
Twilight looked over the letter only once, not needing to more than one time. She completely understood all of it the first time through except what Celestia had meant by her friends misunderstanding “friend”. What could they be thinking? Granted, he really wasn’t his friend, but they didn’t know that. Did they?
The purple Unicorn set the letter on the nightstand and grabbed the slinky. She smiled at Pinkie’s gift and played with it in her hooves for a few minutes. She wasn’t sure why she was enjoying the metal spring so much, but it was lightening her gloomy mood.
She just had so many questions and hoped that maybe Celestia had answers. She always did. Celestia knew everything. Well, everything within reason, to exclude things not yet discovered.
But Celestia knew what was wrong with Twilight, didn’t she?
Twilight, finally becoming content with the slinky, set it down beside her bed and pulled her blanket back over her shoulders and turned to her side, facing the empty half of her bed. She didn’t know she did it, but it bugged her when she slept on one side and not the middle.
But this time it felt like someone was there looking back at her.
And it felt nice to think someone was doing that.
Prologue
Four Months Before Arrival
It was a crisp autumn morning. Orange, red, brown, and yellow leaves descend from their branches, casting lovely shadows on the ground as they fell and delightful scents of fall. The sky was great and blue without a cloud to disturb it. It was to be one of the last days of the years where families could go out and enjoy the sunshine without worry of the cold.
A group of friends, comprising of two young ladies and three young men, walked along the sidewalk path. The tallest of the group lead the pack as he walked faster than the rest, outpacing them dramatically.
“Dude, slow down! It’s only noon,” a lean young man with black hair, long nose, and Mediterranean skin said calmly, holding his girlfriend along her thick shoulders. “We don’t have to be there for about two hours.”
The pack leader didn’t listen; he heard him but did not listen. If they wanted to walk slowly that was there business; he wanted to get there as soon as possible to avoid the congested waiting lines and the close proximity of others.
He did however listen to the whispers of his friends who believed he couldn’t hear them.
“What’s his problem?” the newest addition to the group asked conceitedly.
“He’s just weird,” a soft, light-hearted voice replied earnestly.
The young man at the front sighed, unsure if he shouldn’t walk home once he rounded the next corner. He knew he would have enough time to escape before his “friends” came around the corner themselves. At least when he was home, he had somewhere to escape to.
“He’s not weird,” the second girl, shoulders being covered by her lover’s arms. “He’s just special.”
“Really special,” the first man snickered. “I mean he’s got a freakin’ fedora on.”
The leading man touch off his hat and held it at his side for several more steps until the second girl said, “He’s just an ass.”
He stopped dead in his tracks and looked at the ground blankly, letting the group of four to pass him. After a few steps, the Mediterranean colored young man look back at the tall one worriedly. He took a few steps towards him and put a hand on his shoulder.
“Are you okay?”
The young man pushed the hand off of him and snarled, “I’m fine.”
Without another word, the group’s missing part rejoined and continued walking without the tall one. They walked without him for several blocks until one noticed out of the corner of their eye his missing form.
“Where’d he go?”
But the only clue left from where he was when they went back in search of him were footprints in the crushed leaves that led back the way they came.
+++
Elsewhere, a family played in a park. It was not far from their home and even the crisp air and smell of dying leaves had made the walk wonderful. The two parents sat arm-in-arm on a bench, watching their little boy and girl playing on the jungle gym happily. The sounds of children laughing and leaves crumbling filled the lush and vivid environment.
Beep! The man began to reach into his pocket for his doctor-pager.
“Oh, honey, no!” the wife started sadly. “Don’t answer that.”
“I have too,” the father stated, equally saddened at the abrupt interruption to his family time. He looked at the text written in the pager’s screen and up to his wife. He stood up quickly and kissed his wife on the lips briefly. “I’ll be right back. One of my patients just had an accident.”
“How long will you be gone?” the wife asked, squeezing her eyebrows together with concern.
The man shrugged and replied as such. “I’ll try to hurry.” The man then rushed through the leaves to his home where his car resided. He pulled himself into his car and turned it on. When he turned around to pull out of the driveway, he noticed a small plush toy hidden at the bottom of the car floor. He reached down to pick it up and examined it. It was a colorful horse toy, purple body and a strange haircut with a pink streak down the middle. It was surely his daughter’s toy.
The man set the toy in his passenger seat and backed out of the driveway to drive to the hospital where his patient had been, waiting for his doctor.
+++
The man drove away from the hospital, tired and groggy. It was well past midnight, and he was ready to fall asleep. The man pulled into his driveway slowly as to not swerve off into the yard. When he came to a complete stop, he took the horse doll in his hand and exited the car.
The sound of leaves brushing and crunching nearby alerted the man to a nearby presence. He turned around and saw a tall figure walking towards the front door. He called out the figure’s name and they responded quickly:
“Hey, Dad.” It was apathetic and uncaring.
“What are you doing out so late?” the man asked his son angrily, but wearily.
The son didn’t answer; instead, he walked into the house and out of the father’s view. The man walked up to the front door and entered quickly. He saw his wife wide awake on the couch, reading a drafted story.
“Did you say something to him?” the man snapped.
“No,” she replied quickly and honestly. “What was I supposed to say? You’re eighteen now and you can’t be out past curfew?”
“He lives in our house, doesn’t he?”
“That doesn’t mean anything.”
“To hell with that! He needs to start listening to our rules again. All he does anymore is play that damn game up there and stay out late.”
“He writes too.” The wife set the text on the coffee table next to her and slid it towards her husband.
“What?” Curiously, he reached down and picked up the manuscript of typed words. The title read: The Last Killer . “I didn’t know he wrote. How did you know?”
“I didn’t. I went through his backpack because I thought he was doing drugs like his uncle.”
“And?”
“And I found this. I’ve been reading it for since me and the kids got home and I put them to bed. It’s actually really good.”
The man rolled up the manuscript and said, “This doesn’t change anything. He never listens.”
“He’s just trying to achieve some independence, or maybe something’s just bothering him.”
“There’s nothing bothering him. Every time I ask he says he’s fine.”
“Maybe he’s lying to us about it.”
“Don’t you think we’d know it when he lied?”
The woman on the couch nodded with agreement. The man sat next to his wife and sighed. She leaned forward and ran her hand through her husband’s hair lovingly.
“I just don’t know anymore. He’s just…different.” The man spoke fluidly as though the thought had been on his mind for a great deal of time. “I mean, what happens when he goes out there on his own? The world is going to tear him up because he’s stuck in his little fantasy world up there. Is he even going to college?”
The woman shrugged. “He hasn’t said anything about it.”
The man sighed irritantly and put his face into his free hand. “He’s supposed to be the smart one but…I can’t see it anymore.”
There was a silence between the couple until the woman noticed the purple horse plushie in her lover’s hand.
“What is that?” she asked, pointing to the toy.
“Oh, it’s Sissy’s toy. I’ll go take it to her room real fast.” The man stood up quickly and took one tired step after the next towards his daughter’s room. He opened the door and looked at his little darling as she slept soundly with her Barbie blanket covering her. She shuffled a bit in place and exhaled loudly.
The man crept over to her bed and gently placed a kiss on the temple of her head, setting the toy next to her many stuffed animals she had with her, none of which looked like the horse toy.
He smiled as he started for the door quietly.
“Daddy?” he heard his little girl sit up slowly and yawn the words. “Why did you give me this?”
He looked back at his daughter and saw the purple horse toy in her tiny hands. “Isn’t it yours?” She shook her head curiously. “Then who’s is it?”
She pointed upwards and said, “Big bubby’s.”
Chapter 3
Two Days After Arrival
Twilight Sparkle opened her eyes to the bright light in front of her and squinted in excruciation. She put a hoof over her eyes and charged her horn to move the light away from her.
“Ahh!” the mare screamed in anguish, feeling her horn send her magic backwards. That had never happened before and she was highly unprepared for it. She lunged forward in her bed and touched her highly sensitive horn.
“Oh no! You didn’t just try to use magic, did you!?” Twilight rubbed her eyes, unobscuring her vision to see an Earth pony stallion with a pair of bushy eyebrows looking at her worriedly. “You can’t use magic! It’ll make you worse!”
“W-what happened? Where am I?”
“I do not know what happened, I’m sorry, but I can tell you where you’re at. You’re at Canterlot Castle Infirmary, the best hospital in all of Equestria.” He sounded extremely proud of his place of work.
Twilight put her hoof in front of her and said, “Can you move the light?”
“Oh! Sorry,” the doctor pony stated apathetically. He pushed the overhead lamp away and said, “Sorry. My colleagues and I were inspecting your horn for any cracks…”
“My horn’s cracked?!” Twilight screamed, petrified of even the possibility.
“No, no, no! There is no need to worry, Twilight Sparkle. It’s just a common procedure whenever a Unicorn has a magic overdose. You should be glad you’re even alive. Your friends told us about how you teleported them away.”
“Are they okay?”
He nodded and continued. “But you could have died. Even an Alicorn barely has enough magical ability to teleport someone else without them with. Needless to say that you succeeded with no doubt that it came from your training with Celestia, but it was extremely dangerous for you to do such a thing.”
“I know…” Twilight sighed as she finally lying back, closing her eyes tiredly.
“That will be quite enough, doctor,” a familiar voice said. “I would like some time alone with my student.”
“As you wish, your Highness.”
Twilight sat up immediately after realizing who had entered the room. A great smile appeared across the young mare’s face but slowly diminished as the Princess came closer, showing her disproving expression. The doctor shut the door behind him.
“Princess Celestia?” Twilight started carefully.
“Twilight Sparkle, I am very disappointed in you.”
Twilight felt tears beginning to quell up in her eyes. “W-what?”
“You risked your life sending your friends away from you.” The grand white Alicorn looked sternly at her student and noticed her fear. The next time she spoke, she calmed her tone to a more soothing and compassionate tenor. “Though I do understand your concern for wanting to protect your friends, but have you learned nothing from your friends yet? They are supposed to be there for you when you need them and you needed them. Furthermore…”
Celestia saw Twilight’s watery eyes begin to let loose and decided to stop lecturing her. Instead, the Princess nuzzled her student. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to sound angry. I was just a little scared for you is all. You had been there for so long by yourself.”
The purple mare rubbed her muzzle against her mentor’s and cried a little. “I understand…” Her voice cracked slightly, fear still audible.
There was a moment of silence between the two when they parted but Twilight had no words she could speak. She had so many questions about what had happened but no words to describe such questions to her mentor. Celestia saw this conflict in Twilight’s eyes and smiled down at her, casting her brilliant light upon her.
“You want to know what it was you saw, don’t you?” Twilight nodded. “Okay…I don’t know.” Celestia looked at Twilight’s shocked face and giggled slightly. Twilight looked at her weirdly and yawned tiredly. “I think you need to sleep for a bit. I’m having my best workers inspect the site right now. We’ll both know more by tomorrow.”
“Really?”
“You sound surprised.”
“No, I mean when I was in the forest…there was this smoke and we felt…” The young mare sighed and shrugged, looking at her hooves. “We felt dirty and I kept feeling things that didn’t feel right…everything was wrong and backwards too…” She rested her head on the pillow beneath her.
Celestia smiled. “You had a rough experience. Now just try to rest. I’ll send for your friends so they can visit you.”
Twilight closed her eyes and listened to Princess Celestia’s receding hoofsteps. It soothed her to listen to any sound of her mentor. It filled Twilight with happiness to know that her princess—the kindest, gentlest soul in all of Equestria—had taken her as her personal student in magic. She couldn’t imagine losing her.
“Princess?” she started, suddenly remembering the feeling of loneliness.
“Yes, Twilight?” she replied at the doorway with a kind smile.
“You’ll never leave me, right?” It was an innocent and worried question, but the incentive was far darker than Celestia was willing to admit.
“Why would you even ask such a thing?” Celestia started, feeling saddened by her student’s sudden and noticeable feelings of loneliness.
“Will you?”
The princess smiled uneasily and went back over to her student. She nudged Twilight’s chin gently and said comfortingly, “Never.”
+++
The young purple Unicorn dreamed. She liked to dream and she would sometimes try to escape the harsh reality around her for her dreams. The world was so dark and twisted, she knew it, and Celestia had tried her hardest to prevent her from having doubtful thoughts about the world. She understood her mentor’s struggle and desire to keep her “innocent” but for how much longer until Twilight could finally be a grown-up too?
Twilight dreamed of soft hills of rolling grass that smelled like nothing she could remember. There was a willow tree above her and it gave her a soft support for her head, very much unlike a tree. To better understand what she was lying against, the purple Unicorn turned her head slightly and saw her library in the distance but that was all she could see. No indicator that her head was laying against a pillow or a cloud.
So she turned her head to her right…
Massive, towering spires of metal, glass, and fire dominated the distant scorched lands. Twilight didn’t react to it; it was as though it was a common sight. She gazed upon the burning city ahead of her, not recognizing it as any she had ever seen in Equestria but knew it as a city.
“It will be over soon,” Celestia’s voice said softly.
Twilight began to turn around to see what was softening the willow into a cushion like feeling but still found nothing except a message etched sloppily into the side of the willow tree.
Find him.
+++
The mare’s eyes shot open as the sound of an opening, creaking door echoed curiously through the room. She scanned around for anypony nearby and came up empty. The door was slightly ajar, however, and the warm presence of her friends was around her.
“Girls?” she called out, still reeling from her dream and unsure if she was composed enough to see her friends. “Are you there?”
“Twilight!” a high pitched squeal escaped from outside her room. Within seconds, the sound of scales slapping against the strangely checkered floor alerted the Unicorn to Spike. She watched him jumped slam through the door and leap five feet to her bed. He embraced her strongly, forcing a gasp from her.
“It’s nice to see you too, Spike,” Twilight said, happily embracing her baby dragon.
“Are you okay? The doctors said you’d be fine but you’ve been asleep for a long time and…”
“Spike, clam down,” she replied, easing his worries slightly and giving him reason to finally separate from her. “I’m fine, but how are you? When the meteor fell, you were taken to the library and I didn’t see you.”
“I’m fine. A little sore on the back of my head ‘cuz I hit my head, but other than that I’m fine.” The baby dragon’s ear twitched slightly and he smiled. “Our friends are here!”
Twilight smiled as she too began to hear the familiar sound of her friend’s hoofsteps. Applejack was the first to enter, followed by Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, and finally Pinkie Pie, who wore a strangely out of place party hat.
“Girls!” Twilight exclaimed happily.
“Twilight!” the other five ponies replied in their own personal ways. The entire group was pulled into one big embrace with Pinkie’s wide forelegs.
When the embrace had ended, Applejack and Rainbow Dash gave the purple mare a stern look of concern and contempt.
“I know ya don’t want to hear this right afta wakin’ up, but what were ya thinkin’ sendin’ us away like that?!” Applejack shook her head unhappily. “You could’ve gotten hurt all by yourself.”
“I know,” Twilight replied earnestly. “I’m sorry, but I was genuinely worried for you both…”
“We know,” Rainbow Dash interrupted quickly, “and we were worried about you !”
“You have no idea how much they wanted to go back for you, deary.” Rarity gave a soft sigh. “We all should have gone with you…”
“No,” Twilight started, shaking her head. “You did what you needed to do; all of you. I shouldn’t have sent you two away, and I am sorry. Please, let’s not dwell on this any longer, okay?”
The entire troupe nodded half-heartedly, but it was Fluttershy who spoke up, addressing the elephant in the room.
“So, um…Twilight, w-what happened? If…if you don’t mind telling us.”
Twilight looked into each of her friends uneasily. She had no idea how to describe what she saw: frozen fire, cold during summer, sand where dirt should be. Everything was backwards near the crash site and, the more that Twilight thought about it, the more backwards she had been as she drew near it. She knew better than to send her friends away when her best strength was her friendships.
“I…I don’t really remember.” The lie tasted nasty on her tongue, like rotten fruit and dirt.
Applejack gave Twilight a curious look that frightened her. She hoped that the Element of Honesty wouldn’t see through her lie. Twilight simply wasn’t ready to discuss what she saw.
“At least you’re okay!” Pinkie exclaimed, jumping into Twilight’s view with waving forelegs. “Do you know what this calls for?!”
“A party?” Spike replied eagerly.
“No, silly!” the pink mare replied with a grin. “We need to start fixing Ponyville! I mean think of all that shattered glass! And that way we can have two reasons to party, making the party even better!”
“I don’t mean to ruin the moment, girls,” Rarity started cautiously, “but Princess Luna and Celestia have already repaired most of Ponyville. Additionally, I think Twilight is not in a good enough shape to be going anywhere.”
“I agree,” Applejack said nonchalantly. Twilight couldn’t help but feel that Applejack was simply siding with Rarity out of the nostalgia for the lumber party incident.
“Yeah. I…I just need some more rest. My horn still kind of aches.”
“Okay, we’ll get out of your mane…” Rainbow Dash started, drifting towards the door.
“No!” Twilight exclaimed, suddenly feeling fear. She had no idea where it came from, but she was terrified of the thought of her friends leaving. “I mean you don’t have to leave just yet, do you? I’m not that tired.”
“Why, of course we can stay,” Rarity started, lifting her chin slightly.
“I wish that I could, but I promised Big Macintosh that I’d wrangle up them critters that took shelter in our trees.”
“And…and I was supposed to help. Please don’t be angry.”
“It’s okay, Fluttershy. How about you Pinkie? Rainbow?”
“I can stay,” the blue Pegasus stated flatly. “But I can’t guarantee I won’t get bored.”
Everypony looked to Pinkie Pie; she sat in the corner playing with a slinky.
“Where’d you get the slinky?” Spike asked. Twilight touched his back gently, making him remember who it was he was talking to. “You know what, never mind.”
“No, I just found it! It was next to Twilight on the floor.”
Twilight looked at the slinky closely, noting its intricate paint design. In its placid state on Pinkie’s hoof, she could see the swirling colors of the sky, grass, and fire all merged into one beautiful gouache. She couldn’t help but think she had seen it somewhere before though. Was it a gift from Celestia? Maybe her parents or her brother? It made her curious.
“Do you plan on staying?” Twilight asked curiously.
Pinkie Pie shook quickly. “Nope. Gummy and I need to start getting some instruments ready and the only xylophone for miles is here in Canterlot. I need to go get quickly.”
“What for?” Rainbow Dash asked. There was curiosity and arrogance in her words.
The pink mare merely shrugged. “I just have this feeling that we’re going to need them. Like…like a swarm of parasprites are coming or something.”
“Parasprites?” Twilight looked at her friends unsurely. “What are those?”
“They’re little colorful bugs that eat everything!” Pinkie exclaimed. “They ate all of the rocks my family harvested one year when I lived on a rock farm which is weird because they don’t usually eat rocks.”
The group nodded and everypony began going their own ways.
“Don’t worry, Twi. We’ll be back tomorrow or the next day.” Applejack tipped her hat towards Twilight kindly.
Twilight smiled until everypony had gone out of view except Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Spike, who sat at the far end of the bed.
There was a moment of estranged silence between the three ponies as Spike looked between Twilight (concernedly) and Rarity (lustfully).
“So…” Twilight started. “The princesses went and fixed Ponyville?”
Rarity nodded. “I was the only one to see it. I mean out of our group. It was absolutely magnificent! The floated down each street singing like an opera and their voices were so beautiful, shattered glass and cracked wood came together like nothing had happened.”
Twilight smiled happily. Celestia was as kind as she was said to be and Twilight knew this as fact, but she couldn’t help but feel humbled by the princess’ generosity.
“And how is Ponyville holding up?”
“Well, I don’t mean to brag,” Rainbow started, “but I helped calm everyone down when Zecora came to town.”
“What? Why were people afraid of Zecora?”
“Because she’s totally creepy!” Spike exclaimed, biting his lip fearfully.
“Plus her stripes are so garish!” Rarity cried, using her fashion sense to rationalize fear of the zebra.
“Rarity,” Twilight sighed, “she’s a zebra. She’s born with her stripes.”
The white mare pretended to faint.
“Okay, just stop!” Twilight exclaimed, feeling a nerve break in her patience. “She isn’t creepy and she isn’t evil. I’ve actually had a civilized conversation with her before and she is actually fairly sophisticated for not being used to our customs.”
Twilight felt no shame in lying about meeting Zecora, but she did feel shame in the fact that she had lied again. Twice in one day? Usually it was only twice a years and those were accidents. Was still reeling from her encounter with the meteor site? Were those evil feelings still affecting her?
Whatever the reason, Twilight’s words left a scarring thought in the two mare’s minds, and the purple Unicorn could see it. She felt conflicted about it though. Was it really worth lying to her friends? What if Zecora was evil and malicious? She hadn’t seemed like it during their brief encounter in the forest.
Thoughts began to race through her mind. Was everypony like that towards other ponies that were from different and strange cultures? She hoped not, but she was not willing to let her naïve nature consume her thinking this time. There were a lot of xenophobic ponies and some of them probably didn’t even know it.
“You know what girls,” Twilight started. “I’m getting kind of tired now. I’m terribly sorry, but I need some rest.”
“Are you sure?” Rainbow Dash asked. “You sound fine.”
“I just got really tired for some reason,” Twilight lied. “Can I get some rest please?”
“Of course, darling.” Rarity nudged Rainbow Dash gently. “Let’s leave her be, Rainbow, dear.” The blue mare nodded.
“Can I stay?” Spike asked worriedly.
“Of course. I might need someone to wake me up if the princess comes back.”
Spike nodded and curled up into a ball at the edge of the bed. Twilight watched as her two friends left with Rainbow Dash still looking unsure. The purple mare pulled her blanket up to her shoulders and rested her head on her pillow yet again.
“Hey, Twilight?” Spike asked quietly.
“Yes, Spike?” she replied, closing her eyes slowly. She heard little of his question except the last two words:
“…find him?”
“What?!” the Unicorn exclaimed, sitting up straight and almost pulling the blanket out from under Spike.
Spike gave a worried look. “I asked if you knew where Shining Armor is or where to find him. I think that slinky is his.” He pointed to the slinky-toy on the floor beside the bed, right where Pinkie had left it.
Twilight took a few deep breaths inward and sighed. “He’s in the Royal Guard. I haven’t really talked to him since I came to Ponyville.”
“I’m sorry, Twilight. Good night.”
The purple Unicorn nodded, pulling the blanket back up to her shoulders.
“Good night,” she added, but Spike had already lazily fallen asleep.
Yet as she closed her eyes one final time, Twilight felt like she wasn’t going to have a good night’s sleep.