Safeby Princess_Celest1aChaptersLetterBatsThe StoryRarityLetterTwilight felt the breeze run through her mane. “Rainbow! I think I’m doing i-” suddenly, one of her wings gave out. The Alicorn spiraled through the air. She ran into a tree with a sickening thud. Twilight sighed. “I’m never going to get the hang of this, Rainbow Dash.” Rainbow Dash put on a fake looking smile. “You’re getting a lot better, Twi, really.” “You’re just saying that,” said Twilight dejectedly. Twilight used her magic to open the door to her home. Spike immediately ran up to her. “Twilight! Urgent letter from Princess Celestia!” Twilight immediately opened up the letter. “My dear Princess Twilight” the purple Alicorn read, “I need you and the rest of your friends to come to Canterlot at once.” “That’s it?” said Rainbow Dash. “Be quiet.” said Twilight, “Let’s go gather our friends. _____________________________________________________________________ The friends bowed before Princess Celestia. “Twilight.” Said Celestia, “We are now the same rank. You no longer have to bow before me.” “Oh, s-sorry, Princess,” stuttered Twilight. “It’s quite alright, Twilight.” “So why’d yah call us here, Princess?” said Applejack. “Follow me.” said Celestia simply. They followed Celestia down one of the many hallways of the palace. Celestia stopped in front of a painting on the wall. On it there was a white unicorn who seemed to be caught in a big swirl of black wind. The unicorn was obviously trying desperately to cast a spell to get rid of the wind- it didn’t seem to be working. The black covered most of the painting, and the unicorn’s white coat was bright against the black. The look of terror in the unicorn’s eyes was unmistakable. “Why, what is that ghastly black wind?” said Rarity. “That,” said Celestia grimly, “is Zarta.” The ponies shifted uncomfortably. “W-what’s it doing to that unicorn?” whispered Fluttershy. Celestia looked out of the window into the distance. “That unicorn lost her battle.” said Celestia, not really answering the question. “Why are you showing us this, Princess?” said Twilight, who wasn’t sure if she really wanted to know the answer. “Because,” said Celestia, still gazing into the sky outside of the window, “Princess Luna and I believe Zarta has returned.” “So?” said Rainbow Dash, “we just go out, find this ‘Zarta’ thing, and kick its butt!” Celestia spared the pegasus a sad smile. “I’m afraid it’s not that easy.” There was a thud of hooves against the floor, and then the sound of cantering. Princess Luna burst into the room. “Dear sister,” she said, “we must go. Our time grows short.” “Come, My Little Ponies,” said Celestia, “we will follow my sister.” She trotted away after Luna, and the other ponies quickly followed. Celestia and Luna, along with the rest of the ponies, rode in a chariot pulled by two of the royal guards. They had been riding for a while, and now the land below them looked dead. The ground was riddled with cracks along its dusty surface, and there was not a drop of water in sight. “Princess?” asked Twilight, “Where are we?” Luna was the one who answered. “We do not know for certain. We are only following the trail of Zarta.” Twilight looked down. She could now see that within the natural cracks in the ground, there was also a long, thin, black tendril sneaking across the land. The substance, whatever it was, seemed to be throbbing. It looked almost alive. “So what is this ‘Zarta’ thang anyway? What’s it do?” said Applejack. Celestia answered this time. “We do not know for certain. All we know is that it does not kill them, but a pony that has the misfortune of coming across Zarta loses the will to live- they become a shell of their former selves.” “Well,” said Rainbow Dash, “why don’t you just ask them what happened?” “They no longer speak.” said Celestia sharply. No one dared to ask any more questions after Celestia snapped like that. “I wonder what happened,” Thought Twilight, “why did she react that way?” A few hours of awkward silence later, the guard started their descent. Twilight looked hopefully at the land beneath them, but despite how far they had traveled, the land looked as dry and dead as ever. The black tendril snaking across the land seemed to have grown in size. With a loud thump, the chariot hit the ground. All the ponies jumped out. “Return back to Canterlot.” Celestia commanded the guards, “We will signal when you need to return.” Twilight looked at her princess nervously. “Should I apologize for earlier? Should I even bring it up?” Taking a deep breath, Twilight walked up to Celestia. “P-princess,” started Twilight nervously, “I’m really sorry about what Rainbow Dash said earlier. She didn’t mean it and-” “Twilight.” Celestia gazed at her kindly, “It’s quite alright. What she said just brought up some bad memories, that’s all.” “D-do you want to talk about it or-” “Maybe another time- maybe.” said Celestia. Suddenly, there came a ground shaking rumble from the distance. “In here!” shouted Princess Luna, pointing to a cave with her hoof. All of the ponies followed Luna into the cave. Luna and Celestia used their magic to block off the cave entrance. “That should keep us safe, at least for a little bit.” said Luna nervously. “Relax, dear sister.” comforted Celestia, “It will be okay. I have dealt with Zarta before.” A roaring come from outside of the cave. All of the ponies except for Celestia and Luna huddled together in fright. "I-is that Zarta?" said Fluttershy. "I believe so." said Celestia gravely. Fluttershy gave a squeak and hid under Pinkie Pie. "It's okay, Fluttershy," said Pinkie, "maybe Zarta wants to play?" Pinkie looked unconfident. The fear in everyone's eyes was evident. "Everything should be okay." said Luna, "At least for the night." "N-night?!" Fluttershy squeaked and hid under Pinkie again. Another huge roar came from the outside. Author's Note I know it was a little short, but if I make these longer I would never update! Anyway, thanks for reading! BatsTwilight opened her eyes. She saw the rest of her friends trying to wake up. The Alicorn looked over at Luna and Celestia. Luna looked slightly sleepy, but relatively well rested under the circumstances, especially since she was the Princess of the Night. Celestia, on the other hand, looked exhausted. “My!” thought Twilight, “She looks like she hasn’t slept in days!” Twilight walked cautiously up to the white Alicorn. “Princess,” whispered Twilight, “are you alright?” Celestia seemed to jerk herself out of a doze. “H-huh?” stuttered the sleepy princess, “Oh. No. I’m fine.” Celestia tried to hide her exhausted state with a smile, but it only made her look more tired. “Not to be rude, but I think you should get some sleep.” suggested Twilight. Celestia opened her mouth to answer, but a rumbling came from the other side of the cave. Twilight and Celestia looked over at the cave entrance to see Luna removing the rock from the entrance to the cave. Luna peered tentatively outside. “It seems Zarta has moved on,” said an obviously relieved Luna, “let us go outside once more.” Everyone followed Luna outside. Luna started following the black tendril. “Um-” started Fluttershy, “if we were hiding from Zarta all night, why are we following it now?” “It would not have been advantageous to try to fight Zarta while it was night time. During the day, we will have a better chance.” Fluttershy gulped, and jumped behind the nearest pony to her, who happened to be Rainbow Dash. “Cool down, Fluttershy,” said Rainbow Dash, “I’m sure this ‘Zarta’ will be a lot less scary than you think when we actually meet it.” “Do not be so sure, Rainbow Dash.” said Celestia, “Zarta may very well be the most dangerous enemy you have ever faced.” Twilight noticed that Celestia once again had that nervous, frightened look upon her face. “I wonder what could have happened in her past to make her this afraid.” thought Twilight, “Now that I think about it, I’ve never seen Celestia afraid before.” “Instead of being a flesh and blood enemy, like Queen Chrysalis,” continued Celestia, “or even a shadow like King Sombra, Zarta is an embodiment of fear, just as Discord is an embodiment of chaos.” “Well,” started Applejack, “what does Zarta look like, anyway?” Celestia continued her lecture. “Unlike Discord, Zarta is not a physical embodiment of fear. Nopony knows exactly what Zarta looks like, but we can assume its outward appearance is merely of a black cloud, hence the painting in the palace.” “What’s so scary about a black cloud?” asked Pinkie. “It is not what Zarta looks like that makes it frightening, but what it does. As I have said before, I do not know exactly what Zarta does.” Luna gazed at the ground. “I believe we are getting nearer to our goal.” Twilight looked where Luna was looking. Twilight gasped. The black tendril they had been following was noticeably thicker, as if they were getting closer to the source. Twilight gulped. As she looked closer, she could see that it was throbbing. “P-princess Luna?” Twilight asked with fear in her voice, “Why is it throbbing?” “Do you really want to know the answer?” answered Luna. All of the ponies except for Celestia nodded. “I have absolutely no idea. Celestia would probably know more from firsthand experience; the ordeal was Zarta occurred while I was on the moon.” Everyone looked expectantly at Celestia. “I’d rather not speak of it now.” said Celestia tersely. Although she managed to seem like she was just disinterested, Twilight could see in her eyes she was filled with fright. “What the hay could scare CELESTIA?” thought Twilight worriedly. “I was scared before, but now I’m REALLY scared.” The group of eight ponies came across a small forest. “Yay!” said Fluttershy, “Maybe there are some cute creatures in here!” Suddenly, a there was a strange noise emanating from the brush. “What’s that?” asked Rainbow Dash. Twilight started to answer tentatively. “I think it’s...wings.” Everyone could now hear the wings clearly. Fluttershy once again hid under Pinkie Pie. The ponies looked at the bushes with fear in their eyes. Then, all of the sudden, something burst out from within the forest. Instead of the loud sound of wing flapping belonging to one monstrous creature, it belonged to many creatures flying as one. They looked like a bat gone wrong. They were very tiny, but had huge fangs. Then, they did something no one expected; they flew around until you could clearly see the word “Zarta” spelled out. Celestia screamed out in fear and bolted away. She opened up her long wings and took off, heading towards a big mountain. “Princess! Wait!” Yelled Twilight. Luna yelled after her too, but Celestia kept flying away as fast as she could. “Um…” started Fluttershy, “The… creatures are still here.” “Sorry, of course.” said Luna, and she quickly dispelled the ugly creatures with a spell. “Twilight,” said Luna urgently, “you have to go after her. She will not tell me what happened between Zarta and her. I hope she will tell you” “O-okay.” Twilight gulped. Author's Note Sorry it's short. I wanted to upload this before I leave for 3 days. Apologizing in advance if there are grammar errors. Hope you like the chapter, thanks for reviews!!! The StoryTwilight shivered as she stood under the shadow of the enormous mountain. She had walked all the way to the base of the mountain, but now it was obvious to her that the only way to reach the top of the mountain was to fly. Twilight had considered trying to walk up, but the dark overhangs and the craggy edges made it near to impossible to climb. “It’s a good thing I have wings now.” thought the Alicorn, “Although I cannot fly very well yet, at least I am able to fly at all!” Twilight hesitantly unfolded her wings. She started to beat them slowly, but then quickly flapped faster. She rose off of the ground a few meters, but then she started to lose control. “No,” thought Twilight, “I have to do this, for the Princess.” She rose up higher, still a little crooked. With sheer force of will, the young Princess started to fly up the mountain. She hit some of the ledges a few times, as well as almost flipping herself over, but she eventually came to a much bigger ledge. Twilight landed on the platform, and soon found that there was a cave in front of her. “Perhaps that is where the Princess has gone!” she thought excitedly. She trotted into the cave, noting that is was very damp and that there was a strong draft. Twilight shivered. “P-princess?” Twilight’s inquiry was met by sobs coming from the middle of the cavern. Twilight rushed forward into the cave to see a sobbing Celestia on the ground. “Go away, my faithful student.” said Celestia in a voice hoarse from tears. “But I want to help you! I’m really worried!” said Twilight desperately. “My dear Twilight,” started Celestia, “please leave me. It is not your problem, or your struggle.” “It matters to me, Princess.” said Twilight. She walked closer to Celestia, “What’s going on? What happened in your past?” Celestia sobbed. “I will tell you, if you insist.” “Yes Princess. Let me help you.” said Twilight with compassion. “Well,” started Celestia, “it all happened, or rather started happening, a couple years after I had to banish Nightmare Moon. At first, it was just a random occurrence, a pony going mad, a pony having to be locked up because he or she was a danger to society; then it became more widespread. Mares and stallions everywhere were losing their mind, whether that meant hurting themselves or other ponies.” Celestia sighed a heavy sigh. “Back in those days, I was mostly alone in the castle, except for a beautiful, earth pony mare. We were the best of friends. Her name- her name was Sapphire Dust. She had a gorgeous blue mane that seemed to shimmer like the jewel she was named after. Her coat was a royal purple. Anyway, we were best friends, so as soon as I realized that something was going wrong, she was the first I confided in.” “Eventually, this ‘epidemic’ started to get out of control. Ponies left and right were hurting themselves and others. I knew I had to figure out what was going on. I flew down to Ponyville, and that was when I saw the tendrils. I knew they would lead to something evil; the question was, what? I told Sapphire it was too dangerous for her to come along, but she insisted on keeping me company, bless her heart. We followed those black tendrils for days, I sometimes walking with Sapphire, and Sapphire sometimes riding on my back. We followed them until the tendrils were so big they were taller than the trees. We knew we were getting close.” “Suddenly, we stumbled upon Zarta, although we didn’t know that was what it was called at the time, obviously. Anyway, Zarta turned out to be an enormous, black mass, punctuated with bolts of electricity. Those horrid black tendrils came out of all sides of that beast. Sapphire and I both agreed that Zarta must somehow get inside ponies minds; somehow push them into insanity. I decided to try to magically attack Zarta. I told Sapphire to stand back, and I used my magic to attack Zarta. My magic did nothing except attract that monster’s attention; it shot one of its tendrils at me, and I instinctively ducked. The tendril, h-however, still f-found a mark; it grabbed poor, dear, S-sapphire.” At this point, Celestia completely broke down into tears. Twilight couldn’t believe the Princess was actually crying. She walked up closer to Celestia and tried to give her a hug of comfort. Celestia reacted by pulling Twilight into a tight hug, and not letting go. Twilight nuzzled Celestia’s warm fur. “Whenever you’re ready, Princess.” said Twilight softly. Celestia took took a deep breath, and launched back into her story. “T-the tendril took Sapphire closer and closer to its core. I wanted to stop it so badly, but I was in shock. I tried to move, but I couldn’t. When Sapphire hit the blackness of Zarta, her face when blank. It was like she wasn’t even there. That serenity only lasted a few seconds- then she started to scream.” “That brought me out of my trance. I raced towards Zarta, not thinking for a minute about what could happen to me. Sapphire had been encased in what looked like a black bubble, I tried to get through, but it was impossible. Sapphire kept screaming on the top of her lungs, obviously scared to death of what was happening in her mind. Then, everything was quiet. When I looked into her eyes, I could tell she could see me. ‘Sapphire.’ I said desperately, ‘I-I love you.’ Sapphire managed to smile through the pain. ‘I’ve always loved you too. Too bad it’s too late now.’ I panicked, telling her to calm down, trying frantically to find a way to get her out. Then, she started to scream again.” “Her blood curdling screams continued for a few minutes, and then Zarta released her. I then watched in a sick kind of wonder as Zarta started to shrink, almost as if it was sated. As if it was full. It retracted its tentacles, and disappeared. I knew in my heart it would be back, but I couldn’t worry about that now. I walked back with Sapphire, but she didn’t talk. She was emotionless. Then, one morning I woke up to find her missing. I searched everywhere for her, then walked over to the stream we had camped by. There, I found h-her corpse floating in the water; she had obviously killed herself. I was broken.” Celestia started crying hard, soaking Twilight’s mane. “I’m so sorry.” said Twilight, trying hopelessly to comfort her ruler, “It will be okay. It will all be okay.” Celestia cried softly a for a little longer, then fell asleep in Twilight’s embrace. Author's Note Wow, that was a long wait. Sorry guys. Thanks for the favorites! Well, we finally get to see what happened to Celestia. It made me sad just writing this, but I hope you enjoy. Please review, I really appreciate it! RarityThe next morning, Twilight woke up to a beautiful sunrise. You could see it perfectly from the cave entrance. “It’s so pretty.” murmured Twilight. “Indeed it is, my faithful student.” said Celestia softly. Twilight jumped. “O-oh, Princess! I hadn’t realized you were awake yet!” said a shocked Twilight. It was then she realized, to her embarrassment, that she was curled up to Celestia’s side, and their tails were entwined. Twilight blushed and scooted away. Celestia laughed. “No need to fret, Twilight.” said Celestia kindly, “It was comforting to have you there for me last night.” Celestia gave Twilight’s cheek a nuzzle. “Well, I’m just glad you’re feeling better!” said the purple Alicorn happily. “As am I.” said Celestia. Suddenly, Twilight stood up. “Oh no!” she said, “I left Luna and everypony else behind! What if Zarta has caught them?” Celestia became serious. “Then we’d better get a move on. I wasn’t able to help Sapphire, but there is no way I am letting Zarta take away anypony else!” said Celestia. Celestia and Twilight landed a few kilometers away from the cave. They had been following the tendrils, and now Celestia had suddenly chosen to land. The white Alicorn bent down close to the ground, as if searching for something. “Aha!” she said triumphantly, “I can see their hoof prints!” “Good job, Princess!” said Twilight enthusiastically. They followed the hoof prints for a couple for kilometers. The tendrils were now so large they couldn’t see the top. “I-I think we’re getting close.” said Twilight nervously. A piercing scream was her answer. It came from directly in front of her. “This way.” said Celestia. She started galloping off in the direction of the noise. Twilight quickly followed. Celestia stopped, breathing hard. In front of them, finally, was Zarta. “It looks exactly like you described it!” said a frightened Twilight. “No.” said Celestia, “It has grown bigger.” As Twilight looked closer, she saw that Zarta had 6 tendrils coming out of its core. At the end of each tendril was one of her friends. “Princess! Everypony is trapped inside Zarta!” said Twilight urgently. “I know.” whispered Celestia. “Do you know a spell that could help?” said Twilight, “I know you were defeated before, but have you figured out a solution in the time between the last attack?” Celestia gazed at Twilight. “I have researched, of course, and I think I may have found an answer. The success, Twilight, relies on you.” “What do I have to do?” said Twilight worryingly. “I can get you inside the pods, but you are the one who has to break them free, not physically, but emotionally.” said Celestia seriously. “Cast the spell, Princess.” said Twilight certainly, “I’ll do anything to get my friends back.” “Stand back.” said Celestia. Twilight stepped backwards as Celestia crouched down, her horn facing Zarta. The white Alicorn screwed up her face in concentration as her horn started to glow. The light grew brighter and brighter until her eyes turned white with magic. “Now!” yelled Celestia, and there was a huge flash. Twilight braced herself and felt the oncoming rush of the spell. Twilight felt her body being ripped from the ground. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Twilight found herself back in a place that looked like Ponyville. “I must be inside one of the pods,” thought Twilight, “I wonder whose it is?” Her ears were hit with the sound of heavy sobbing. Twilight immediately followed the sound, and stopped in front of Rarity’s boutique. Sitting in front of the door was a bawling Rarity. “No one cares…” Rarity murmured between sobs, “I’ll never be successful now, I’m a laughing stock…” the Unicorn started to cry even harder. “Rarity, what’s wrong?” said Twilight, quickly running up to her. Twilight noticed that Rarity’s normally impeccably quaffed mane was in a mess, and her face was covered with makeup washed away by tears. “You!” said Rarity harshly, quickly jumping to her hooves, “What do you care? Nopony cares. M-my life is r-ruined.” Rarity broke down into tears once more. “Of course I care!” said a shocked Princess, “I’m your friend!” “Friendship!” said Rarity derisively, “Friendship won’t fix my reputation, FRIENDSHIP won’t make all my dreams come true!” The Unicorn looked away sadly, “I was so close, too.” “I don’t know what’s going on, but how about we talk inside your boutique?” said Twilight. “Fine.” said Rarity, wiping away her tears. She followed Twilight inside her workplace. They both sat around Rarity’s dining table, Rarity still sobbing. “What happened, Rarity?” said Twilight with concern. “I’ve been stripped of all my reputation! I will never be friends with high class stallions like Fancy Pants or Hoity Toity, or anyone in Canterlot for that matter!” said Rarity, obviously in distress.” “I’m sure it’s not that bad,” said Twilight, “everyone in Canterlot adores you! Anyway, tell me your story from the beginning.” “It is that bad.” said Rarity firmly. The designer looked dramatically off into the distance, and started her story. “It started a few days ago, when I was working on a new collection. I hadn’t told anypony yet, but it had been commissioned by Fancy Pants himself! I worked nonstop for days, until I had finally finished the line. I took the train to Canterlot and had the dresses shipped separately, and the next day the dresses arrived just in time. I went to Fancy Pant’s studio to show him the dresses, but when I unveiled them, I discovered (to my horror) that they were the wrong ones! Fancy Pants was shocked, even disgusted! I’m a l-laughing stock!” Twilight was relieved that this was Rarity’s only problem, but also surprised that this was what the pod was torturing Rarity with. “Rarity, I know that you must be sad that that happened, but that’s only part of your life. You have all your friends in Ponyville, and you are still respected by everyone here! And I’m sure that if you just talked to Fancy Pants he would understand. Rarity smiled through her tears. “You’re right, of course, Twilight.” said Rarity, “I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t shown up. These past few days…” Rarity gave Twilight a hug, and there was a flash of light. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Twilight stood up from the damp ground. She looked up and saw she was once again facing Zarta. Celestia looked at her with concern. She was confused for a second; she had almost forgot that Rarity’s situation was not real. “You have succeeded!” said a beaming Celestia. Twilight looked over and saw Rarity picking herself off of the ground. Twilight leaned towards the Princess. “Just between you and me, I was surprised at the simplicity of Rarity’s predicament. I thought it would be something much worse.” Celestia smiled at Twilight. “Although she doesn’t act like it, Rarity still has a very young mind. She had a lot of ambition, and minimal responsibility. Even though to you and me her situation wasn’t that bad, to her it was one of the worst things that could ever happen.” Celestia explained. “I just hope the others are that easy.” said Twilight. Celestia sighed. “Unfortunately for you, your other friends don’t have the luxury of an easy life.” Twilight stood up straight. “It doesn’t matter.” she said firmly, “They’re my friends, and I’ll do whatever I have to to help them.” Author's Note Well, at least this update was quicker than last time. Honestly, I'm not sure how good this chapter was... *Apologizes to Rarity for making her childish* sorry it had to be one of you. I'd like to sincerely thank all the people who have liked, commented on, or favorited this story, and a huge shout out to those who have watched me. You guys are my inspiration, and it make me really happy to see that people like the story. THANK YOU!!!
LetterTwilight felt the breeze run through her mane. “Rainbow! I think I’m doing i-” suddenly, one of her wings gave out. The Alicorn spiraled through the air. She ran into a tree with a sickening thud. Twilight sighed. “I’m never going to get the hang of this, Rainbow Dash.” Rainbow Dash put on a fake looking smile. “You’re getting a lot better, Twi, really.” “You’re just saying that,” said Twilight dejectedly. Twilight used her magic to open the door to her home. Spike immediately ran up to her. “Twilight! Urgent letter from Princess Celestia!” Twilight immediately opened up the letter. “My dear Princess Twilight” the purple Alicorn read, “I need you and the rest of your friends to come to Canterlot at once.” “That’s it?” said Rainbow Dash. “Be quiet.” said Twilight, “Let’s go gather our friends. _____________________________________________________________________ The friends bowed before Princess Celestia. “Twilight.” Said Celestia, “We are now the same rank. You no longer have to bow before me.” “Oh, s-sorry, Princess,” stuttered Twilight. “It’s quite alright, Twilight.” “So why’d yah call us here, Princess?” said Applejack. “Follow me.” said Celestia simply. They followed Celestia down one of the many hallways of the palace. Celestia stopped in front of a painting on the wall. On it there was a white unicorn who seemed to be caught in a big swirl of black wind. The unicorn was obviously trying desperately to cast a spell to get rid of the wind- it didn’t seem to be working. The black covered most of the painting, and the unicorn’s white coat was bright against the black. The look of terror in the unicorn’s eyes was unmistakable. “Why, what is that ghastly black wind?” said Rarity. “That,” said Celestia grimly, “is Zarta.” The ponies shifted uncomfortably. “W-what’s it doing to that unicorn?” whispered Fluttershy. Celestia looked out of the window into the distance. “That unicorn lost her battle.” said Celestia, not really answering the question. “Why are you showing us this, Princess?” said Twilight, who wasn’t sure if she really wanted to know the answer. “Because,” said Celestia, still gazing into the sky outside of the window, “Princess Luna and I believe Zarta has returned.” “So?” said Rainbow Dash, “we just go out, find this ‘Zarta’ thing, and kick its butt!” Celestia spared the pegasus a sad smile. “I’m afraid it’s not that easy.” There was a thud of hooves against the floor, and then the sound of cantering. Princess Luna burst into the room. “Dear sister,” she said, “we must go. Our time grows short.” “Come, My Little Ponies,” said Celestia, “we will follow my sister.” She trotted away after Luna, and the other ponies quickly followed. Celestia and Luna, along with the rest of the ponies, rode in a chariot pulled by two of the royal guards. They had been riding for a while, and now the land below them looked dead. The ground was riddled with cracks along its dusty surface, and there was not a drop of water in sight. “Princess?” asked Twilight, “Where are we?” Luna was the one who answered. “We do not know for certain. We are only following the trail of Zarta.” Twilight looked down. She could now see that within the natural cracks in the ground, there was also a long, thin, black tendril sneaking across the land. The substance, whatever it was, seemed to be throbbing. It looked almost alive. “So what is this ‘Zarta’ thang anyway? What’s it do?” said Applejack. Celestia answered this time. “We do not know for certain. All we know is that it does not kill them, but a pony that has the misfortune of coming across Zarta loses the will to live- they become a shell of their former selves.” “Well,” said Rainbow Dash, “why don’t you just ask them what happened?” “They no longer speak.” said Celestia sharply. No one dared to ask any more questions after Celestia snapped like that. “I wonder what happened,” Thought Twilight, “why did she react that way?” A few hours of awkward silence later, the guard started their descent. Twilight looked hopefully at the land beneath them, but despite how far they had traveled, the land looked as dry and dead as ever. The black tendril snaking across the land seemed to have grown in size. With a loud thump, the chariot hit the ground. All the ponies jumped out. “Return back to Canterlot.” Celestia commanded the guards, “We will signal when you need to return.” Twilight looked at her princess nervously. “Should I apologize for earlier? Should I even bring it up?” Taking a deep breath, Twilight walked up to Celestia. “P-princess,” started Twilight nervously, “I’m really sorry about what Rainbow Dash said earlier. She didn’t mean it and-” “Twilight.” Celestia gazed at her kindly, “It’s quite alright. What she said just brought up some bad memories, that’s all.” “D-do you want to talk about it or-” “Maybe another time- maybe.” said Celestia. Suddenly, there came a ground shaking rumble from the distance. “In here!” shouted Princess Luna, pointing to a cave with her hoof. All of the ponies followed Luna into the cave. Luna and Celestia used their magic to block off the cave entrance. “That should keep us safe, at least for a little bit.” said Luna nervously. “Relax, dear sister.” comforted Celestia, “It will be okay. I have dealt with Zarta before.” A roaring come from outside of the cave. All of the ponies except for Celestia and Luna huddled together in fright. "I-is that Zarta?" said Fluttershy. "I believe so." said Celestia gravely. Fluttershy gave a squeak and hid under Pinkie Pie. "It's okay, Fluttershy," said Pinkie, "maybe Zarta wants to play?" Pinkie looked unconfident. The fear in everyone's eyes was evident. "Everything should be okay." said Luna, "At least for the night." "N-night?!" Fluttershy squeaked and hid under Pinkie again. Another huge roar came from the outside. Author's Note I know it was a little short, but if I make these longer I would never update! Anyway, thanks for reading!
BatsTwilight opened her eyes. She saw the rest of her friends trying to wake up. The Alicorn looked over at Luna and Celestia. Luna looked slightly sleepy, but relatively well rested under the circumstances, especially since she was the Princess of the Night. Celestia, on the other hand, looked exhausted. “My!” thought Twilight, “She looks like she hasn’t slept in days!” Twilight walked cautiously up to the white Alicorn. “Princess,” whispered Twilight, “are you alright?” Celestia seemed to jerk herself out of a doze. “H-huh?” stuttered the sleepy princess, “Oh. No. I’m fine.” Celestia tried to hide her exhausted state with a smile, but it only made her look more tired. “Not to be rude, but I think you should get some sleep.” suggested Twilight. Celestia opened her mouth to answer, but a rumbling came from the other side of the cave. Twilight and Celestia looked over at the cave entrance to see Luna removing the rock from the entrance to the cave. Luna peered tentatively outside. “It seems Zarta has moved on,” said an obviously relieved Luna, “let us go outside once more.” Everyone followed Luna outside. Luna started following the black tendril. “Um-” started Fluttershy, “if we were hiding from Zarta all night, why are we following it now?” “It would not have been advantageous to try to fight Zarta while it was night time. During the day, we will have a better chance.” Fluttershy gulped, and jumped behind the nearest pony to her, who happened to be Rainbow Dash. “Cool down, Fluttershy,” said Rainbow Dash, “I’m sure this ‘Zarta’ will be a lot less scary than you think when we actually meet it.” “Do not be so sure, Rainbow Dash.” said Celestia, “Zarta may very well be the most dangerous enemy you have ever faced.” Twilight noticed that Celestia once again had that nervous, frightened look upon her face. “I wonder what could have happened in her past to make her this afraid.” thought Twilight, “Now that I think about it, I’ve never seen Celestia afraid before.” “Instead of being a flesh and blood enemy, like Queen Chrysalis,” continued Celestia, “or even a shadow like King Sombra, Zarta is an embodiment of fear, just as Discord is an embodiment of chaos.” “Well,” started Applejack, “what does Zarta look like, anyway?” Celestia continued her lecture. “Unlike Discord, Zarta is not a physical embodiment of fear. Nopony knows exactly what Zarta looks like, but we can assume its outward appearance is merely of a black cloud, hence the painting in the palace.” “What’s so scary about a black cloud?” asked Pinkie. “It is not what Zarta looks like that makes it frightening, but what it does. As I have said before, I do not know exactly what Zarta does.” Luna gazed at the ground. “I believe we are getting nearer to our goal.” Twilight looked where Luna was looking. Twilight gasped. The black tendril they had been following was noticeably thicker, as if they were getting closer to the source. Twilight gulped. As she looked closer, she could see that it was throbbing. “P-princess Luna?” Twilight asked with fear in her voice, “Why is it throbbing?” “Do you really want to know the answer?” answered Luna. All of the ponies except for Celestia nodded. “I have absolutely no idea. Celestia would probably know more from firsthand experience; the ordeal was Zarta occurred while I was on the moon.” Everyone looked expectantly at Celestia. “I’d rather not speak of it now.” said Celestia tersely. Although she managed to seem like she was just disinterested, Twilight could see in her eyes she was filled with fright. “What the hay could scare CELESTIA?” thought Twilight worriedly. “I was scared before, but now I’m REALLY scared.” The group of eight ponies came across a small forest. “Yay!” said Fluttershy, “Maybe there are some cute creatures in here!” Suddenly, a there was a strange noise emanating from the brush. “What’s that?” asked Rainbow Dash. Twilight started to answer tentatively. “I think it’s...wings.” Everyone could now hear the wings clearly. Fluttershy once again hid under Pinkie Pie. The ponies looked at the bushes with fear in their eyes. Then, all of the sudden, something burst out from within the forest. Instead of the loud sound of wing flapping belonging to one monstrous creature, it belonged to many creatures flying as one. They looked like a bat gone wrong. They were very tiny, but had huge fangs. Then, they did something no one expected; they flew around until you could clearly see the word “Zarta” spelled out. Celestia screamed out in fear and bolted away. She opened up her long wings and took off, heading towards a big mountain. “Princess! Wait!” Yelled Twilight. Luna yelled after her too, but Celestia kept flying away as fast as she could. “Um…” started Fluttershy, “The… creatures are still here.” “Sorry, of course.” said Luna, and she quickly dispelled the ugly creatures with a spell. “Twilight,” said Luna urgently, “you have to go after her. She will not tell me what happened between Zarta and her. I hope she will tell you” “O-okay.” Twilight gulped. Author's Note Sorry it's short. I wanted to upload this before I leave for 3 days. Apologizing in advance if there are grammar errors. Hope you like the chapter, thanks for reviews!!!
The StoryTwilight shivered as she stood under the shadow of the enormous mountain. She had walked all the way to the base of the mountain, but now it was obvious to her that the only way to reach the top of the mountain was to fly. Twilight had considered trying to walk up, but the dark overhangs and the craggy edges made it near to impossible to climb. “It’s a good thing I have wings now.” thought the Alicorn, “Although I cannot fly very well yet, at least I am able to fly at all!” Twilight hesitantly unfolded her wings. She started to beat them slowly, but then quickly flapped faster. She rose off of the ground a few meters, but then she started to lose control. “No,” thought Twilight, “I have to do this, for the Princess.” She rose up higher, still a little crooked. With sheer force of will, the young Princess started to fly up the mountain. She hit some of the ledges a few times, as well as almost flipping herself over, but she eventually came to a much bigger ledge. Twilight landed on the platform, and soon found that there was a cave in front of her. “Perhaps that is where the Princess has gone!” she thought excitedly. She trotted into the cave, noting that is was very damp and that there was a strong draft. Twilight shivered. “P-princess?” Twilight’s inquiry was met by sobs coming from the middle of the cavern. Twilight rushed forward into the cave to see a sobbing Celestia on the ground. “Go away, my faithful student.” said Celestia in a voice hoarse from tears. “But I want to help you! I’m really worried!” said Twilight desperately. “My dear Twilight,” started Celestia, “please leave me. It is not your problem, or your struggle.” “It matters to me, Princess.” said Twilight. She walked closer to Celestia, “What’s going on? What happened in your past?” Celestia sobbed. “I will tell you, if you insist.” “Yes Princess. Let me help you.” said Twilight with compassion. “Well,” started Celestia, “it all happened, or rather started happening, a couple years after I had to banish Nightmare Moon. At first, it was just a random occurrence, a pony going mad, a pony having to be locked up because he or she was a danger to society; then it became more widespread. Mares and stallions everywhere were losing their mind, whether that meant hurting themselves or other ponies.” Celestia sighed a heavy sigh. “Back in those days, I was mostly alone in the castle, except for a beautiful, earth pony mare. We were the best of friends. Her name- her name was Sapphire Dust. She had a gorgeous blue mane that seemed to shimmer like the jewel she was named after. Her coat was a royal purple. Anyway, we were best friends, so as soon as I realized that something was going wrong, she was the first I confided in.” “Eventually, this ‘epidemic’ started to get out of control. Ponies left and right were hurting themselves and others. I knew I had to figure out what was going on. I flew down to Ponyville, and that was when I saw the tendrils. I knew they would lead to something evil; the question was, what? I told Sapphire it was too dangerous for her to come along, but she insisted on keeping me company, bless her heart. We followed those black tendrils for days, I sometimes walking with Sapphire, and Sapphire sometimes riding on my back. We followed them until the tendrils were so big they were taller than the trees. We knew we were getting close.” “Suddenly, we stumbled upon Zarta, although we didn’t know that was what it was called at the time, obviously. Anyway, Zarta turned out to be an enormous, black mass, punctuated with bolts of electricity. Those horrid black tendrils came out of all sides of that beast. Sapphire and I both agreed that Zarta must somehow get inside ponies minds; somehow push them into insanity. I decided to try to magically attack Zarta. I told Sapphire to stand back, and I used my magic to attack Zarta. My magic did nothing except attract that monster’s attention; it shot one of its tendrils at me, and I instinctively ducked. The tendril, h-however, still f-found a mark; it grabbed poor, dear, S-sapphire.” At this point, Celestia completely broke down into tears. Twilight couldn’t believe the Princess was actually crying. She walked up closer to Celestia and tried to give her a hug of comfort. Celestia reacted by pulling Twilight into a tight hug, and not letting go. Twilight nuzzled Celestia’s warm fur. “Whenever you’re ready, Princess.” said Twilight softly. Celestia took took a deep breath, and launched back into her story. “T-the tendril took Sapphire closer and closer to its core. I wanted to stop it so badly, but I was in shock. I tried to move, but I couldn’t. When Sapphire hit the blackness of Zarta, her face when blank. It was like she wasn’t even there. That serenity only lasted a few seconds- then she started to scream.” “That brought me out of my trance. I raced towards Zarta, not thinking for a minute about what could happen to me. Sapphire had been encased in what looked like a black bubble, I tried to get through, but it was impossible. Sapphire kept screaming on the top of her lungs, obviously scared to death of what was happening in her mind. Then, everything was quiet. When I looked into her eyes, I could tell she could see me. ‘Sapphire.’ I said desperately, ‘I-I love you.’ Sapphire managed to smile through the pain. ‘I’ve always loved you too. Too bad it’s too late now.’ I panicked, telling her to calm down, trying frantically to find a way to get her out. Then, she started to scream again.” “Her blood curdling screams continued for a few minutes, and then Zarta released her. I then watched in a sick kind of wonder as Zarta started to shrink, almost as if it was sated. As if it was full. It retracted its tentacles, and disappeared. I knew in my heart it would be back, but I couldn’t worry about that now. I walked back with Sapphire, but she didn’t talk. She was emotionless. Then, one morning I woke up to find her missing. I searched everywhere for her, then walked over to the stream we had camped by. There, I found h-her corpse floating in the water; she had obviously killed herself. I was broken.” Celestia started crying hard, soaking Twilight’s mane. “I’m so sorry.” said Twilight, trying hopelessly to comfort her ruler, “It will be okay. It will all be okay.” Celestia cried softly a for a little longer, then fell asleep in Twilight’s embrace. Author's Note Wow, that was a long wait. Sorry guys. Thanks for the favorites! Well, we finally get to see what happened to Celestia. It made me sad just writing this, but I hope you enjoy. Please review, I really appreciate it!
RarityThe next morning, Twilight woke up to a beautiful sunrise. You could see it perfectly from the cave entrance. “It’s so pretty.” murmured Twilight. “Indeed it is, my faithful student.” said Celestia softly. Twilight jumped. “O-oh, Princess! I hadn’t realized you were awake yet!” said a shocked Twilight. It was then she realized, to her embarrassment, that she was curled up to Celestia’s side, and their tails were entwined. Twilight blushed and scooted away. Celestia laughed. “No need to fret, Twilight.” said Celestia kindly, “It was comforting to have you there for me last night.” Celestia gave Twilight’s cheek a nuzzle. “Well, I’m just glad you’re feeling better!” said the purple Alicorn happily. “As am I.” said Celestia. Suddenly, Twilight stood up. “Oh no!” she said, “I left Luna and everypony else behind! What if Zarta has caught them?” Celestia became serious. “Then we’d better get a move on. I wasn’t able to help Sapphire, but there is no way I am letting Zarta take away anypony else!” said Celestia. Celestia and Twilight landed a few kilometers away from the cave. They had been following the tendrils, and now Celestia had suddenly chosen to land. The white Alicorn bent down close to the ground, as if searching for something. “Aha!” she said triumphantly, “I can see their hoof prints!” “Good job, Princess!” said Twilight enthusiastically. They followed the hoof prints for a couple for kilometers. The tendrils were now so large they couldn’t see the top. “I-I think we’re getting close.” said Twilight nervously. A piercing scream was her answer. It came from directly in front of her. “This way.” said Celestia. She started galloping off in the direction of the noise. Twilight quickly followed. Celestia stopped, breathing hard. In front of them, finally, was Zarta. “It looks exactly like you described it!” said a frightened Twilight. “No.” said Celestia, “It has grown bigger.” As Twilight looked closer, she saw that Zarta had 6 tendrils coming out of its core. At the end of each tendril was one of her friends. “Princess! Everypony is trapped inside Zarta!” said Twilight urgently. “I know.” whispered Celestia. “Do you know a spell that could help?” said Twilight, “I know you were defeated before, but have you figured out a solution in the time between the last attack?” Celestia gazed at Twilight. “I have researched, of course, and I think I may have found an answer. The success, Twilight, relies on you.” “What do I have to do?” said Twilight worryingly. “I can get you inside the pods, but you are the one who has to break them free, not physically, but emotionally.” said Celestia seriously. “Cast the spell, Princess.” said Twilight certainly, “I’ll do anything to get my friends back.” “Stand back.” said Celestia. Twilight stepped backwards as Celestia crouched down, her horn facing Zarta. The white Alicorn screwed up her face in concentration as her horn started to glow. The light grew brighter and brighter until her eyes turned white with magic. “Now!” yelled Celestia, and there was a huge flash. Twilight braced herself and felt the oncoming rush of the spell. Twilight felt her body being ripped from the ground. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Twilight found herself back in a place that looked like Ponyville. “I must be inside one of the pods,” thought Twilight, “I wonder whose it is?” Her ears were hit with the sound of heavy sobbing. Twilight immediately followed the sound, and stopped in front of Rarity’s boutique. Sitting in front of the door was a bawling Rarity. “No one cares…” Rarity murmured between sobs, “I’ll never be successful now, I’m a laughing stock…” the Unicorn started to cry even harder. “Rarity, what’s wrong?” said Twilight, quickly running up to her. Twilight noticed that Rarity’s normally impeccably quaffed mane was in a mess, and her face was covered with makeup washed away by tears. “You!” said Rarity harshly, quickly jumping to her hooves, “What do you care? Nopony cares. M-my life is r-ruined.” Rarity broke down into tears once more. “Of course I care!” said a shocked Princess, “I’m your friend!” “Friendship!” said Rarity derisively, “Friendship won’t fix my reputation, FRIENDSHIP won’t make all my dreams come true!” The Unicorn looked away sadly, “I was so close, too.” “I don’t know what’s going on, but how about we talk inside your boutique?” said Twilight. “Fine.” said Rarity, wiping away her tears. She followed Twilight inside her workplace. They both sat around Rarity’s dining table, Rarity still sobbing. “What happened, Rarity?” said Twilight with concern. “I’ve been stripped of all my reputation! I will never be friends with high class stallions like Fancy Pants or Hoity Toity, or anyone in Canterlot for that matter!” said Rarity, obviously in distress.” “I’m sure it’s not that bad,” said Twilight, “everyone in Canterlot adores you! Anyway, tell me your story from the beginning.” “It is that bad.” said Rarity firmly. The designer looked dramatically off into the distance, and started her story. “It started a few days ago, when I was working on a new collection. I hadn’t told anypony yet, but it had been commissioned by Fancy Pants himself! I worked nonstop for days, until I had finally finished the line. I took the train to Canterlot and had the dresses shipped separately, and the next day the dresses arrived just in time. I went to Fancy Pant’s studio to show him the dresses, but when I unveiled them, I discovered (to my horror) that they were the wrong ones! Fancy Pants was shocked, even disgusted! I’m a l-laughing stock!” Twilight was relieved that this was Rarity’s only problem, but also surprised that this was what the pod was torturing Rarity with. “Rarity, I know that you must be sad that that happened, but that’s only part of your life. You have all your friends in Ponyville, and you are still respected by everyone here! And I’m sure that if you just talked to Fancy Pants he would understand. Rarity smiled through her tears. “You’re right, of course, Twilight.” said Rarity, “I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t shown up. These past few days…” Rarity gave Twilight a hug, and there was a flash of light. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Twilight stood up from the damp ground. She looked up and saw she was once again facing Zarta. Celestia looked at her with concern. She was confused for a second; she had almost forgot that Rarity’s situation was not real. “You have succeeded!” said a beaming Celestia. Twilight looked over and saw Rarity picking herself off of the ground. Twilight leaned towards the Princess. “Just between you and me, I was surprised at the simplicity of Rarity’s predicament. I thought it would be something much worse.” Celestia smiled at Twilight. “Although she doesn’t act like it, Rarity still has a very young mind. She had a lot of ambition, and minimal responsibility. Even though to you and me her situation wasn’t that bad, to her it was one of the worst things that could ever happen.” Celestia explained. “I just hope the others are that easy.” said Twilight. Celestia sighed. “Unfortunately for you, your other friends don’t have the luxury of an easy life.” Twilight stood up straight. “It doesn’t matter.” she said firmly, “They’re my friends, and I’ll do whatever I have to to help them.” Author's Note Well, at least this update was quicker than last time. Honestly, I'm not sure how good this chapter was... *Apologizes to Rarity for making her childish* sorry it had to be one of you. I'd like to sincerely thank all the people who have liked, commented on, or favorited this story, and a huge shout out to those who have watched me. You guys are my inspiration, and it make me really happy to see that people like the story. THANK YOU!!!
