Cast into Twilight

Twilight smiled broadly as she stood before the princesses Celestia and Luna. Both held their own kind expressions as they eyed the young mare, greeting her and Spike both as they had just arrived within Canterlot Castle.

“It is good to see you again, Twilight Sparkle,” the lunar princess replied, bowing her head respectfully.

“Y-yes, you too, Princess Luna,” Twilight replied, slightly taken aback by the action. Nearly falling over, the lavender-coated princess hurriedly mimicked the gesture, not wanting to appear rude. It only caused Celestia's own smile to widen slightly at the sight, performing her own bow all the same.

The large windows at their sides showed clearly how dark the sky still was. Though the ride on the train had taken up much of the night, there were still many hours before dawn would grace the horizon. Spike was nearly asleep where he stood, while Twilight herself involuntarily yawned. The action was quickly stunted however, bringing a flush of embarrassment to the princess as she eyed the ones before her.

“It is rather late,” Celestia said cheerfully, hardly looking tired herself. “Perhaps you'd like to turn in for the night, Twilight? We can officially start things tomorrow after we're all well-rested.”

Though Twilight did her best not to show her relief at the notion, she happily nodded her head in agreement. “That sounds great,” she said, bowing her head yet again to the two sisters. “Goodnight then.”

As Twilight turned to leave, Spike waved farewell to the princesses as well, his maw opening wide to yawn unabashedly. “Yeah... goodnight everypony,” he murmured drowsily, following after the lavender mare.

Watching the two disappear from the chamber, Celestia's gaze drifted to her younger sister, seeing Luna's own eyes looking distant and concerned. “Is something the matter, Luna?” she asked, snapping the azure princess out of her trance and gaining her attention.

“Oh, it's...” Luna began, about to say that it was nothing at all. But she knew her sister far too well to understand she wouldn't buy such a response. With a weary sigh, she looked to her sister with uncertainty. “The truth is... I do not know for certain... Ever since that day Twilight saved us, as well as the Tree of Harmony, I've felt... something. Something strange and familiar that I just can't place... But now, that very something seems to have vanished from my senses. Seeing Twilight again has just reminded me of it.”

Celestia gave what her sister said some thought. Admittedly, she hadn't felt anything out of the ordinary since that fateful day. Pride if nothing else, to see her student having come such a long way, but nothing to give such foreboding thoughts. “Perhaps it is nothing,” she suggested. “If it was important, I'm certain you'd be able to figure it out. But, if it continues to bother you, feel free to come see me.” She lovingly nuzzled her younger sister and began to depart the chamber. “I think I will retire to my chambers as well. Goodnight, Luna.”

“Yes... goodnight, sister,” the nightly princesses murmured, watching the mare depart. Left alone, Luna's sights looked onward to the far off window, staring at the moon as it dominated the dark sky.

Big Macintosh had finally brought the last crate inside Rarity's boutique, letting it fall from his back with a weary sigh. A massive stack of wooden boxes now sat in the fashionista's abode, filled with an assortment of things pertaining to making dresses.

The large thing was rather heavy, despite what was inside. As he set it down with the others, the large, red-coated stallion began to breathe heavily, catching his breathing as he wiped away sweat beading on his brow. A small sound of commotion could be heard in the other room and, within moments, Rarity came trotting in. Levitating next to her was a tray with a small pitcher of lemonade.

Though it was far too late for anything with sugar, it didn't stop Big Mac from accepting the glass without a word and chugging it down. Rarity could only manage a smile for dutiful helper, simply glad his ordeal was finished.

“Thank you ever so much for helping me at such a horrid hour, Big Macintosh,” the alabaster unicorn said happily, positively beaming with delight. “I don't know what I'd do without you. If only those foolish delivery ponies didn't just leave things to wither away in the weather and- hmph.” She huffed to herself, lightly stamping a hoof down. But she was quick to calm herself and continue her smile toward her companion. “And don't you worry, I swear I'll repay you for all that you've done.” Her hoof was quickly placed against her chin in thought. “Maybe I'll be able to whip up a nice-”

The thunderous sound of shattering glass and splintering wood cut off the mare, one of the nearby windows exploding inward as a dark figure came tearing through it. With a growling hiss, the creature charged toward the unicorn on all fours, giving her but a brief moment to scream in fright before it was on her. Just as it was ready to pounce on her, Big Macintosh charged into the beast, knocking it aside. Several of the crates toppled over and broke open as it crashed into them, spilling the contents out onto the floor.

Scrambling to get back up, the creature's attention became focused on the large stallion, snarling viciously at him. Big Mac merely snorted defiantly, stamping at the floor as he lowered his head, readying himself. The beastly thing didn't waste a moment as it charged forward immediately, the mighty earth pony following right after it.

Big Macintosh slammed into it again, nearly knocking it down as it slid backward across the ground. But the creature soon stopped, taking both arms and wrapping them under the stallion. With just a turn, it lifted the stallion up into the air and tossed him aside, throwing him across the room to hit the ground hard. Rarity gasped in shock as she watched him go down, earning the creature's gaze as it once again stalked toward her.

Her entire body shook as Rarity thought quickly. Horn glowing brightly, she began grabbing everything and anything in the room as she could. Different dress stands, large spools of fabric, even the massive mirror customers used to look themselves over, all thrown at the creature with all her might. But none of it did any good. What it didn't smack away merely hit it and fell uselessly to the ground. Even as a sharp pair of scissors came hurtling toward it, stabbing into its shoulder, the vicious thing made no reaction to it.

Charging at Rarity now, the creature lunged forward, pouncing on her like a predator to its prey. She only had a brief moment to jump away, just barely dodging the monster as it landed next to her. But even that failure didn't slow it down in the slightest, already swiping at her with its clawed hand. The white-coated unicorn stumbled back as quickly as her frantic legs would allow, heart pounding against her chest as her thoughts raced.

Several grunts and groans came from Big Macintosh as he slowly brought himself back to all four hooves, shaking off the aching pain appearing across his body. It quickly became apparent to him that the creature wasn't finished yet, seeing Rarity still in danger. There wasn't a moment of hesitation for him as he charged at the creature again, attempting to best it with his brute strength yet again.

The creature barely noticed the stallion's approach, sights still focused on the magic-wielding pony in front of it. Nose still flaring open rapidly, there was little else for its senses to take in other than what it had been following. As Big Mac neared it though, the creature's head snapped toward him, fanged teeth gnashing gruesomely, another furious roar erupting from it.

Lifting one arm up, the creature swung out at the stallion. It was so quick, so sudden, he had no chance at even seeing it coming. Big Macintosh was struck hard, immediately knocked off his hooves and sent flying. It would be hard to tell how far he would have gone, if not for the far wall stopping him, but even that didn't hold up well. Not only did the large pony smash into the wall, he went through it, landing in the room on the other side of it.

A cry of despair and panic escaped Rarity then, eyes set on where he had fallen. Worry overtook her as her mind went elsewhere. It was all the creature needed as it grabbed the mare by her mane. She kicked and screamed, but it showed no signs of remorse or pity, lifting her up into the air only to throw her down as hard as it could.

Rarity whimpered loudly from the pain of her bruised body, but her eyes cracked open wide as she saw the creature looming over her. Another hand reached down and grabbed her over the mouth, muffling her terrified shrieks and holding her down. She tried to struggle, all four limbs kicking out at once, trying to push the monster away, to flee, but she was no match for it. She could only look up and tremble as its blank, milky-white eyes remained fixated on her. But that sight soon began to blur for her.

The longer the creature held her, the more she felt herself weakening. Her pointless thrashing wavered, the frantic limbs slowing until they completely stopped. In a matter of moments, the unicorn's entire body went limp. The creature then moved away from her, growling loudly as it sniffed the air again, leaving the motionless pony's body behind.

It followed the familiar trail until its focus fell on a row of dresses that had been set aside.

Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were all silent. None said a word as Fluttershy turned away from the bed in front of them, unable to bare the sight any longer. But the other two couldn't do the same, eyes still set on their friend as Rarity almost looked peaceful.

It had been all one big blurred mess of shock and sadness that morning. As each of them heard the terrible news of what happened, both Big Macintosh and Rarity being sent to the hospital after being attacked by something. None of them knew what to do, or even how to respond to what was happening. It seemed as if such a horrible thing could have never happened to them.

Applejack had been the first to leave, needing to check in on her injured brother. The others merely waited in Rarity's room, offering a silent vigil for their friend. What hurt them the most wasn't even the fact that they couldn't do a thing to help her, it was because nopony even knew what was wrong with her.

Just by looking at the mare, one could see the problem immediately. Her entire body looking frail, her pristine white coated was dulled, her silken mane hung limply against her. All the while, she looked incredibly boney, as though she hadn't eaten in weeks, while her skin looked wrinkled and aged. Despite her appearance however, the doctors had no idea what was wrong with her.

Truthfully, they said there wasn't a thing wrong with her physically. Even the minor bruising she had would cause her little actual harm. Yet she couldn't wake up, still looking half-dead in her condition. It made things all the more frightening, the uncertainty of it all leaving them hopelessly lost and confused, especially without Twilight to help guide them to a suitable conclusion.

Eventually, Applejack returned to the room, doing her best not to allow her gaze to linger on the bed. She looked to her friends with the same sadness that they all shared. Still, the silence in the room remained the same, until the farmpony released a weary sigh and said, “Ah've managed to talk to Big Macintosh.”

“Is... is he going to be okay?” Fluttershy quickly asked, having not seen the stallion yet for herself.

Applejack merely gave a relieved nod of the head. “Yeah,” she murmured quickly, “he's got a lot of broken bones to heal up, but the doc says he'll make a full recovery without a hitch. He says...” She paused for a moment, collecting her thoughts as she silently replayed what her older brother had said. “He says they were attacked by some kind of monster. He'd never seen anythin' like it before, and it seemed to be after Rarity.”

“A monster did this?” Rainbow Dash questioned, looking over to Rarity again. “How the hay does some measly monster manage this?!”

“Ah'm just tellin' you what he said,” the earth pony shot back. “It was small, bigger than a pony but much smaller than a manticore. He tried his best to beat the thing, but it was too strong for him. The last thing he remembers was Rarity screamin' and him gettin' hit hard by it.”

“So... what happened to the monster?” Fluttershy asked aloud, looking fearful, as though said beast would show up at any moment.

Rainbow Dash rubbed her chin in thought. “It couldn't still be in Ponyville,” she said. “We'd have heard about it by now.”

“Why would it be after Rarity anyway?” Pinkie Pie wondered. “I don't think she goes around making monsters angry in her free time...” Even as she said it, there was a look in her eyes that said it was a possibility to her.

“That's ridiculous,” Applejack said, noticing that very look. “Rarity wouldn't have anythin' to do with some monster.”

“Maybe there's something at Rarity's that might help...” Fluttershy murmured, barely loud enough for any of them to hear.

It took only a moment for Pinkie Pie to nod her head quickly to the notion. “That's a great idea!” she shouted. “I bet there's all sorts of clues there. And together, we'll find this monster and avenge Rarity! Oh, and Big Mac too!” Applejack and Rainbow Dash simply looked to one another, both figuring that it was as sound a plan as any, though not quite sure about the pink pony's enthusiasm.

Either way, it didn't take very long for the friends to make their way towards Rarity's store. Fluttershy opted to stay at the hospital, keeping the unicorn company as well as checking in on the battered stallion.

Word of what happened had already gotten around Ponyville quickly. Just outside the shop, they could see onlookers checking out the boutique with curious and somewhat cautious expressions. None of them dared to get that near to the place, only staring at the destroyed window and what little they could see through it. Several were quick to disperse as soon as the three mares were there, determination set in their eyes as they needed to find something to help figure out what had happened.

The inside of the dress shop was a complete mess. Items both broken and not were scattered across the front room, deep claw marks were visible in the floor and walls, the air itself held a foreboding sense of dread that made them uneasy.

“Look at that,” Rainbow Dash said, pointing a hoof toward the large hole in the far wall.

It was where Big Macintosh had struck, plaster and broken wood lying in a large heap on the other side. Several hanging decorations and pictures were also lying scattered about, the sheer force of the hit shaking them loose from their proper places. The sight itself made Applejack's inside twist, imagining how it must have been for her brother to crash through it.

“How could somethin' like this happen?” the farmpony murmured.

“Just think about how strong that thing must be,” Rainbow Dash said, looking over the hole as she hovered in place. “And it's not as big as a manticore? Just what kind of a monster can do that?!”

Applejack shook her head furious. “Ah don't know...” Turning to the broken window, she directed her pegasus friend toward it. “But look at that. There's no way anythin' that big could've fit through there. And Ah'm sure Big Mac got a good look at it before it attacked.”

The returned to their searching, but there was little to find. Pinkie Pie seemed to have disappeared, and try as they might, they couldn't see what else there was. The signs of the struggle were certainly there, nothing could tell them the reasons, not even a slight clue. It wasn't until their eyes fell on the other side of the room that they noticed something.

It was a small corner of the rather large room, but it was made noticeable by the lack of damage to it. Very little had been disturbed, especially compared to the rest of the area. But one thing about it stood out, a small row of dresses set neatly in place.

Several of the stands had been knocked aside, almost carelessly so, but there was one that was completely destroyed. The ponnnequin holding the dress was completely smashed to pieces, while the gown itself was a tattered disaster. Pieces of the torn cloth were strewn about, the marks of claws showing up on several that were still large enough. It would be hard to tell that it was a dress to begin with if it hadn't been for where it was to give them the idea. But the longer the two looked at it, the more they began to realize how familiar it was.

“Isn't that... Twilight's dress?” Rainbow Dash asked, recognizing the colors and what was left of the pattern.

“Ah think so,” Applejack said, the gears turning in her head as she stared at it. “Why would the monster attack it like this?”

Soon, the realization began to dawn on them, their faces showing the dread that they felt. Rainbow Dash was the first to voice their identical thoughts. “You don't think-”

“Girls, girls! You've gotta see this!” Pinkie Pie's voice called out, sounding frantic.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash both rushed out of the boutique toward where the pink party planner's voice had come from. The trail soon led them toward Twilight's library home, where the bubbly mare stood. As soon as the two made it to her, they too saw what she could, seeing the front door to the home in splinters, and the deep claw marks cut into the wooden entrance.