Ponies of Deltora: Monsters and Magic

Day two, Time 8:37 AM

The cool morning breeze came like a whisper from the east, bathing the warm countryside in a blissful chill. To some it was a nice feeling; the warm morning sun mixing with the sweet wind. The resulting creation was a crisp current that many locals looked forward to in their mornings. To others however, it was an annoyance. One such figure was the lavender unicorn Twilight Sparkle.

After leaving the Os-Mine Hills, she had walked for as long as she could before resting under a lone Birch tree she had found a safe distance from the road. She had no idea how long it took her to fall asleep, but her patience was rewarded greatly. She had dreamed she was back in Ponyville, surrounded by her friends and celebrating. They were all smiling, laughing and having a good time. Princess Celestia herself had even arrived, warming everypony’s hearts with her presence. It was perfect.

And now she had been rudely awoken.

Twilight tried in vain to return to her happy dream, but the wind nipped at her vigorously. She tried using her saddlebag as a shield, but the wind wisped over it to torment her more. If the lavender unicorn didn’t know better, she would have sworn the wind was being directed at her. After several more failed attempts she let out a great sigh of defeat and rolled herself onto her hooves. “There I’m up, happy?” she asked the sky with heavy sarcasm. Almost instantaneously, the wind lessened itself a little. Twilight was about to drop her jaw in amazement, but quickly brushed it off to how tired she was.

Quickly she rummaged through her golden saddlebag and looked over her remaining food supplies. She still had quite a good supply of biscuits, but the apples were almost gone. Her water flask was also only at the halfway point. Quickly she preformed some calculations in her head, and came to the conclusion that if she continues at half rations she’s last for a few more days.

With those comforting thoughts she nibbled a small breakfast before setting off. Since she stayed off the main roads to avoid attention, her journey was quite long and uneventful. She did get some joy however, when she spotted another golden dragon circling in the sky. It quickly took notice of the unicorn, but didn’t speak to her as the other one had. It did however circle her for a bit, which got Twilight’s nerves on edge.

After some more boring hours of travel, she finally found herself in front of a dark, eerie looking forest. It was every bit as forbidding as the Everfree Forest, if not more so. It was if a blanked of dread coated the woods, penetrating into the unicorn's very soul. Secretly she hoped this was the wrong woods, but the corner of her eye spotted an old wooden road sign that read Forest of Silence, Mid Wood

Hopes dashed, Twilight turned back to the forest. Gathering her courage she headed into the dark woods. The forest was so thick with trees Twilight found herself almost tripping on many occasions over their roots and branches. Despite it being a sunny morning, the thick canopy of trees prevented the forest from being anything but dim. The mare’s eyes were constantly darting around, expecting some monster to jump out and attack her. At best she would see a flock of small birds feeding amongst the low branches, and some funny looking furry critters that Fluttershy would just kill to have. She decided to observe them for a bit, as a way of taking her mind away from where she was headed. They were mouse like in appearance, with intelligent looking eyes and cute little paws. Two of them rested on a bush eagerly nibbling at the berries growing on it.

As Twilight continued her observations, the bush shifted ever so slightly. Suddenly without warning something crimson burst from the leaves. It was a long snake with slimy red scales that made it look almost like flesh. Quickly it scooped up one of the small animal in its mouth and began to coil its body around it as the other fled. Twilight watched with both curiosity and repulsion as the snake’s powerful muscles ended the struggling critters life. With that the unicorn decided to take her leave and departed deeper into the dark trees.

The forest seemed to just get darker and darker as she made her way towards the center. A shiver of fear crept up Twilight’s spine as she got the feeling of unseen eyes analysing her. Suddenly a horrific face launched itself from the darkness in front of the unicorn’s path. She sprang back in fear, magic illuminating her horn as she faced her attacker.

When she did, Twilight let out a small laugh. By the light of her horn the horrific figure tuned out to be nothing more than a withered old tree. This scenario reminded her greatly of her strongly of the first time she and her friends ventured into the Everfree Forest. The memory caused her to laugh even harder.

Suddenly her horn began tingling, and a faint golden trail began forming at its tip. Twilight stared in shock; she had read about this once in her studies. Unicorns that were so in tuned with magic had the potential to sense nearby areas of high concentration. Quickly Twilight shook her head around until the light on her horn began to grow even brighter. The lavender mare contemplated if she should go searching for it, or continuing the search for her friends. Sadly her horn didn’t give her lots of time to decide before tugging her forward. Partially against her will, and partially for, Twilight trotted off in the direction of the magic. With every step the light grew and grew.

After about twenty minutes, the light mysteriously vanished from her horn like a candle being capped. Twilight was at first annoyed by the loss, but that soon shifted when she noticed her surroundings. Directly in front of her was a small clearing of trees, all of whom were entrapped in long, black, spider web infested vines. They snaked up the tree like the tentacles of some deep sea monstrosity, only to meet at the canopy and form a dome. Directly in front of the unicorn was a gaping opening in the dome. Peering inside, Twilight could see nothing but utter darkness. She knew that this was The Dark.

Well this is a relief. The young mare thought. Now I can just get one of these vines and get out of this creepy forest. Slowly she approached the nearest tree and looked at it curiously. The vines growing around it were thick and strong, almost like they had been grown intentionally. There was no way she was going to be able to cut them. She walked around the area, thinking of something she could do. Suddenly, her horn began to glow again, and the golden trail led into the dome.

Twilight was very hesitant to venture into The Dark, but just like before her horn began to tug at her. Cautiously she approached the opening and before she knew it she was inside. It was as if she was plunged into the realm of pure darkness. If it wasn’t for the light coming from her horn she would be utterly lost. As she ventured deeper into The Dark, her hoof touched something hard. Looking down Twilight let out a small shriek. Her hoof had touched a bipedal skeleton, its skull locked in an eternal scream. This sudden shock caused the light to go out again, but strangely Twilight could still see. In the center of the dome was a faint glow of some kind.

Her curiosity growing to breaking point, Twilight approached the light. As she was about to near it however, something hard hit her head. After a moment to regain herself, Twilight opened her eyes and beheld a massive sword sticking into the ground. Her heart was in her throat as her gaze turned skyward. Standing above the sword was some form of six foot bipedal creature, clad entirely in golden armour. Its helmet shifted downward to stare at the unicorn, freezing her with fear.