She was walking in a forest. Not something dark and menacing like the Everfree, but a much less dense and ominous forest. She couldn't see well. It was dark, but not too dark, for Luna's moon was providing a bit of light. Not much, only about enough for her to see a couple of feet in front of her.
She heard a twig breaking loudly to her left, a few feet outside her field of vision. She turned and cast a simple light spell. Elementary magic to the Goddess of the Sun. Heck, elementary magic for anypony, but being the one who brings light to the entirety of Equestria on a daily basis made it that much easier.
Her spell revealed nothing out of the ordinary, just dirt, six rocks, and one broken twig. Funny, one of the rocks was shaped like a heart.
Must've been an animal trying to get home.
She cancelled her spell and kept on walking, her thoughts forming a question.
Where am I? And she quickly added. Why am I here?
She couldn't answer that herself. She couldn't remember. The only thing that was on her mind was the forest and the walking, her own hoofsteps making little noise. Well, she hoped they were making little noise, for she didn't know if there were any predators in the area.
She looked at the moon, wondering if her sister knew she was here. Wondering where her sister was. Wondering if anyone knew she was gone. Were they looking for her? Do they even know she was missing? Was she missing?
If I'm missing, I'm going to need some new guards.
Her thoughts went from her sister to her student, or former student, that is. Twilight Sparkle was becoming a fine princess. She already had the responsibility for the job, and her moving to Ponyville to learn how to make friends did help with the publicity of the job. Not to mention she was kind and fair to everyone, always willing to help. Perfect candidate for a princess.
She entered a small grove, one that was probably home to many woodland animals. There was a tree in the center of it, a very large tree. It stretched out above her head, above all the other trees. She walked near it, and saw an engraving on the trunk.
fear the light
Hmmmm. That seemed strange. Why would she fear the light? Why would anyone fear the light. She checked all around the tree, looking for any more writing, but her search was short. There was nothing else. She walked to the edge of the grove, giving it one last look, before exiting it.
Celestia kept on walking. There was little else to do. She didn't know what to do. She didn't really have any reason to be here, but she figured that she must've gotten here somehow, and she wanted to find out. Was she kidnaped? Who could've kidnapped her without her knowing?
Discord?
No, this was unlike him. He wouldn't leave her here walking, he would capture her and gloat how he beat her. No, it wasn't Discord.
I trust him anyways. He's a friend now.
This place felt familiar. No, not the place, but this feeling. She was wandering in the middle of an unknown place, with no recollection of how she got there, or what purpose she—
Another twig cracked. Seemed like it was in the same place too. A couple feet to her left. Was something following her? She cast her light spell again, and again was met with silence, twigs and a couple of rocks. She didn't pay much attention to them. She did pay attention to the sudden drop in background noise.
Silence.
She didn't take note of it before, but usually there were a couple other sounds around her. Owls, insects, and she even heard a timberwolf in the distance. But now, with her light spell, it was dead quiet. No sound. The forest seemed to stare back at her. Like there was something waiting just outside the reach of her light spell. Something evil. She listened carefully. There was something among the silence, very faint. Scratching? No...breathing? She panned her spell in a 360 view and saw nothing. The noise was gone.
She cancelled her spell again. She would like more light, but she would prefer some darkness if the dreaded silence stopped. The regular noise resumed immediately.
She kept moving forward, feeling a bit uneasy.
It's just a twig. Nothing more.
Yeah, just a twig, but what about the drop in sound? And the breathing or...whatever it was?
Maybe the animals don't like the light? They are nocturnal after all. As for the other sound...
She stopped for a second to try her light spell again. She cast it, and the sound remained normal. Owls, crickets, even that timberwolf again. She cancelled it, the darkness rushing in in her.
Ok, I must be going crazy.
She decided to try one more time, just to make sure. She closed her eyes and cast it again, but opened them to see the same dark forest.
Did I cast it wrong? Impossible. Let's try this again.
She took a better stance for spell casting, and felt her magic inside of her. She reached out to it, and for a split second, she thought it recoiled from her grasp. But she had it, and put the spell in formation.
The surrounding area was lit up quickly, and Celestia noticed a few things immediately. First she noticed the sound finally stopped, and everything was completely quiet. Second, she noticed that as soon as her light spell was up, everything outside its limits was jet black. Darkness. She couldn't even see the sky, or if she did, it didn't have any stars or moon. Just black. And lastly, she noticed that there were six rocks and one broken twig directly on the ground in front of her. One of the rocks was heart shaped. The same rock as before.
She stopped and stared for a while, wondering how she possible could've went in a circle when moving in a straight line for the past forty five minutes. Or how the sky could've just turned off.
....tia....
Wait, what was that? She heard a noise in the middle of the silence. She scolded herself for a moment for not listening carefully.
....celestia....
There! She heard it again! Her name. Someone was calling her name? A search party perhaps?
Celestia!
No...this sounded different. It sounded urgent.
"Tia! Please! Help me!"
Tia? Only one person uses that nickname.
"Hold on Luna! I'm coming!"
Celestia unfurled her wings and prepared to take flight, but was stopped cold. She felt something inside of her head, screaming at her to not fly. To stay on the ground. It was actually hurting her, the intensity was so great. It made her drop her light spell. The noise around her resumed like nothing had happened.
She decided to ignore the instinct to stay on the ground, despite the pain in her head. She started to sprint forward to make a running leap in the air. While running she heard another noise directly to her left. A loud, deep crunch. One that you might hear when a strong bone is snapped in half. She ignored that as well, and jumped up to let her wings carry her. She made it past the tree line and saw where she was. In the middle of a forest. A big forest. It looked infinite. It stretched out in all directions. The moon was rapidly sinking down in the sky, moving towards the horizon. Celestia hovered in mid air for a bit and saw that stars were disappearing, and the sky was turning black, much like how it was with her light spell activated. Complete darkness. She looked down and saw a rustling tree, and sped down towards it, thinking that it was where Luna was struggling. She paid no other mind to the sky.
"Luna! Hold on!" She shouted.
She sank below the trees and saw nothing. The sky was darkening so fast it was already too black to see.
"Luna! Where are you?"
Desperate, and hearing no reply, she cast her light spell again. Any sky that wasn't already black was quickly shaded dark. She looked for her sister in the new light.
One broken twig, and six rocks, one of which was heart shaped.
What? What is going on?
"Luna? Where are you?" She asked. She was hoping that she would hear something. Anything. Of course, not a single thing made a noise. No, wait. That breathing had returned.
Maybe someone is tampering with sound once I turn my light spell on?
No, how could she have heard Luna calling her with it on earlier? And what about that breathing? Was it Luna? She knew she had the spell on earlier when Luna called her. Or did she? She turned off the light spell to see if it would help in any way.
Black. She could see nothing. Well, almost nothing, as she could see her own nose, and some of her hair withered in and out of vision.
Ok, so I'm not blind. The sky has just...disappeared again. No natural light.
However, the background noise had resumed, despite the heavy darkness. She listened carefully for her name. When nothing came except for the sounds of wilderness, she called out Luna's name again. And again. And again. No reply.
She heard a twig crack to her left.
I've had enough of this forest.
She decided to teleport to Canterlot Castle, to get a platoon of guards to help her. Maybe get some of her imperial mages to help with lighting. Who knows? Maybe her sister is back at the castle, and her mind was playing tricks on her.
She readied a teleportation spell, then she felt a strong pain in her head. Similar to when she decided to fly. Her instincts, conscious, or whatever it was, was telling her to stop. She wanted to stop the pain, and listen to her head, but decided it wasn't important. She had to find out what happened to her sister. She took a stance, closed her eyes, and cast the spell.
In an instant, she felt her hooves lift off the ground, float in seemingly endless space, and hit the ground again. Years upon years of teleportation made it possible for her to travel this distance. Well, being an alicorn had something—
She almost panicked when she opened her eyes. The same blackness. Was all of Equestria like this? Even here? In the Castle?
Wait. No. The Castle was equipped with permanent lighting spells that would activate at night. Those wouldn't ever burn out. So where was she? She cast her own light spell.
Ok, now she panicked a little bit.
Forest. Not the same forest. This one, even with the black sky, seemed even darker than the last one.
The Everfree.
The surrounding shadows appeared to suck up her light. It was dimmer than she remembered.
Not close to going out, she was still the Goddess of the Sun. Embarrassing if a light spell failed her.
Thinking of how she just botched a teleportation, she decided not to think about her magical power. How could she have ended up in the Everfree? Was the forest she was previously in really that far away from Canterlot? She noticed the sound. Or, the lack of it. The same silence that occurred in the last forest was apparent here as well. She looked at her surroundings, to see if she could see any landmarks near by.
Trees were dense here. Very dense. There was foliage in every direction. Everything in view of her life spell was thick and wild, save for the dirt at her hooves. She took notice of the items on the ground.
One broken twig. Six rocks, one of which was heart shaped.
No...no that's impossible.
She watched as the broken twig was lifted into the air, and began to write something in the dirt...
cRACkS aRe baD
The writing seemed....off. Like it was scribbled. Or like a foal had written it. Her light spell flickered. She wanted to conserve her power, so she cancelled it. Besides, the lack of noise was getting to her nerves.
Cracks are bad? What could—
A twig cracked to her left.
Celestia stood absolutely still. She still believed that her mind was playing tricks on her. She argued with herself for a second, deciding that, whatever it was, she could take it.
She activated her light spell to see, and took stance for her attack. She turned to her left and stared. The same rocks and broken twig seemed to stare right back at her. The twig rose up and started writing again.
CraCk
The rock shaped like a heart was split in two pieces with a crack as soon as the twig finished.
Just ignore it. It's all in my head.
She turned off her light spell to concentrate. She walked past where the rocks and twig were, or at least, where she thought they were. It was still so dark.
I don't need to see. I can try teleporting again. If I'm in the Everfree, I should be closer to the Castle than last time. This should be easy.
She readied her spell and felt the pain arise again. Why did her body act against her? She thought twice about teleporting. Nothing good came from it last time, as she was teleported to an even darker and more dangerous forest. Nothing good came from her flying either. When she did, the stars and moon vanished. But she was unharmed, and she wished to get home as soon as she could. She concentrated and teleported. Once again, in an instant, she felt her hooves lift off the ground. But they didn't touch the ground right after. She could tell that she had teleported, for the noise around her ceased, but it was still dark.
Suddenly, she felt a drop in her stomach, and wind rushing by her body at breakneck speeds. She was plummeting down. Where? She had no idea.
She opened her wings again and started to flap, to gain some flying power. She didn't want to hit the ground this fast. Just as she was starting to slow, something struck her left wing. Hard. Painfully. Right near the base. She screamed loudly. She could tell it was broken right away. She tried flapping it and only succeeded in bringing another scream from her lips. Her fall accelerated again. It was probably a tree branch that she hit, which was good and bad. Good meaning she was near the ground, and not a mile in the sky, and bad meaning that she was still in the Everfree.
She slammed into the ground, the wind being knocked out of her. Pain. Everywhere. She tried to breath in, but only succeeding in bringing more pain. She tried to get up, but her body didn't respond at first. She laid there, tears welling in her eyes.
What is happening? Why is nothing working?
She laid on her side for a few minutes. Not being able to see, not being able to move. Her heart was pounding in her chest.
She laid there and cried. She was hurt, and scared. She thought of her sister, and how whatever had gotten to her probably was far, far away by now.
She thought of Twilight Sparkle, and what she would think of her former mentor, beaten and crying on the ground. She forced herself away from those thoughts, and focused on moving.
Slowly, her limbs responded to her, the pain subsided temporarily. She stood up, still blind to her surroundings. A twig cracked to her left. She immediately cast the light spell, turning to look at the source of the noise. Nothing. She turned back and saw the rocks and the twig. She froze. The heart shaped rock was now whole again. The twig was furiously scribbling a message to her. She hoped her light spell would hold out. The fall had hurt her quite a bit, and her energy felt drained. She wasn't even sure that she could hold this simple spell up. She noticed the message the twig had written.
pRAy
Pray? She looked at the word again, the twig wasn't done. It crossed out the "A" and put and "E" above it.
pREy
Her light spell failed. She heard another twig crack, cast her light spell again, looked and saw nothing. The twig was there again, writing another note...
doNt lOok
Don't look. At what?
She heard breathing behind her. Right behind her. She wanted to turn around, but she looked down at the twig. It was writing the exact same words over and over.
DoNT LOoK
She closed her eyes, trusting the message.
She spoke softly, "Please, whatever you are, just leave me alone."
Her light flickered again, she opened her eyes, and saw a new message.
IT cANt HeAR yoU
Another flicker. Her heart was thumping hard in her chest. The breathing was heavier than ever.
aLL yoU CaN dO is RUN
The breathing behind her stopped. He light spell flickered once more. The rocks and twig were gone. She started to run, trying to get away from the area. She couldn't fly, she couldn't teleport. She had to move though. She was scared, but she needed to calm down. She began to think rationally. What could she do in this situation? She had no way out. Could she fight? She ran at a steady pace, thinking how she could possibly fight it, whatever it was.
•••
The forest was still black around her. She stopped running and prepared to cast a light spell.
Whatever is writing these messages is trying to help me. Perhaps a friend?
She cast the spell.
Nothing. No rocks or twigs. No sound, but she expected that.
"Hello?" She asked. She felt stupid for being loud in such a quiet place. Whatever was chasing her could still be around. She cancelled her light spell. Sound resumed normally. "Hello?" She asked again.
She cast light again to see if there was a reply in the dirt.
WHaT?
A reply! Someone she could communicate with!
She turned off the light and asked, "Are you friendly?"
She cast the spell again, hoping the answer would be a yes.
ARE YOU FRIENDLY?
She stared at the phrase she had uttered a second before. Her light spell was flickering again. She turned it off and said, "Yes, I'm friendly. Are you friendly?"
She turned her spell back on and was met with the same words.
aRE YoU FriENDly?
Less letters were capitalized. So what? That didn't answer her—
She froze, and the light spell flickered. She heard breathing behind her again. She didn't know what to do. She heard large footsteps advancing towards her.
Don't look at it.
She cast her eyes down at the message.
aRe yoU frieNdly?
Yes I'm friendly! Say something helpful!
The breathing behind her intensified again. Her heart started pounding. A flicker of the light.
aRe yoU frieNdly?
It seemed like the twig couldn't write fast enough. Wait. Was that...
aRe yoU frieNdly?
"...run?" She asked.
The voice behind her sounded calm yet evil, like it had every malicious intent in the world.
"Run."
Oh, she ran. She ran as fast as her legs would take her. Her heart wanted to burst out of her chest. Her light spell faded, but she didn't need it now. All she needed was to get away. She couldn't fly anymore, and her teleportation was apparently on the fritz, so she ran. Her lungs were burning, but she still ran. She didn't want to face whatever that was in this condition. She didn't want to face it at all, actually.
•••
She was still running. Anypony would still be running. Her lungs felt like someone had stabbed them repeatedly. She didn't care.
Keep on running.
She ran until she saw a light ahead. Lights. More than one. They were shining through....windows? A house out here?
No, not a house.
A hut.
Twilight's friend Zecora!
She ran even faster. She advanced on the hut, while something cracked to her left, but she passed it quickly while running.
She sprinted up to the door, and started to knock on it furiously. Hardest knocks she ever gave to any door in her life. Among her knocks, she heard another crack to her left.
Oh, screw it!
She burst through the door, and slammed it shut behind her. She was panting heavily. She turned to see a figure in the corner looking at her strangely. Finally! Someone real! Possibly someone to help her! She opened her mouth to say hello, but her face met the floor as she passed out.
•••
She awoke sometime later. The light in the room was almost blinding her eyes. It seemed...unnatural. Her body still ached all over. She looked over at her wing, and she was surprised to find it bandaged, but still broken. All the cuts and scrapes she had gotten while running had been treated as well.
She looked around the room and noticed Zecora sitting near her and staring at what looked like...a photo album. With other zebras. Her family? Celestia couldn't tell. She began to notice other things in the room. There was a small brewing area, with a wild garden in the windowsill to her left. It was still black outside, and it didn't show any hints of getting lighter. There were tribal masks and potions on a shelf to her right. She couldn't swivel her head to look behind her, but she assumed it was the door in which she entered. She was facing another window, but Zecora moved in her view of it, standing directly between her and the empty frame of blackness. Zecora then began to speak to her.
"Hello Princess Celestia, how unlikely for you to drop by. Your visit here is strange, like the currently black sky." Zecora said, while motioning to the sky.
Ah, yes. I forgot Twilight mentioned she spoke in rhymes.
"Hello Miss Zecora. I don't believe we have met before, but Twilight Sparkle has told me about you in her letters." She greeted.
"Yes, Twilight Sparkle, a strong friend of mine. Now tell me, what brings a visit of a Goddess so divine?" She spoke.
Celestia nodded and began to tell her tale. She was still anxious. Had Zecora stopped whatever was chasing her from coming in? Did it run away itself? She stopped periodically to sip at some tea that Zecora had made for her. She had explained the darkening sky, the breaking of her wing, and even the bad teleportations she had.
In between explaining the events, she had talked with Zecora quietly about small things. Her friendship with Twilight, the placement of her home, and even about what blend of tea she was drinking. Zecora told her it was a special blend of dragon thorn, a plant she grew herself. It was pleasant talk, despite her earlier situation.
They talked for about an hour, Celestia's wounds feeling a bit better. Throughout their talk, Zecora didn't look a bit pleased whatsoever. She looked upset. Had something happened? She decided to wait until the end of her tale to ask her. She got all the way to the creature telling her to run, and how she ended up at the door, and why she barged in, and why she looked so scared. This was when Zecora set down her tea and stood up, blocking the view of the window in front of her.
"Princess, I know that your tales are real. Right now, I know exactly how you feel." The words had shaken her after she had said them.
Zecora started crying. Tears were rolling down her cheeks.
"Zecora? What's wrong? Why are you crying? Has something happened?" Celestia asked.
There was an ominous weight in the room. Celestia put her tea down and started to look around, feeling watched. Feeling like she was in the forest again. The lights in the room brightened.
"Princess, no matter what happens, you must run. This force we are facing is an enemy of the sun." She riddled.
"What force? Zecora, do you know what is happening?"
Zecora was openly sobbing now. The light in the room became even brighter. This was impossible. Zecora's candles shouldn't give off this much light!
"I know how you feel, because this creature is hunting me too. While we still have time, I have a message for you" She said.
"What is this creature!? Zecora if something is coming, we can go together! We can find a way out!"
Darkness was seeping into the room from behind Zecora. Celestia stood up, earning aches from her body, but she didn't care. Zecora handed her a small slip of paper.
"No, Princess, you must go now and flee," Zecora closed her eyes and said her last statement with a calmness that would haunt Celestia forever. "I'm afraid this monster has already found me."
Zecora turned around to face the window, and for a moment, everything was still. With a loud crack, Zecora's head split in two, right down the middle. Blood sprayed everywhere, even on Celestia's coat. The body started shaking violently before it fell down to the floor, dead. Celestia stared for a moment before emptying the contents of her stomach on the ground, and looked back at Zecora's body. It was limp, bleeding everywhere. She stared, wide eyed, at what had just taken place. Wisps and thin tendrils of darkness came through the window behind Zecora's body. They snaked towards Zecora, picked up her body, and started to retreat back to where they came.
Zecora disappeared in the window, being sucked into the darkness. Celestia heard a horrible ripping noise. One tendril appeared in the window again, having Zecora's head, now separated from her body, in its grasp. It was still bleeding profusely, dripping on the floor. The eyes were looking at her, and the mouth started to move. Despite being split and half and not connected to her body, the head made a noise. She didn't hear it. She wasn't sure if she wanted to. She was frozen in fear. There was something just outside that window...
The head spoke again, very softly. She still didn't hear it.
She was terrified. She wanted to run. Wanted to hide. Despite everything inside of her telling her to move backwards, away from the head, she moved slightly towards it to hear what it had to say. It spoke clearly, but not in Zecora's voice.
"...I...said....run...."
Something cracked outside the window to her left.
She bolted. She tore the door off its hinges and ran into the darkness. She didn't care about her wounds. If that's what was waiting for her, she didn't care. She ran as fast as she could. The light faded behind her, and she was now moving blindly. She didn't stop for a long time.
•••
She finally rested and came to her senses after running face first into a total of 18 trees. Her face was starting to hurt badly. She wanted to cast a light spell to see her surroundings, but she wasn't so sure that was a good idea. She was scared. So scared. No, she needed a little light. She cast the spell, and it lit up the surrounding area. Was her spell always this dim?
She looked at the ground, seeing the same rocks and twig. The twig started to write again.
zebRaS ArE LiaRS
What? Zebras are liars? What could Zecora have said that was a lie? She remembered the note Zecora gave her. She didn't have time to read it until now. She floated it out in front of her and unfolded it.
The Twig Is Lying
I can't do this.
Two contradicting statements. Two things to confuse her more. She wanted to go home. She wanted to be safe. She cancelled her light spell and began to think about a possible solution.
The old castle! If I just ran in a straight line west from Zecora's house, I should be near it!
She waited for a crack, or breathing. Nothing. She cast her light spell again.
CrAcKs aRe Bad
She already knew that. Why was it telling her again? She cancelled the light spell to ask a question.
"How do I get out of here?" She asked.
The light came again, but it brought no help.
crAckS aRE bAd
She was a little mad. She turned off the light and said, "You're not very helpful." She turned off the light to see the reply. She wished she hadn't.
The twig was there, waiting to write, but the rocks were not the same. They were heads. Twilight and her friend's heads. She was horrified. Blood was spreading quickly on the ground, as if these poor ponies had been decapitated very recently.
This can't be real! It's not real!
The twig began to write.
CRacK
All the heads split in two when the twig was done. Celestia screamed. Then she ran. This was one horror after another. She wanted it to end. She wanted to see her sister again. She wanted to go home.
•••
Celestia stopped running to catch her breath. Seemed like she was just in this forest waiting for something to happen so she could start running again. She had gotten even more scrapes and bruises this time. She wanted to see where she was so badly. She wanted to cast the light spell, but after the last time, she was afraid to. Honestly afraid. She didn't care if anyone knew. Heck, anyone in her place would be scared. She wanted to be brave. She wanted to get out.
"How do I get out of here?" She asked. She wanted an answer, but she was afraid that it might be something even worse than last time. She activated her light spell. She closed her eyes before looking down. She didn't wish to see anything horrifying.
Six rocks, and one twig.
nOt tHE CAStle
She was filled with confusion. She was headed towards the castle now! The castle wasn't the way to go? Surely she could find some way to...
The Twig Is Lying
She remembered Zecora's note. Maybe it wasn't just something to contradict the twig. Maybe the twig was lying to her. She cancelled the spell. "Are you lying to me?" She asked.
She turned the spell back on.
woULd i liE tO YoU?
What was in the place of the heart shaped rock, was the necklace of the Element of Honesty. How? Was Applejack here? Or was this just her mind messing with her? How could this...thing...have access the the Elements? She cancelled her light spell to think. To ask another question.
"How did you get that necklace?"
She turned the light back on. The twig was hovering, but not writing. She froze when she heard the voice behind her.
"Well howdy there, Princess! Fancy meetin' you out here! What'cha doin out here anyways?"
Applejack?
A smile came to Celestia's face. She could sense a good cry coming on. A cry of joy. Finally someone she could get help from. Finally someone she—
The twig was writing. Slowly, carefully, but firmly. As if not to grab Applejack's attention.
ShE iS LYiNG
She stopped again, and stared forward, Applejack still at her rear.
Applejack? A liar? Hardly.
She started to turn, but stopped as Applejack started talking again.
"Princess? Uhh...you okay?" Applejack said.
She wanted to respond, but she looked down at the twig instead.
NOt REal
"Hey? Princess? Is there a problem? Why don't ya turn around and lemme have a look at ya."
She again, hesitated. She heard Applejack's hooves moving closer to her, and started making their way in a different direction. Applejack was now directly to her left, just outside the view of her light spell.
"Princess, c'mon. Yer startin to scare me here."
She heard Applejack shift her hooves.
A twig cracked to the left. Where Applejack was.
Celestia kept her gaze forward. Not daring to turn her head. She kept silent. She closed her eyes. She wanted something, anything to stop this madness. Her hope was just viciously torn away from her with a single noise. Applejack moved from her left to behind her again, still not in the light.
"Hey! Princess! What's up? What are you doing out here? Practicing flying skills?"
"Princess Celestia, why, what a coincidence we should be meeting in a place like this!"
"Yay! The Princess is here to party with us!"
"Oh goodness, I'm glad someone else is here now. I was so scared back there."
"See girls? I told ya! Found her out here wandering. She won't respond t'me."
"Celestia? Is that really you?"
Please. Please be real.
She heard a crack behind her. Several cracks. Six to be exact.
Tears fell from her face. She looked down at the twig.
DOnT LoOK
She hoped. She prayed that it would stop. She kept her gaze forward.
"Hey! You gonna turn around to greet us or what?"
"Princess? I don't mean to be rude, but it's ill manners to not address us face to face."
"Princess! You need to turn around so I can give you this cupcake!"
"Oh dear, would you please turn around? I'd like to see if it's actually you."
"Sugarcube, if there's a problem, you can turn around and talk with us about it."
"Celestia? Why won't you turn around?"
She wanted to turn. She wanted to believe it was real. That she could go home.
Please....just go away....
Her former student spoke loudly.
"Princess, turn around. Don't listen to anything that twig puts in the dirt. We are here to help. Can't you just turn around?" Twilight said.
She wanted to speak. To at least tell it "no". The twig scribbled again.
She didn't know what to do. Twilight's purple magic seemed to grab the twig and threw it away a couple yards. It floated right back to her.
"Don't look at that stick again. It's probably trying to deceive you." Twilight said.
The twig made another note. She glanced down at it hoping it would guide her through this.
EViL
When she looked back up, she felt something heavy hit her across the head. It hurt quite a bit. They hit her? It didn't feel like a hoof hitting her. Felt like something...bigger.
"I said don't look at it."
She stood still, her gaze straight forward. She didn't want them to hurt her, but she had to get out.
"Tia, don't look down again. We don't want to hurt you. Just turn around."
Luna?
She knew it was fake. She calmed herself a little before thinking about a possible way to get out. Talk to them? Run? Would they catch her? She needed the twig for answers. But she didn't want to directly ask it a question, for fear of something hitting her again. Her head stung. Was there something she could say? Something secret?
Yes, there is.
The figures behind her were still silent, waiting for an answer. She didn't turn, but she slowly and calmly asked them a question. One that would be normal to them, but would alert the twig, and give her a reply.
"Are. You. Friendly?" She asked.
The responses she heard were immediate. They were all agreeing with each other how friendly they were. While they were talking, she took a peek down at the twig.
aRe yoU frieNdly?
She kept her light spell on, and she began sprinting away from those...things. She ran and ran. She heard the creatures behind her stop talking and give chase as soon as she had. She hoped she was faster than them. She could hear them calling her name, but their voices were distorted, not their own. She started to throw debris at them, like rocks she picked up off the ground. Sticks, even piles of earth.
It didn't matter. They were catching up to her. They closed in on her, but remained just at the edge of her light.
"Face us you coward!"
"Run and we will only catch you!"
"You evil enchantress! Turn and look at us!"
"You are horrible! You won't even say Hello to your friends!"
"My granny's got more guts than you!"
"I thought you would learn some humility, given that we saved your life more than once!"
That last one actually stung a bit. She listened for her sister's reply through the girl's banter, but could hear none.
Celestia was getting quite tired. She had run so much already. She wanted it to stop. She realized that there was currently no way she could get out of this situation. They were surrounding her. She was so scared.
She wouldn't last like this. Her energy was fading. Her light flickered. It was about to go out. She prayed it wouldn't go out. The light seemed like the only thing that kept them at bay. She faltered. She felt her legs giving out. They were burning. Her lungs were burning as well. She longed for air. She felt tears in her eyes.
Just make it go away...
"I can make it go away......" A voice near her whispered. It wasn't Twilight, or her friends. It wasn't her sister either. She thought she recognized it, but she wasn't sure.
Please...
"Just stop running...."
I can't...
"And you'll be safe....."
Luna, forgive me.
She stopped running, and let her light go out.
...
...
Nothing came. She still waited.
...
...
"Just do it already!" She screamed.
She was panting. Fresh air came, which she was very thankful for. Were they gone? Had she outrun them? She sat, stunned. Had her life been in mortal danger? Or had she just imagined it? The strain on her body was enormous. Her head stung like someone had hit her with a large rock. She rubbed it before stopping and listening for any signs of the creatures. Breathing? Cracking?
A twig cracked. Celestia waited. And waited.
Nothing.
Really? Nothing?
Well, it's not like she should be complaining about it.
Celestia got up, and began to walk, being very cautious for any sounds.
I've got to get out of here.
•••
Celestia wondered if she was dead. If this was all taking place in her mind. Had she gone crazy? Insane? Wait, there's no difference between those... SEE! She was going mad! Celestia started to mumble to herself. She started to lose hope. There really was never a way out, was there?
She stumbled upon a well worn path. Or at least, it used to be well worn. The path to the castle? It was her best bet. Her only chance. If this was the way, Ponyville should be directly behind her. Which way was better? The castle or Ponyville? From the castle, she could accurately teleport to Canterlot. That teleportation is one she couldn't mess up.
But Ponyville...that was her only real chance. For all she knew, she might not even be able to teleport at all! Yes, Ponyville was a better chance. Twilight could help her. She would—
A twig cracked nearby.
Better not waste time.
She began running, still fearful of the creatures that followed.
•••
Celestia stopped again when she heard another noise. Not a crack, not breathing, but one she was oddly confused she hadn't heard a lot earlier. Especially in this forest. Growling.
A manticore...?
She stood still, listening again, this time for several minutes. It was gone.
Celestia began to move again to bump her hooves on something. It had almost made her trip. She readied her light spell and cast it, to see more clearly.
It was a bone. A pony bone.
She shined her light spell further, only to see she was surrounded by them. Piles and piles of bones. All from ponies. Her heart started to pound in her chest. Whatever the creature was, it had eaten a lot of her subjects.
The twig was there again, writing a message to her.
cRAckS arE baD
Yes, she knew that already. She waited for the bone to crack.
Her light spell flickered, and what she saw were no longer just bones.
They were legs. Bloody, dismembered legs. Of all different colors.
She threw up again. The twig started to write. She shut her eyes.
She heard a thousand cracks at once. All sounding the same. She realized that every crack she had heard so far sounded like this. A bone being snapped in half. She hated this. Whatever put her here was a true monster. Whatever was doing this deserved to be put in the deepest depths of Tartarus. Or was it just her mind? She thought she would never know.
Celestia opened her eyes, knowing that she'll have to move at some point. Bones stared back at her. No legs, no blood, just the bones. It was still a gruesome sight, but much less gruesome than she expected. She heard a roar in front of her, and brightened her light spell. A manticore was slowly moving through a pile of bones towards her. Celestia stepped backwards a few times. The manticore stopped about ten feet away, and roared.
It's breath was foul. Worse than she ever could've imagined. The stench of a thousand pony's organs and insides filled her nostrils. She wanted to vomit again. Then she saw it, right behind the manticore. A wisp. A tendril of darkness. It poked the creature on the shoulder, as if to turn it around. She panicked, and looked down at the twig.
DonT loOK
The manticore started to turn around. She shut her eyes tight.
The manticore howled again, but was cut short by a whimper, followed by a loud, deafening crack.
Oh mother please help me
Another loud, horrid ripping noise. She heard dripping on the ground. Her breathing became heavy as she stared to cry again. If she wasn't already insane, she was certainly edging towards it now.
The dripping stopped, and a voice behind her spoke.
"Are you afraid, my little pony?"
The voice sounded motherly. Like the creature behind her wasn't capable of committing such acts of horror at all. She didn't reply, but she was pretty sure the voice knew her answer.
Celestia heard scraping in the dirt. She opened her eyes, and immediately cast them down.
aRe yoU frieNdly?
The light spell flicked off, and she sprinted forwards, leaping over any piles of bones. She found her way back to the trail, and began running like a mad mare. Was she still facing the same direction? She had to be. She didn't turn around at all, she was on a straight path. How had she wandered into a manticores den? She didn't care. She just wanted to get away.
•••
Celestia stopped running a long time ago. She was walking now, dragging her hooves. She had stopped periodically to check if anything was near. She listened carefully for any noise, and upon hearing none, she continued walking.
Has everyone forgot about me? Why hasn't someone shown up by now? Someone real.
Would she even know if they were real? How could she tell? Was anything real? She hit her head against a tree. She didn't feel it.
Celestia sat down. She didn't believe any of this was happening. Not anymore. Something had invaded her mind, and was toying with her. She closed her eyes. And focused on good thoughts. Her sister. Twilight and her friends. Cadence. All the little ponies that looked up to her everyday. Her sun, and it's warmth. She missed them. She—
The sun!
She didn't know why she hadn't thought of it before. Her light spell was fine, but who needed that when she could raise the sun! She would find her way home much faster! And whatever creatures that were chasing her would certainly leave her alone. Celestia and Luna had agreed upon a set of situations in which either pony could raise the sun or the moon past or before its designated raising or lowering. One, if a national emergency required it, or two, if one of the princesses was in danger. Great danger.
Well, I certainly hope this counts as number two.
Celestia sat down, and focused. This wouldn't need to be the show she gave all of her onlookers that would arrive at the castle, just to watch. She closed her eyes, and concentrated.
Normally with the Sun and Moon cycle, she would feel both of the spatial entities before grabbing on to hers with her alicorn magic. Something stopped her though. They weren't there. No, they were there, but....it was all foggy. Shadowy. Something was trying to stop her? What fool would try to stop her, at what she does best?
Celestia focused her magic, and tried to grab onto her sun. She was surprised to see her actually obtain it faster than usual. She had been doing this for her whole life. Millennia upon millennia. Yet everyday, she still felt a little resistance to her touch. The combination of size and distance would stop her from controlling her sun perfectly, everyday. She came to know this well.
She had felt no resistance whatsoever when she just grabbed it. It's as if the thing wanted her to pull it around the sky. She dismissed it, and began to gently move it towards the horizon, so she could put it overhead. It was easy. Easier than it should be. Why?
She heard a crack.
At this point, she didn't really care. The light was just starting to come above the horizon. Another crack. Her eyes were closed in concentration, and she couldn't see what was around her. She didn't stop though. She wanted the sun directly overhead. When it reached that point, she sighed, and opened her eyes.
Darkness. Well, mostly darkness. The sun was in the sky, but it seemed small, and only cast....a sort of spotlight. Right down on Celestia. Everything else remained black. No, wait, there was a soft glow ahead. She walked towards it, and found herself staring at what she found.
The Tree of Harmony.
How? That wasn't even close to Ponyville! She gazed at the tree. It didn't feel like the safe haven it was supposed to be. It seemed...off. Then again, everything seemed off in this place. There was no "normal". It was all strange. Strange and horrifying. She looked down and saw the twig, but it had no message. Could it still write one? The sun was making a permanent light, and she wished to talk with the twig.
The sun above her began to fade. It's light pulled back up to the sky, where it had become one with the darkness. Celestia panicked. Had her sun just gone black? The symbol of light? Gone BLACK? She looked around, her heart thumped, and she heard a crack.
"Is Ponyville near?" She asked. She hoped the twig would respond to a question like this. Did it even know where Ponyville is? She activated her spell.
aRe yoU frieNdly?
Run? Was there something—
"Princess! Please help us!
It was Twilight again, right behind her, but remaining at the edge of her light, in the darkness.
"Whoever...whatever is doing this! Please stop!" Celestia pleaded.
"Princess what are you talking about?! Just help us!" Twilight screamed.
She heard Twilight's other friends now, all begging her to help.
"The creatures! They are coming!"
Creatures?
For a small moment, she had the tiniest bit of hope. They could be the real deal. That hope was shattered instantly.
"Princess! Turn around and cast more light!" They pleaded.
More light?
Celestia was still unsure. They wanted her to turn around, which was a big no-no. But why would they need light if they were enemies? She decided to give more light, but not turn. The area was filled with brightness. Twilight and her friends only seemed to scream more.
"Princess Celestia! PLEASE!"
She thought about turning. She really did. She heard cracks behind her. She would not budge.
Rips and tears and breaks. Their bodies were being torn apart.
It's not real...
The screaming however, did not die down. It wasn't Twilight and her friends anymore. It was just the creatures.
The tree blinked out of existence. The only thing was her and her light.
And one twig.
aRe yoU frieNdly
If you could smell fear, Celestia was probably a beacon in this forest to any predator that happened to open its nose. She just ran, wondering if she would ever get out of this place.
She kept her light spell up, wanting to ward the monsters away as much as she could.
Her fears became that much more intense when she tripped over a root that seemingly jutted out of the ground, to put itself in her way. She instinctively flapped her wings to prevent her fall, but she only got a scream for her lips, as pain shot through her left side. Her wing was nowhere near flying condition.
She fell down, the creatures around her seemed to edge that much closer when her light spell flickered. They didn't make any words anymore. They made noise, but not words. They were just sounds now. They were edging towards insane screaming and howling. She could heard a dozen or so cracks.
A twig was in front of her face, writing in the dirt. Her light spell flickered once more.
fear the light
What? What does that mean! Why would it give her a puzzle now, of all times?
She remembered the writing on the tree and the grove.
Do they fear the light?
Her light spell flickered, and she tried to put more effort into it, but the light remained weak. When it flickered once more and became dim, she heard more cracks, the screams around her turned into all out roars. Roars of anger.
Anger? Why anger?
She focused harder, and poured more energy into the light. It became brighter. The creatures shrieked with...it seemed like....satisfaction. Realization hit her like a train.
I'm a fool.
She had suspected that they had feared the light this entire time. In reality, she should've feared the light instead.
Her thoughts went back to the breathing, the silence, the chases, even the manticore. They all happened because of her light spell was on. Even now, as she was pouring all her magic into it, these creatures only seem to like it! Zecora's hut, and how all her lights began to intensify before the creature got her. When she met Applejack, no, all of Twilight's friends. It was when she had her light on. She remembered when she gave up, and turned it off, how they disappeared.
Fear the light.
Celestia stood up, and looked at the surrounding darkness with worry, but certainty. She cast her eyes up to the sky. Her sun was no longer there, but there was still light at her horn. Her light spell. She closed her eyes, the creatures became angry around her. They roared. They screamed. Louder. Louder still. All telling her to turn around. They screamed with many voices. Twilight and her friends, some of her loyal guards, some of just random ponies. All begging her not to do it. The cracking sounded like a dragon was having each of its bones split by another, bigger dragon.
The light started to dim, the cracking stopped. The screaming didn't, but she still heard her name.
"Tia! Please! Don't do it! Help me! These creatures are—"
The light dimmed further.
She heard ripping. The tearing of flesh. More screams. More loud, heartbreaking screams.
"TIA! PLEASE! SAVE ME!"
Tears fell from her face. She opened her eyes, and with the strongest voice she could, she uttered three words.
"You're. Not. Luna."
She cancelled her light spell completely.
She heard a cacophony of screams reach their peak, but die out as soon as the last trace of light faded.
•••
She didn't know how long she walked. She had no light. She couldn't see where she was going. She knew she was facing Ponyville, and she hoped she was near it now.
She heard more cracks. She paid them no mind. It was only monsters, trying to get her attention. They wouldn't hurt her. Not if it was dark. Not if she didn't use her spell.
She kept on walking. She felt dried tears on her face. She felt a little numb. She had found a way to keep safe, but she didn't feel safe. Not at all.
•••
She made her way past the final trees, the edge of the forest, out to an open field. She couldn't really tell if it was a field. It was still black outside. She finally saw it. Ponyville, in the distance. She saw the windows that marked each building. The sky was still black, but she saw their light.
She turned away from it.
She sat there, looking at the forest. The forest she once called her home. She wept.
"Tia! Finally! I'm so sorry I couldn't reach you faster!"
Celestia froze. There was a light behind her. She searched the ground for any rocks or twigs.
"Tia, I'm sorry I wasn't there. Something was keeping me out. Some—"
"Luna?" She said.
"What, dearest sister?" Luna replied.
"Turn off your light," She said. She didn't hear a reply from behind her. "Please." She added.
"What? Why? Is something wrong?" Luna asked.
"Do it!" Celestia screamed.
Celestia never looked backwards. She could tell the figure behind her was taken aback.
"Fine, fine." Luna said
The light went out. All turned black. All was quiet.
"Luna?" She asked. She had put more hope on that word than she had put on anything else in her life.
...
"Yes, sister?"
More tears came. She wept. She sobbed. She turned around and hugged the figure behind her. She could tell it was Luna. She shape of her body, her flowing mane and tail.
"I'm so sorry, Tia. You are currently in a dream."
A dream?
Relief washed over her like a tidal wave.
"Well, more like a nightmare, but I think it's alright now. I tried to reach you earlier, when it was just starting to look like one. I was calling your name, but something pushed me out. I had no access into the forest at all, so I was flying overhead to try and spot you, but it's so dark, I can't see anything. I hope it wasn't much of a bad one, was it?" Luna asked.
Celestia remembered the cracks. The screams.
"No, not too bad." Celestia lied.
"Good, then let me fix this, and I'll continue to let you sleep." Luna said.
Before Celestia could say anything, Luna lit up the night sky with her stars and moon, illuminating everything. There was light everywhere.
"Wait Luna! WAIT!" She screamed.
Something grabbed her leg, and pulled her back into the forest.
•••
She was kicking and screaming and crying, being thrown into trees and thorn bushes while the tendril dragged her deeper.
"Stop! Please, let me go!" She pleaded. She didn't think it would help, but she wanted to try anyway.
Faster and faster she was pulled. Deeper and deeper. Finally, she was thrown into the air, and fell on the ground in a heap. In front of her, was the Tree of Harmony.
No, this wasn't it. This was a horror. A perversion.
In place of the elements, the bodies of Twilight Sparkle and her friends were pinned or hanging from the tree, their limbs and organs falling out of their bodies.
Celestia tried to throw up, but nothing came. She noticed the tree was black instead of its usual color. It started to glow when she heard voices.
Twilight's voice. And her friends.
"Silly Celestia. I hope you've learned a little something from this encounter."
The voices spoke in unison, with some other, darker voice placed in as well. She thought she recognized it.
"My goal was simple here. Teaching you how to fear me. When I return, I want to see the exact same look on your face. One of fear."
No....she did recognize that voice. A shadowy figure appeared in front of her. One with turquoise eyes. Celestia's own eyes widened.
"I'll make an example out of your precious Twilight Sparkle this time. I will not fail."
She knew that voice. It's a voice that haunted her in many nightmares prior to this one. Celestia started to cry. She did not say a word.
It's not real...
"Look at you! You're afraid of every little light.... It will make it that much easier for you to accept everlasting darkness. Yes, this time, the night will be mine. Forever."
If there was any doubt in her mind, it was shattered with that statement.
"But before the glorious Nightmare Moon makes her return, I have a little tip for you."
Celestia looked up at the shadow figure, tears streaming down her face.
Not real....
"You thought you could run. There's a little something you should know though..."
Celestia blinked, and the figure was gone. The tree was gone as well. Everything was. It was completely black, except for a single light. A light that came from the end of her horn. It was her light spell.
She looked down at a twig, writing a new message to her.
YOu cANt rUn FROm a NIGHTMARE
"Tia! I found you! Mother above, I was so scared! I followed you all the way through the forest. Are you alright?"
She heard the voice behind her. A flicker from her light spell. She looked down again.
DONT LOOK
DONT LOOK
DONT LOOK
DONT LOOK
Celestia's tears kept coming. She knew it was just a nightmare. She knew she would wake up eventually. Knowing this, she made a decision. A very bad decision.
She looked.
