Stare Into the Darkness Long Enough, It will Eventually Stare back
Stare Into the Darkness Long Enough, It will Eventually Stare back
The sound of hooves echoed in the vast and virtually empty hallways of Canterlot castle. These days they were all but abandoned, save for the few remaining guards and servants doing their best to maintain what was left of the castle. The kingdom itself was in shambles, almost all of the populace driven to insanity by an unseen force, a force which was attacking them from within their own minds. Even the great Discord and benevolent Celestia had fallen victim to its mancious influence, leaving a lost and broken nation resting squarely on the shoulders of the one who was making her way down the hall.
“Report, Guards Pony,” Luna said sternly as she continued her stoic march down the hall and past a pair of weary stallions clad in armor, “And do not dally, I have no time for sugarcoated truths.”
The closest guard nodded to his comrades and darted to Luna’s side, his hoofsteps heavy and eyes screaming for sleep, but if he were to rest his body, even if only for a moment, he may be the next of an ever increasing number of victims.
“The infirmary has added another thirty ponies according to last night’s headcount, your majesty.” He explained as he tried to keep with Luna’s pace. “At this rate we’ll quadruple maximum capacity levels by this afternoon. We can’t–”
“Tis our duty as rulers of this great land to take care of and watch over our subjects.” Luna interrupted, not even bothering to look at the guard. “I will not have the doors closed and my back turned to those affected by this event.”
“But the doctors, the nurses…” The guard said fighting back a yawn. “They’ve been overwhelmed since we hit maximum capacity three weeks ago. If they receive any more victims to attend to, then they will surely begin to sleep to and if that happens…” The guard paused as Luna’s horn let out off a faint glow, opening the door at the end of the corridor the two had been traveling down, revealing Luna’s destination. “Then they will meet the same terrible fate as the others.”
The castle infirmary; the largest hospital facility in the entire country, if not the world, was filled wall to wall with makeshift cots, each of them holding one, if not two, ponies. Their bodies seized and shivered, looks of terror seemingly plastered onto their faces. Several generators scattered among the beds groaned loudly from being run for so many hours without rest, creating an almost unbearable heat throughout the room as their tangled mass of cables snaked this way and that to each of the monitors and life support systems. The counters and cabinets, usually organized and clean to allow the doctors and nurses to find what they needed quickly and efficiently, were left ajar; their contents spilling out in a disheveled mess of pills, needles, and gauze more akin to the home of an addict. Exhausted doctors and nurses did their best to weave through the network and narrowing space between beds, but in their current states accidents happened.
The bewitching calls of slumber had finally seduced a wary doctor, his buckling legs sending him straight into a nurse carrying one of the numerous victims of the endemic back to their cot. The chain reaction it caused sending the helpless victim into one of the last operating generators, effectively shutting the power down. Those still awake began to clamor in fear, knowing whatever was plaguing the kingdom would take them in the darkness. As the panic grew to a fever pitch, a single light dimly lit the blackened shadows.
Princess Luna’s magic shone like a flicker of hope in a swirling storm of despair. The few remnants of the once proud nation followed the glow of their princess, silent in respectful awe as she walked among and through them. Her stoicism in spite of all that had happened over the past few months were beyond any normal sense or reason, but she remained the same through all this hell, she had to. She stopped in front of the damaged generator, eyeing it quickly before placing her horn on the damaged area, within seconds light was restored to the area, the survivors all letting out a sigh of triumphant relief.
“This is becoming foolish,” Luna said, turning to the weary guard. “If we do not find a clue of some sort soon, I fear that all of Equestria, neigh, the entirety of the planet will perish and become nothing but dust.”
“Yes ma’am,” the guard nodded in agreement, “but it’s been months and as of yet we have no leads. Whoever this is can hide from none other than the Mistress of Dreams herself, and that thought is beyond terrifying.”
“Not as terrifying as what would happen if we stay our hooves any longer.” Luna replied, making her way to one of the victims. “I need to find this monster and stop him before it is too late for us all.”
Luna stopped in front of a small filly, her body curled into a ball and trembling. “Why, mommy…” she whispered quietly in terror as she slept, “watching… always watching…”
Luna frowned a placed a hoof on the little filly’s head, doing her best to bring comfort to one who couldn’t feel her touch. With a deep sigh she turned around, the eyes of those still awake focused on her, waiting for some sort of response.
“I’m going in.” she said, breaking the silence and sending shockwaves through those who heard her.
“W-what?” The guard stuttered, “No, you, can’t! Your sister has even fallen to this… thing, if we lose you then–”
“What other options do we have?” Luna snapped back, putting the guard back in his place, “Over ninety five percent of the population, worldwide, has been affected by this blight.. Society as we knew it is gone and everyday there are hundreds upon thousands of individuals succumbing to whatever this is. Most of all it affects us when we are most vulnerable, in our dreams, and all of you know very well that there is only one of us here that can go where it haunts.”
The weary crowd around Luna looked to one another, then back to their ruler knowing full well that she was right. All around her bowed, acknowledging her choice as she turned her attention back to the quivering foal once more. Luna rose her hoof and gently ran it through the foal’s mane, saddened to see another one of the subjects she’d swore to protect fall to whatever evil had gripped the world, but her sadness soon turned into resolve. With renewed vigor and a sense of indomitable determination, she set her hoof down, turning back to those remained as her horn began to emit a faint, sapphire glow.
“Wish me luck,” she said with a fire burning in her eyes, the magic from her horn slowly encompassing her entire being.
Moments later, the magic from Luna’s horn completely engulfed her, bursting into a blinding flash before suddenly fading to complete darkness. Luna instinctively blinked several times, her eyes trying to cope with the great, cold black expanse before her. It took her a moment before she finally lit her horn with magic, illuminating the small room she had been placed in.
Based on the few dolls seen lying about the room, the flower-based decor on the bed and windows, and the colorful wallpaper, the princess realized that she must have been transported into the filly’s room. Despite the unnatural haze of darkness permeating the air, the room seemed entirely ordinary for such a foal. That was, until she spotted the closet, her eyes tracking as the fog seemed to roll out of the small crack between the two sliding doors.
That must be the cause of her nightmares, Luna deduced, taking careful steps towards it. Upon closer inspection, she could see a small dress tied around the handles, binding them together. Luna’s brow raised at the oddity. Normally, small foals such as this are not aware that they are dreaming when a nightmare such as this occurs, which means either this child has keen instincts, or she knew that whatever lay within the closet was the cause of her nightmares. Either way, the filly was extremely resourceful to use this dress made of a slightly elastic material to seal the door.
“D-Don’t!”
Luna jumped as the filly wrapped her hooves around the princess’ foreleg. She chided herself for not sensing the foal’s presence before this. “You can’t let it out! Not again…”
“Why are you afraid, little one?” Luna asked in a motherly tone as she leaned her muzzle down to meet the child’s sporadic gaze with a warm smile. “This is all just a dream. You can wake up from it if you –”
“Don’t you think I’ve tried that!?” the child screamed, pushing Princess Luna away before returning to the shadows that hid her before.
Luna raised her brow and attempted to follow the small filly until the sound of tearing fabric reached her ears. The princess’ eyes darted to the closet just in time to see as the doors heaved and strained against the small binding that kept them shut. Suddenly, the dress tore in half, allowing the doors to flood the room with all of its darkness that had been held back; like a dam that finally burst. The darkness threw her about like a ragdoll and sent her careening through the house before rendering her unconscious.
A sputtering cough was the first sound that reached Luna’s ears when she awoke, not realizing it was her own until she tried to move. For several minutes, she tried to purge whatever liquid had made it into her lungs with marginal success. Whatever it was, the liquid was slimy and clung to her throat as she coughed, causing her to gag as it lingered longer than it should. It tasted more like bile and grease than anything else, but Luna did her best not to think on it long. Instead, she opened her eyes and looked around this new space to help find her bearings.
What she saw was not very encouraging. She now found herself somewhere deep in the bowels of some dark, dank cellar with the stench of decay and mold assaulting her senses, even causing her eyes to water as she adjusted to her new surroundings. Just as before, light was scarce and the dark haze around her was even thicker down here.
Finally back on her hooves, Luna took inventory of her situation and noted that this foal’s dream world was far more developed than any other filly’s of the same age. The details she felt with each of her senses spoke volumes about the realm of dreams she found herself in; grime shifted under her hooves as she walked between two large wooden casks, cobwebs draped down from the ceiling before she broke them apart as she passed, and she could hear the scampering of rats as they fled from her presence.
As Luna walked through the halls of this abnormally large cellar, the only sounds that greeted her ears were those of her own hoofsteps as they echoed off the stone walls. The loneliness would unnerve most, but to Luna, it was like a welcome friend. She was alone for one thousand years, even longer if you counted the years before her banishment.
“Is this truly the best you can muster, Spirit?” she scoffed, a confident grin gracing her face, “Tis mere foalsplay if you think something as simple as this would effect the likes of me.”
As if accepting her challenge, a single sound pierced the veil of silence. The sounds of a weeping mare reached her, causing the princess to stop in her tracks, listening carefully to find where the sound was coming from. Although the halls bounced the sound all around, Luna was determined to follow the sound to the source; somepony was in distress and needed her help. As she raced through the vacant halls, portraits manifested on the walls of her friends. However, the joyous expressions they held on their faces soon melted away into those agony and despair. Thier eyes, once so vibrant with life and happiness, now black as night while streams of blood poured through the empty sockets and mouths, the streams even seemed to flow from the painting and down the walls, pooling under the frames that held them and cascading through the cobblestones to the floor.
As soon as the blood started to pool, unearthly wailing screeched from the portraits, begging and pleading Luna to save them, cursing her name as she ran by and sowing the seeds of doubt into her mind until finally she stopped in front of one with Cadence. Her eyes black as night and once beautiful pink fur carved to ribbons and oozing puss and blood.
“P-Please Auntie…” she begged through bloody, gnashing gums, “S-save me! I BEG YOU! PLEASE!”
Luna instinctively took a step back, repulsed by both the imagery and the rotting smell that seeped from the painting, but her maternal instincts struck her with the force of a falling dragon. Taking one cautious step forward, Luna extended her wing in a consoling manner, and actually reached through the portrait to caress the cheek of her disfigured niece.
“Don’t worry little one.” she said softly, “I am going to make this all better, I will save you.”
“You can’t save any of them…”
As a moment of doubt crept through Luna’s mind, she watched as the image of Cadence began to completely rot away till there was nothing but bones and dried blood. The princess pulled away in shock, the tip of her wing felt cold as she withdrew it from the world of the portrait. She whirled around to search for the source of the voice, but found the hallway suddenly vacant of everything but the stones that formed the walls. Even as she turned back, the haunting visage of Cadence had disappeared, giving way to an old wooden door.
It felt like an eternity before Luna’s mind could accept everything that had just transpired, her body shaking as a few errant tears escaped her eyes. It took her a moment to realize she could hear the sobbing mare again, but now it was much closer and sounded as if she was just behind the door. Tentatively, Luna stepped forward.
The wooden door opened with a loud creak, it's rusty hinges alerting all to her presence. The mare’s weeping now turned to cries of fear and rattling chains as Luna entered the dimly lit area. The princess froze, finally able to see that the one she had found was –
"Stay back!" Celestia cried out, straining against her bonds as she tried to further distance herself from the intruder. Her mane and fur were matted by sweat and tears, her hooves bound by thick, rusted chains that screeched against the floor with every movement, her wings were bound to her sides and her horn sported the remnants of a magic-nullification spell.
"Sister?" Luna whispered. "Sister what happened to you?"
With an unnatural speed, Celestia was now uncomfortably close to Luna, her eyes darting all over as if she were studying every feature of her sister’s muzzle.
Celestia let out an exasperated breath, “No. No no no no. Y–You can’t be here! You are supposed to be out there finding a way to get us out…”
It was disturbing to see her sister acting so sporadically. She was usually so stoic, so prim and proper and would never falter even under the most stressful situations.
“LUNA!” Celestia roared, bringing Luna back to her senses just enough for her to hear the sound of distant footsteps.
Click-clack, click-clack.
Celestia grabbed Luna by the shoulders, “Listen to me carefully because you will only one chance at this; There is a small doorway on the other side of this room. Go through it and follow it down to the red door. Before the creature caught me, it was the last place I had left to explore. I can only assume that it is our only hope to end this nightmare. Do everything you can to free our people, I will hold it off as long as I can.”
The younger princess began to protest, but was cut off by the ever growing sound of the footsteps from the hall.
Click-clack, click-clack.
“There isn’t much time Luna…” Celestia said with tears in her eyes, psychically begging her sister to listen to her. ”RUN!”
Before Luna could react, Celestia threw her through the exit, taking a defensive position between her and the open door. As soon as Luna found her hooves again she ran to the door, determined to rescue her sister from a fate worse than death, but when she was a mere foot away from the door it slammed shut. Her muzzle exploding in blood as a result of not being able to stop in time. She jerked toward her nose, feeling the warmth pour onto her hoof as she gathered herself. Then the frightening reality hit her harder than she could ever hit the door.
“Celestia?!” She screamed, ignoring her pain, “CELESTIA!?”
The Princess slammed her hooves on the door, trying with all her might to break it down, but what was once frail wood turned to cobblestone. Resetting herself she gritted her teeth, horn glowing with unmatched fury.
“OPEN DAMN YOU!” She roared with all her might and rage as a beam that could cut cleanly through a dragon’s skull headed directly for the spot where the door had been. “I will not let you take her from me!”
The blast hit the door head on, the resulting explosion filling the darkness that surrounded Luna with a flash of dazzling light. The blast rocked her to her very core but as the dust settled she saw in her dazed state that the door stood steadfast and in an instant, all hope faded into the darkness.
After Luna cleared the stars from her eyes, she charged the wall and pawed at it like an animal locked away, trying anything to get back inside.
Her sister’s muffled scream tormented Luna from just beyond the stone. Then, the sound of silence deafened her and shook her to the core of her being. Her hooves slowly slid down the wall as a fit of sobs overtook her.
“Tia… I’m sorry.”
Celestia’s final words rang through her head. “Do everything you can to free our people…”
Resolve filled Luna’s soul, determined now more than ever to fulfil the last wish of her sister, though she knew she wasn’t truly dead, she knew that this was a fate far worse and nopony else would suffer. Even if it meant her end. She turned around to come face to face with a dead hallway, lined with doors on either side, all of them the same, but each different.
As she began to make her way down the hall she noticed that each door was color coded. Green, Yellow, Blue, the vibrant colors of each door drastically contrasting the dull and derelict look of the rest of the decorum of moss and dust, but at least it made finding the red door easier.
Click-clack, click-clack.
Luna’s blood became ice in her veins as the slow echo of the bastard monster’s footsteps echoed through the halls. Her eyes frantically darted back and forth across the halls looking for either a place to hide or the fabled red door, all the while the echoing of footsteps seemed to come ever closer.
Click-clack, click-clack.
After what seemed like forever, she finally caught sight of a bright red door to the left. Hope sparked once again as her horn let off a faint glow one last time, swinging open the door, the eerie echo of whatever was chasing her still ringing strong in the hall behind her.
Click-clack, click-clack.
The small moment of relief the princess felt withered in her chest. After finally finding the red room, Luna was greeted by three more doors, each with different plaques next to them marked by strange symbols.
Click-clack, click-clack.
She was running out of time, the creature was drawing closer and closer. Picking one of the rooms at random, Luna deftly ran through the door and made sure to close it behind her just before the creature came through the red door. Hopefully she would get lucky and it would search the other two rooms first.
Click-clack, click-clack.
Luna’s breath hitched in her throat, the creature was moving right outside. The door creaked open as the monster slowly waltzed in after her. The closer it got, the faster she could feel her heart pounding in her chest. Her eyes darted around frantically, searching frantically for an escape, she already knew that magic wouldn’t work, she tried that already and all that seemed to do was make whatever it was even more intent on tracking her down.
The clacking of its footsteps echoing closer and closer brought her back to her horrid reality. She was cornered, cowering like a filly as her mind degraded to a rudimentary survival mode. In a last ditch effort to escape she darted to the right, only to have the creature summon a barrier before her. Unable to stop in time, the princess slammed face first into the wall, the bitter taste of her own blood filling her mouth. All the while, the sound of the creature drew ever closer.
Click-clack, click-clack.
No longer the stern and regal princess she was known to be, Luna fell into full panic mode, her wings splayed out in an effort to make herself larger in a primal display of feigned dominance, but the creature was not phased. It drew closer, every echoing footstep causing her to shrink down further and push against the wall until she was standing on her hind legs.
Click-clack…
It was finally face to face with the princess and Luna could still not make out any defining features through the darkness that seemed to envelope the creature. She screwed her eyes shut as its face was nearly touching her own, but despite this, she did not feel its breath as its eyes scanned over her body.
The princess waited for the creature to inflict its horrors upon her but they never came. Hesitantly, she opened one of her eyes to take one last look at her attacker before she befell the same fate as her subjects. Her gaze was met by something more akin to a marble statue than the living amalgamation of her nation’s fears. Large, soulless eyes stared into her own, void of any and all emotion, not even blinking as it continued to glance over her, its entire head moving with every adjustment. It was then that Luna finally noticed the things teeth; unlike many predators, this creature’s dentition was ill suited for ripping into and tearing raw flesh, instead they seemed quite flat. That being said its lips still curled into an unnerving smile beneath a thick set of whiskers that nearly covered the entirety of his face save for his nose and his godawful eyes.
Suddenly the beast jerked, causing Luna to nearly jump out of her skin. As she continued to panic, the being rose its hands passively, as if it were trying to calm her down. She blinked a few times, processing the event unfolding before her. Why in all of Equestria would the very creature that had brought civilization to its knees by putting the sleeping denizens of the land into terror filled comas be trying to ease her nerve?
As she continued to ponder on the situation the beast froze, closing his fist save for his index finger which he shot upward in an ‘ah-ha’ fashion. It then turned and pulled something from behind itself, allowing her to look over the being once again. Its garb looked like one of royalty, but even if whatever it was before her was of noble status, she certainly couldn’t tell where from, for the robes that adorned its shoulders looked like no country’s banner she’d ever seen.
The scent of charbroiled perfection tickled Luna’s nostrils as the Burger King held out a plate with a whopper of a meal. Luna’s brow cocked so far up her forehead it threatened to leave her body entirely.. The creature slightly nudged the food towards her, presumably wanting her to consume what was on the plate. Hesitantly, the princess leaned forward and took another whiff of the food, recoiling back upon realizing that it was some form of meat covered in lettuce, tomatoes, and other ill-fated condiments.
“I’m sorry, Sire,” she said, politely holding a hoof up between herself and the burger. “But I am a vegetarian.”
The Burger King froze for just a moment, trying to process her decision before offering it to her once again.
“Forgive me good King, but I am a pony, therefore I am unable to properly process such food sources.” Luna tentatively pushed the plate back towards him with a hoof, smiling as graciously as she could. “My entire country consists of those like me, I truly am sorry, but none of us will be able to indulge in such meals.”
The King tilted his head inquisitively before looking back to the burger. A few seconds passed and he shrugged his shoulders before turning around and double skipping back into the darkness from whence he came.
In that very instant a sudden flash of light stabbed at Luna’s eyes, temporarily robbing her of her senses. A mere second later she awoke to the sound of thunderous applause and triumphant cheers, followed by a the feeling of forelegs wrapping around her chest.
“You did it Princess!” The pony clinging to her throat exclaimed. “You did it!”
“W-what?” Princess Luna replied, still slightly in shock from the sudden injection back into the waking world.
“You did it!” The pony repeated once again. “Everypony is waking up! You defeated the monster!”
Luna blinked several times, processing what the pony had just said before putting on a huge smile. “But of course!” She shouted triumphantly, raising her hoof in victory. “The battle was long and harsh, but in the end, I bested our shared foe!”
The crowd cheered and stomped their feet triumphantly as Princess Celestia made her way towards her little sister, wrapping up in her wings as both tears and a smile graced her face. All the while a shadowy figure watched in silence, it’s soulless eyes shifting between the Princess and the triple WHOPPER meal in his hand, now only $6.79.
“Next time…” he said softly to himself, stroking the burger’s sesame seed bun to comfort it. “next time.”
The End?
Author's Note
Welp, that happened.
It was your idea, Flan…
Don’t tell me how to live!
I never once questioned your lifestyle choices dude, just your choice in story ideas. Still, this was pretty fun.
Of course it was fun! It was my idea!
… Sure that’s why. At least I was here to cook the raw meat of this story into char broiled perfection.
Do I have to remind you about what happened the last time we decided to do something you thought was fun?
I still stand by the fact that having you run through “Electric Avenue” from Jackass was a good day.
I STILL can’t feel my left testicle!
Maybe you shouldn’t go sack first into a taser, then.
Maybe you shouldn’t tell me that it was blindfolded karaoke.
C’mon dude, no matter what you say from this point on, you know the readers are going to be thinking about you running balls first into a cattle prod for the rest of this argument. Maybe we should just talk about our time with the story?
Fine… Yeah, we had fun, and that pun before this completely adlibbed back and forth was terrible.
Hey! Im sure at least two of our readers appreciated it. I appeal to the masses. By the way, good people, I wanted to have Luna eat the burger at the end, but mister “Don’t mess with my waifu” wouldn’t let me...
ಠ_ಠ
By the way, sorry this is a day after Halloween, but we had a few scheduling issues and we kinda came up with this story on the spot. Hope you had a great Halloween and enjoy your holidays this year!
