Lurk

Twilight wakes with a startled gasp, eyes adjusting to the familiar crystal ceiling hanging above her. A peculiar noise had woken her; but as the seconds go by, and the castle remains as silent as it had on any late night, she begins to question the validity of the sound. After all, lifting her head up off her pillow, the princess can see her number one assistant sound asleep in his bed, seemingly unmoved from his position two hours ago.

A dream, perhaps. Satisfied with her conclusion, Twilight flips her pillow with her magic, and readies herself for a return to sleep. Only, before her head could even reach the pillow, there is a crash outside; louder than before.

Princess Twilight is careful not to wake the young dragon sleeping in the room with her, as she makes her way through the large, empty halls of her castle, and to the front door. A dim white light casts itself over her horn, before Twilight unlocks the double doors with her magic and steps into the cool, dark night.

Immediately upon opening one of the doors, a breeze brushes past her, tussling her mane and tail. The moon is rather full this night, casting a silver light over the fields just outside of her crystal fortress. Twilight takes a few steps down her stairs, then peeks over the short stone wall surrounding them. She half expects to find a skunk or raccoon hiding in the bushes opposite the wall; but the glow of her horn reveals nothing of the sort. Twilight becomes increasingly aware of the cold that surrounds her, as her interest in the phantom noise wanes. With no culprit in mind, she turns her back against the outside, and trots back up to the tall golden doors.

Upon seeing the outside of the doors, Twilight freezes. After a few moments of analyzing the symbols drawn crudely on the left door, her magic slowly brings the other to a close, completing the message drawn in a deep shade of crimson:

you’re no god

Friday, October 9th

Twilight stares blankly into the swirling cup of tea before her, mind encumbered with thoughts of the night before. Only the latter half of Rarity’s inquisition is picked up by the princess.

“...you did tell the Royal Guard, correct?”

The alicorn blinks a few times, tearing her focus from the small cup of tea.

“Yes—yeah; and of course they sent down a team. I can’t look out a window without seeing an armored guard…”

A concerned frown forms on Applejack’s muzzle, but she remains silent. Or at least, she isn’t quick enough to respond before Rarity’s theatrical voice returns.

“As it should be! You do realize that you could be in serious danger?”

The days were growing colder, Twilight prioritizing her hot tea for a moment while she considers her friend’s concern.

“Yeah, of course. I guess I’ve just never been fond of change.”

Hardly a satisfying response, if Rarity’s facial expression was anything to go by.

“...Do y’all think this’s got anything to do with what happened to Fluttershy?”

The table grows quiet. Twilight looks off into the distance, while levitating the porcelain to her lips. Everfree lay on the horizon; the vast, green canopies drawing a thick shadow over the forest.

* * *

Twilight stands motionless, scowling at the room behind the glass. A mare and a stallion sit at a table, the mare verbally prodding the other pony, who replies with lines ranging from the annoyed “I’ve already told you…”, to the much more apathetic “This is a huge fucking waste of time.”

Hoofsteps resound throughout the stone hall as Princess Celestia approaches the glass, pausing right next to Twilight. For a moment, neither of the ponies say a word, instead opting to listen to the dry banter before them. Celestia is the first to break the silence.

“I’m sorry about all of this. He requested your presence as soon as we brought him in... but with everything happening like it has as of late; frankly, I was tempted to tell him where he could shove his request.”

Twilight tilts her head towards Celestia, feeling a bit shocked as she remembers that she is far from the tallest of her friends.

“It’s fine. I have questions anyway.”

The ivory alicorn nods, her hoof pressing a small gray button on a console jutting out of the glass, the speaker in the room coming to life with a short feedback loop.

“May we have the room, please?”

The mare inside with a coat bearing a washed out violet hue collects a few documents from the table, and then begins to make her way to the door. Upon exiting the room, her eyes widen at the sight of both princesses standing before the glass, a hoof running awkwardly back through her frazzled mane.

“Princess Celestia, Princess Twilight.”

Celestia smiles warmly at the mare.

“Thank you, Moon Dust.”

The mare nods sharply, obviously uncomfortable with formalities. As her hoofsteps grow quieter in the distance, Twilight watches the stallion who sits alone now on the other side of the glass, his magic lifting the small plastic cup on the table to his lips—before grimacing at the bottom of the cup, and carelessly letting it drop onto the floor. Princess Celestia places a hoof on her student’s shoulder, maintaining a reassuring smile.

“I’ll leave you to it.”

Twilight nods, then watches as Celestia’s tail disappears around the corner from where the princess entered. After Twilight knew that her and the pony behind the glass were alone, she places a hoof gently on her chest, breathes in, and exhales slowly.

The stallion’s ears perk up at the sound of a new body entering the room, but refuses to turn and see who it is.

“Hello, Night Light.”

The stallion turns so that his profile is visible to Twilight. He has a dark blue coat, with gray hair running back and resting against his shoulders. His tired blue eyes show a touch of relief, as they find Twilight’s. This lasts only for a short moment, Night Light turning his head back around, and folding his arms on the table as the princess makes her way to the other end. She sits down quietly, folding her wings at her side.

“I’m sorry to hear about your partner…”

The stallion keeps his glance glued to the table, most of his face drawn in shadow.

“We’re going to get everyone back. I’m sure of it.”

Night Light lifts his head just enough so that Twilight can see one of his bushy gray eyebrows raise in suspicion.

“You don’t believe me?”

“I don’t think you believe you.”

The alicorn sighs, leaning back into her chair.

“Obviously this case is child’s play for the great Detective Light; please, fill me in.”

Unable to make eye contact, Night Light holds his attention on the fallen cup while mumbling a response.

“I’m still working on it…”

Twilight nods with exaggerated animation.

“Oh, inconclusive? You can stare at as many half-empty glasses as you want to, that’s your right. But that does not make your view any more concrete than my own.”

“I just lost my partner, and I keep getting dragged in here because your team suspects I’m the one responsible! So I’m sorry if I’m not fucking ecstatic about the whole situation!”

The princess squints her eyes and purses her lips, staring down at the violet blob reflected in the metal table.

“I’m sorry. I know this is crazy, I—it’s just routine.”

The two sit quietly for a moment, before the train ride to Canterlot finally catches up with Twilight, the alicorn rubbing her temple with a hoof.

“We have nothing, Night. I was just hoping you might of had some… theories, I guess.”

Silence returns to the room. Night Light opens his mouth, but fails to conjure words. His hesitation only intrigues Twilight; after all, a good mystery had always been enjoyed by the princess.

“I’ve—spent a lot of nights thinking about it… about the connections between Minuette and Lemon Twist…”

Memories briefly come over Twilight, of meeting Night’s partner in the field for the first time. Lemon was brash and cocky; albeit effective at his work. Even still, Twilight had no recollection of being a huge fan of the pony.

“After Minuette, I became afraid of whatever was out there. I’d managed to sleep even less than usual…”

Night Light continues to look everywhere in the room (predominantly down at the table and floor) but into Twilight’s eyes.

“Anyway; I was with Lemon Twist the night of his disappearance. I remember being amazed at how calm he seemed—ponies were disappearing at random, and Twist hadn’t missed a wink of sleep. When I went to wake him up the next morning, he was gone. No struggle, no blood.”

Twilight knew the circumstances, but the bizarreness of the scenario is still enough to unnerve her.

“What I theorize, is that Fluttershy went into Everfree two months ago—and something followed her back.”

The violet alicorn at the end of the table sits frozen in place, expecting more to follow.

“‘Something’?”

Night Light inhales sharply, knowing the next part would be more difficult to explain.

“I think that fear repels it. A creature that can only attack those with peace of mind.”

Before any words can escape Twilight’s lips, Night scrambles to back up his claims.

“Minuette? She had just been accepted to SA, she was at a party the night before her disappearance. And in all of my years working with Lemon Twist, I’d never seen him fret over a single fucking thing.”

Twilight intervenes faster now, having heard enough.

“It’s pure coincidence, Night Light. We need to look at the facts.”

Suddenly much more energized than before, the unicorn with a dark coat begins to retorte the expected denial.

“Well I know I’m not the fucking killer, so I’m already a step ahead of Canterlot!”

A drawn out sigh escapes Twilight’s muzzle.

“Night—”

“I was asleep just a room down from Twist; we were working on the exact same case, why would it attack just him?”

The princess shakes her head.

“Okay; let’s say that hypothetically, this creature is the one doing all of this. Fluttershy is the most easily frightened of practically everyone in Ponyville. It doesn’t add up—”

“We both know the attitude she has with animals; you’ve seen her pacify both a grizzly and a manticore. I just don’t think she knew what she was dealing with.”

Whether it was the morsel of intrigue she harbored, or just the long trip that left her too tired to argue, Twilight spends a moment in silence to consider Night Light’s words.

“I’ve started to see things outside of my house. I think whatever this is, it’s intelligent. This isn’t a rabid animal, killing in blind rage.”

Twilight’s eyes brighten with life, and her lips part as if she was eager to mention something. Hesitation held her, and the message on the doors is never brought up. Instead, the princess clears her throat, and stands at her end of the table.

“Thank you, Night Light. Rest assured we’re working diligently to bring the suspect to justice.”

After unfurling her wings, Princess Twilight begins to make her way to the black door at the other end of the room.

“Twilight, wait—”

A hoof blanketed in shaggy fur connects lightly with Twilight’s shoulder. The ponies’ eyes meet for the first time since Twilight entered the room.

“You know that I care deeply for you, Twilight. I would do anything—”

Night’s hoof falls limply back to his side, as the alicorn takes a small step away from him.

“We’ve been through this. Do you not remember me saying how difficult it was to be with you, when you never saw the joy in anything?”

The unicorn shakes his head.

“I’m not asking for a second chance. Just—that you trust me…”

Perhaps the most genuine emotion Twilight has ever seen from Night had found its way onto the stallion’s face.

“...I’m going to stop them—”

Twilight pauses just long enough for Night Light to look away, the muscles on his face relaxing.

“—or it. And I won’t let you take the fall for Canterlot. I promise.”

The stillness of the room suddenly becomes much more obvious to Twilight, who watches the stallion with his head hung low, and his shoulders arched. No response is uttered. Twilight doesn’t need one.

Night Light again sits alone at the table, centered neatly in the small white room.

* * *

The sun had retreated to its resting place behind the horizon, the warm rays of light quickly dissipating over Ponyville. Twilight stands in the kitchen with her dear friend Spike, who is busy experimenting with a new recipe he had discovered for the otherwise insignificant portion of gemstones that remained in the house. The young dragon speaks dramatically about his day, all of which fell on the deaf ears of the princess, who had buried her proverbial muzzle deep into a book she had read dozens of times before.

“Uh… Twilight? Are you listening?”

Spike’s disappointed gaze remains locked to the violet pony. Eventually, it is enough to draw her attention, her eyes flicking up from the pages.

“Oh, you saw Rarity earlier today?”

“I said that like an hour ago!”

A violet aura surrounds the tome on the kitchen table, its pages folding to a close with the help of arcane energy.

“I’m sorry, Spike. I just…”

Twilight trails off, pushing back her frazzled mane with a hoof.

“—Have a lot on your mind?”

The princess smiles at Spike, the lack of sleep made obvious in her eyes, highlighted under the bright lights.

“I just hope things will be back to normal again soon.”

As the night consumes Ponyville, the quiet conversations in the castle give way to total silence. Twilight had wished her scaly companion goodnight, then finds her way to her own bed, and wraps the blankets snugly around her.

Moonlight is the only source of light in the room, casting long, still shadows on the floor and walls. From where Twilight lay on her bed, she can watch the fogged glass of her window, the tip of a spear visible beyond it. A pegasus guard stands diligently out on her balcony, keeping watch for anyone—or anything—who might return with another message for the princess.

Twilight sits up in her bed, turning her head around as her wings stretch out, free of the heavy blankets. She couldn’t be sure, but she thought she had heard an echo somewhere in the vast halls of her crystal castle. The room, bathed in silver and blue lights, is unsettlingly quiet. Even Spike is more silent than usual, his steady breathing barely reaching Twilight’s ears.

A sparkling field of magic pull the blankets closer to Twilight as she lies back down, trying to forget about the distant noise. Her eyes again watch the spear just outside her room, the sharp metal occasionally rocking back and forth as the guard adjusted their position. Slowly, Twilight’s eyelids begin to relax, sliding over her bloodshot eyes. Just before her world is swallowed by darkness, the alicorn watches the spear sink beneath the window for the first time during the night.

Twilight’s eye shoot back open, her pulse quickening. The muffled sound of wings beating fade into the night, as Twilight realizes what was happening. She had studied the guards schedule, and knew of a small window of time—about a minute and thirty seconds—where shifts changed, and no guard stood watch on her balcony.

The heat begins to draw sweat on Twilight’s coat, as she pulls the blankets more tightly against her. Her heartbeat grows alarmingly fast as she lies deathly still underneath the covers, desperate for any sense of security. A peculiar metal sound, like that of a latch being toyed with, settles in Twilight’s ears.

Princess Twilight turns to face the other side of the room, pulling the blankets close to her muzzle and squeezing her eyes tightly shut. The fear of what she might discover if they opened kept her eyelids closed firmly, grotesque and frightening imagery poisoning her mind.

* * *

The warm waters surrounding Twilight held her in a peaceful lull. Rarity sat beside her, occasionally allowing her bliss to manifest itself in drawn out sigh. Twilight accepted without hesitation when Rarity invited her to a day at the spa; for a princess, the alicorn’s schedule was surprisingly empty.

“Oooh how I missed this. Somedays I wish I could just leave Sweetie Belle to run the Boutique…”

Twilight allows just a little more of her to sink beneath the water, the heat absorbing any tension.

“Thanks again for inviting me, Rarity.”

“Oh darling, please; it was the least I could do when I heard about your trip to Canterlot. You must have so much on your mind.”

A week lies between Twilight’s visit to Canterlot and now. The violet pony spends a moment trying to remember when she might have talked to Rarity about it.

“Who told you about that?”

Rarity chuckles nervously, turning her head to face her friend instead of the ceiling.

“Ah—sorry, Twilight. My connections in Canterlot…”

A sigh can be heard over the bubbling of the bath.

“So, I guess you know why I was there, too?”

“I’m afraid so... What was it like, talking with him?”

Twilight thinks about it for a moment, trying to find the right words to describe it.

“He’s… the same.”

The white unicorn moves closer to Twilight, lowering her voice considerably.

“You don’t believe anything he said about the ‘monster from Everfree’, do you?”

“What the hell, Rarity? Who are your connections?”

Rarity backs off of the princess, clearing her throat before speaking again.

“I’m sorry, Twilight. I know it’s not any of my business…”

The calmness of before again overtakes the room. Twilight watches the spa owners Aloe and Lotus talk quietly over a binder in the distance, their conversation not audible over the bubbling that surrounded her.

“I’m considering all of the leads.”

Rarity looks off to the side Twilight was sitting on, but remains silent.

“...And, you know, I’ve had some time now to do a little research, and—I don’t know… maybe it’s not that crazy. My reading would suggest that a lot of animals can detect the aura we unknowingly create around ourselves. Theoretically, learning to attack when the victim feels safest would be an natural adaptation of something that doesn’t want to be seen.”

A gap forms in their conversation, Rarity twisting her face as if preparing for something bad.

“So you don’t think he…?”

“Night Light? No… he’s strange, but… not like that.”

Rarity relaxes, turning her attention to a new potential customer for the twins, a young earth pony with a peach coat.

“Well, you certainly know him better than anyone else.”

An emotionless stare off into space takes hold of Twilight.

“You know, it’s funny; I didn’t realize it then, but being with Night Light felt like coming to Ponyville for the first time.”

As exciting watching ponies check in was, Rarity donates her attention back to her friend.

“In what sense, dear?”

“The adventures, the danger—that sort of stuff always seemed to follow him around. The Cutie Map was summoning me less and less; with Night Light… I don’t know, it just felt like I was ‘back in the game’, so to speak.”

A soft ‘hmm’ is all that Rarity manages, the two returning to their comfortable silence. For Twilight, saying it out loud felt like she had been denying the feelings, and that this was a personal admission. The soothing image of bubbles rising and dissipating into the air is all that the princess can focus on; until a familiar purple dragon rushes into the spa.

“Spike…?”

Twilight’s young assistant hurries over to the pool, attempting to catch his breath while extended his arm towards the violet pony, parchment clutched in his claws.

“From the… Princess… I think it’s urgent…”

A field of levitation pulls the letter towards the edge of the pool, Twilight being careful not to get it wet. Upon reading the first few lines, her eyes widen in shock.

* * *

Twilight had returned to Canterlot again. The long halls and many doors that were once like a labyrinth to her, she now navigated effortlessly, quickly making her way to the courtroom. Celestia stood outside the entrance, cantering over to her student as she walked in.

“Oh, Twilight…”

The two alicorns share a hug, Twilight briefly forgetting how confusing the situation was for her.

“Princess… what’s going on?”

The eldest pony pulls away from Twilight, her tone and expression suddenly more serious.

“We’re finally putting an end to this; Night Light will not continue to terrorize Ponyville.”

Twilight takes a step back.

“No—you don’t mean…”

The door opens wide, two armored guards trailing behind a hoof-cuffed unicorn. Genuine shock can be seen on his face when he looks up to see the violet pony at the other end of the room.

“Night Light, what happened?”

The dark unicorn takes one last step with his bandaged hoof and then stops.

“It attacked us—I-I couldn’t save them…”

A chill comes over Twilight.

“You saw it…?”

The guards begin to prod the unicorn, urging him to keep moving.

“Twilight—did you tell them I was ‘apathetic’?”

The princess’s eyes narrow at the unexpected question. She’s hardly even able to recall the time she was approached by the inquisitive ponies from Canterlot.

“Yeah, maybe—I don’t know, it was more than a year ago…”

Night Light shakes free of the guards who have become more aggressive in their efforts.

“You described a psychopath.”

The realization that Night Light would be imprisoned—at least in part—because of Twilight did not sit easy with the princess.

“But they have no evidence!”

“They don’t need evidence—”

Night pushes over the shoulder of a guard to look into Twilight’s eyes.

“—they’ve got the word of a princess!”

Twilight shakes her head, starting to trot towards the commotion.

“No… this is a mistake, let him go!”

A long slender hoof wraps around Twilight’s chest, holding her back from the guards.

“It’s going to be alright, Twilight.”

Celestia’s words are barely heard by the violet pony, who begins to raise her voice in frustration.

“You must obey my order, I am your princess!”

Even as Twilight raises a hoof to pry away her captor’s arm, the steady beating of Celestia’s heart against the back of her neck holds Twilight in a helpless lull.

“THIS IS MY LIFE WE’RE TALKING ABOUT!”

Tears begin to seep out from under Twilight’s eyes, as she can only watch the tragic scene before her.

“I’M NOT A FUCKING MURDERER!”

Twilight closes her eyes. Over all of the shouting and struggling happening before her, one thought remains louder.

She had failed him.

Wednesday, August 14th

Night Light watches the mare with the washed out violet coat behind the desk, as she rifles through a drawer full of folders and documents. Turning to his side, he can see Lemon Twist sitting next to him. His mouth hadn’t yet moved; but his eyes told Night Light that the scene they just witnessed was still the only thing on Twist’s mind.

“Alright, boys; here’s the deal: you two have a story to tell, and Canterlot has a hoof up my ass about getting it from you. So… what exactly happened at Fluttershy’s cottage?”

Lemon Twist casts a glance at his partner, who seemed content with letting him do all of the talking.

“Well ma’am, we got there ‘bout 7 in the morning… I’m not sure if that was the exact time, but I knew the sun had just come up—”

“Stop.”

Night Light follows the mare’s gaze to the yellow envelope resting on the desk, which Lemon had a hoof resting on.

“Please tell me those are photographs, because as engaging as your little story seems like it’s about to be, a picture is worth a thousand words.”

The room grows still, only a few uncomfortable shifts from Lemon indicating life. Aggravated, the mare behind the desk eventually leans forward, her chair squeaking from the shift in movement.

“Hello? The photographs?”

Lemon Twist’s wide eyes stare at Night, as if to silently ask permission. Magic tinted with a dark blue hue appears around Night Light’s horn, as the envelope slides out from underneath the other pony’s hoof.

The mare relaxes, leaning back into her original position as she watches Night Light pull the photographs out of the envelope with his magic.

“Hope you have a strong stomach.”