Harmony and Courageby MegaPonymonChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 6Hiatus NoteChapter 1Twilight hummed quietly to herself as she slid book after book onto their respective shelves in her castle's library. The sunlight shone through the perfectly cut windows, shedding light into even the darkest corners of the room - an impressive feat, considering its size. The alicorn stretched, placing the last book onto its shelf and trotting to the window. She gripped the curtains - courtesy of Rarity - and dragged them closed across the window, blocking off the sunlight. But not before something odd caught her eye. She opened the curtains again and looked out in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres. A large black cloud was forming over the farm, blocking off all sunlight. Twilight gave one last worried glance before leaving the library and trotting down the stairs to the map room. “Spike?” she called out, walking past the large crystal table towards the door. “Spike, where are you?” “Over here, Twilight.” The baby dragon waved from across the room. “I’m going out for a while, so take care of the castle while I’m gone.” Twilight told her assistant, pushing open the door. “Okay then.” Spike sighed. The alicorn smiled as she stepped through the door, but broke into a full gallop as the door closed behind her. At full speed, it took her just a few minutes to reach her friend’s farm. The cloud had grown considerably since she’d seen it through the window, and it seemed to be acting almost like a dust cloud, the shadows shrouding the bottom of it reaching down to the ground. Twilight trotted up to the shadows that had reached the ground and cautiously tapped it with her hoof. They were solid. The alicorn pressed harder against the darkness, even resorting to magically bashing it, but nothing worked. “Applejack!” she cried, banging at the dark wall as the shadows thickened. “Come on… break already!” But no matter what she did, the shadows stood steady, not moving. Finally, it created a solid black wall, devoid of colour and completely unbreakable. “Applejack!” Applejack stretched and trotted out of the barn, ready to resume applebucking. For a while it was fine – she cleared a good percentage of the orchard before she realised something was wrong. A black cloud had formed above the farm a while ago, and the earth pony had just passed it off as a storm she’d talk to Rainbow Dash about rescheduling later. The farmpony bucked her hindlegs against one last tree before sighing and looking up. She instantly recoiled at the sight – the cloud was slowly seeping down through the trees towards the orchard, covering the land in darkness. Applejack forgot her applebucking and ran, ran all the way back to the farm. She reached the house, looking through the window to ensure Applebloom and Granny Smith were still safely inside, before darting towards the fence to the Everfree Forest, where her brother was working. After a moment she reached the fence, stopping by the firm wood and looking up and down for her brother. She eventually saw him and galloped towards him. “Big Mac! Do ya’ll have any idea what’s goin’ on wi’ this cloud?” she panted, coming to a stop besides him. “Nope.” He stated simply. “Well, it’s coverin’ the orchard and startin’ to trap us all in!” “Eeyup.” “We need to stop it!” Applejack sighed, looking up at the cloud as it covered the orchard, reaching to the ground and building thick, black walls around it. "Somehow..." Over the next hour, the shadowy cloud spread across the entirety of Ponyville, swallowing ponies as the darkness trailed across the ground. It trapped anypony who ran inside, and chased those who did not. Once you were inside there was no coming back out. Twilight had tried to warn ponies away, evacuating around ten percent of Ponyville, until she saw Rainbow Dash’s cloud home get enveloped by the darkness and realised it was hopeless. The alicorn had fled to her castle, where the shadow was slowing eating at one of the ‘branches’ of the treehouse-shaped building. Inside, her faithful assistant was running around in a panic, gathering books that were falling from the shelves as the shadow shook the castle.. “Spike!” “Ah, Twilight!” Spike cried, dropping the books and hurrying to his mother figure. “W-what’s going on?” “We need to get out of here!” Twilight panted. “There’s some weird shadow thing trying to cover the castle and it already got Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and judging by the rate it’s growing, probably Pinkie and Rarity too!” “R-rarity?” Spike repeated sadly, spines drooping. “I said probably, Spike.” Twilight smiled reassuringly. “And even if it has got her, we’ll save her. But we can only do that if we’re safe.” Spike sighed. “I guess you’re right...” “I am right, Spike. Now let’s go!” The two fled the castle in a hurry as the darkness closed in behind them. Applejack bit her lip as she studied the dark wall. The shadows had spread all across Ponyville, so she wasn’t just confined to the farm anymore. The wall was completely solid, despite being made of shadow. No matter how much force she applied, it just wouldn’t break! The earth pony was actually considering getting a sledgehammer from the tool shed. “Hey, AJ!” a voice cried out from above her. Applejack looked up to see a rainbow-coloured blur land beside her. “Any idea what’s going on?” “None at all, Rainbow.” The farmpony sighed, turning away from the wall. “You?” “Nothing.” The flier growled. “What even is this stuff? It’s just a cloud! How is it solid?” “I don’t know.” “Well, I’m gonna break it. I looked around and all of Ponyville is covered. Some ponies escaped, but the other elements are stuck in here. Twi tried to run but wasn’t fast enough. We need to get out of here!” Rainbow ranted. “Now, hold your horses. What makes ya think ya’ll be able to break it, anyway?” Applejack frowned. “Uh, Sonic Rainboom, duh!” the pegasus rolled her eyes. “Nothing can withstand one of those!” Applejack shook her head. “Won’t work. Not enough room to get speed, Sugarcube. The shadow cuts off just above Twi’s castle.” Rainbow groaned and sat down angrily. “You’re right. Celestia damn it, you’re right!” “Wait. Are you feelin’ okay?” Applejack mused. “What? Why wouldn’t I be, huh?” Rainbow pouted. “You’re suddenly soundin’ alot... tamer... than usual.” “What’re you talking about?” the pegasus sighed. “Like that, right there. You’re sayin’ angry things, but there’s no aggression.” Applejack frowned. “Whatever.” The blue pony claimed, taking off into the air. Applejack paused. “I swear if she tries-” The farmpony was interrupted by a loud thump and a cry of pain. “Landsake’s Rainbow...” Rarity glared out of the window at the shadowy walls surrounding Ponyville. The cursed darkness would be horrible for her complexion, blocking out the sun like that! The unicorn turned as whimpering reached her ears. Sitting on her bed beside her, curled into the sheets, was Sweetie Belle. “Oh, it’s okay, Sweetie... I’m sure the darkness will go away soon.” Rarity smiled down at her sister, gently stroking the filly’s mane. “Are you s-sure?” the unicorn sniffed. “Of course. I’ve never lied to you, have I?” “No...” “Exactly.” “Thanks, sis.” The filly sat up and hugged their sister. Rarity stared sadly at the window. “I only wish I knew what it is.” “I wonder if Applebloom and Scootaloo are okay.” Sweetie sighed. “I’m sure they- oh for Celestia’s sake!” Rarity exclaimed as something in the window caught her eye. Sweetie looked over to see a pink blur appearing in front of every house, screaming something at the top of its lungs and disappearing, only to reappear at the next house. “Well, I suppose it’s good to see that Pinkie isn’t getting down about this.” Rarity mused. “If Pinkie was upset about this, all hope would be lost.” Sweetie pointed out. “My point exactly.” The unicorn smiled. Fluttershy ran around her cottage, trying to comfort every animal at once as they panicked. Just moments ago a giant wall of shadow had swallowed the house, sending the critters inside into a frenzy. “Now, please, will everyone just calm down?” the timid pegasus asked hopefully. She gasped and ducked as a book sailed over her head before turning back to her animal friends. “Everybody calm down now!” The creatures settled immediately, surprised at the pony’s outburst. “Good. Now, I’m sorry for shouting but you all need to stay calm.” Fluttershy insisted. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I can’t find out if you’re all breaking everything.” The animals dipped their heads apologetically. Fluttershy smiled. “It’s okay. Now, please let me through so we can look outside.” The creatures instantly protested, worried about their friend. “Hush now, I’ll be f-fine.” The pegasus told them worriedly. Angel suddenly jumped up the pony’s hooves, shaking his head determinedly. “Angel, I know you’re worried but-” Fluttershy was cut off by Angel pushing her backwards, surprising her yet again with his oddly large strength. “Angel, please...” The bunny shook his head and pushed his owner again. “Oh fine.” The pegasus sighed, following the bunny up to her room. Deep in the forest, a spring began to glow gold. A golden figure rose from the water, in the shape of a large pony. The figure walked around the edges of the spring, still upset that they could not leave the banks. They looked up and were shocked to see a large wall of Twilight before them. The golden figure nodded before retreating into the water. Author's Note Chapter 2“AJ, stop it.” Rainbow pouted as the farmpony tended to her wing. “I warned ya, Sugarcube. Ya did it anyway and hurt yourself. I gotta feel some responsibility.” Applejack explained, tying off the bandage. The pegasus frowned as she stood up, stretching her other wing grumpily. “Yeah, but now I can’t even open my wing!” Applejack shook her head. “Good! Now ya can’t hurt it anymore.” “Whatever.” Rainbow sighed, pushing open the door to the barn. The pegasus suddenly jumped back in fright as a large black bug, glowing gold, scurried inside. “What in tarnation?” Applejack exclaimed as the bug scuttled around the barn, sparking with golden energy. “What kind of bug is that?” Rainbow gasped. “I don’t know, but we better get rid of it.” The earth pony stepped towards the bug, which stopped as she drew near. Rainbow stared at Applejack. “You think you can squish it?” “Maybe not but it’s worth a try.” Taking a deep breath, Applejack reared up before bringing her hooves down on the bug. Not only was the bug hard as rocks, but the energy sparking around the bug suddenly shot up her legs, sending the farmpony reeling. “AJ, you okay?” Rainbow asked worriedly. “Y-yeah, I’m fine… just a lil’ shock, s’all.” The earth pony panted. The pegasus launched at the bug angrily, only to bounce harmlessly off of it, mane sparking. “What is that thing?” she cried. In the woods, the golden figure emerged from their spring. Sitting at the banks was another figure, just a little bigger than a pony. The golden pony nodded to the smaller, dark figure, sending an orb of golden light towards them, before retreating to the water. A smaller creature appeared beside the dark figure and giggled as they fled the spring, the dark figure seemingly absorbing the golden orb. Twilight cried out in anger as yet another spell failed. “Every single one!” she ranted. “Every single spell in this book has failed!” “Twilight, are you sure you’re okay?” Spike asked worriedly. “Fine!” the alicorn lied, mane hairs springing out of place. “You don’t look it.” The dragon muttered, shelving another fallen book. Twilight groaned and face-planted the windowsill. “I’d get closer to the wall, that could work, but those… bug… things are blocking the way!” “What are those bugs, anyway?” “I don’t know!” “Um, Twilight? Why don’t we just take a break… and try again later?” The alicorn sighed. “Okay.” “You’re definitely not okay. You usually don’t give up that easily.” Spike worried as Twilight sat down beside him. “It’s this… shadow… stuff. I don’t know what it is, I don’t know how to break and I don’t know what these bugs are! It’s just…” Twilight sighed. “Really annoying and tiring…” “It’s okay, Twilight. You’ll figure something out – you always do!” Spike assured her. “I hope you’re right, Spike.” The dark figure growled with annoyance as they wound around another tree. The smaller creature snapped their fingers and a map appeared before the dark figure, dotted with white lights. The dark figure nodded and the map disappeared. With that the two took off, disappearing into the trees again. “Oh, I wish Twilight would hurry and get rid of those walls already. They’re blocking out the sun and those horrid bugs are running around now!” Rarity whined, glaring out of the window at the bugs scuttling along outside her boutique. “I hope so too. I have to go see if the other crusaders are okay!” Sweetie insisted. “I-I d-don’t know what I’d d-do if they g-got hurt!” “Oh, Sweetie Belle…” Rarity sighed softly, embracing her sister again. “I’m sure that Twilight will get rid of these walls, get the sun back, and then you can go straight to the clubhouse to see Applebloom, and then you two can go find Scootaloo, okay?” Sweetie nodded thankfully. “Okay, now we need to go make sure all the doors and windows are locked so that those bugs don’t get in, alright?” “O-okay.” The filly sniffed, pulling out of the hug. The two unicorns trotted out of the room and down the stairs to Rarity’s styling room. A window was hanging open, quickly snapped shut by Rarity’s magic. The white unicorn locked the window, tested its durability, and left the room again, this time heading for the main room, where all her dress designs were. Sweetie was fiddling with another window, attempting to lock it. Rarity trotted over to the door to check if it was locked. The door swung open easily. Rarity sighed and closed the door with her magic. But not before a large, black, glowing bug scurried inside. “Sweetie, look out!” the unicorn gasped as the bug scuttled towards her. The filly let out an ‘eep’ and retreated to the stairs, terrified. The bug scuttled along the floor and stopped beside one of the dresses. Breathing deeply, Rarity began sidling around the wall, flinching whenever the bug moved. She had to resist the urge to lunge at the creature as they came to rest atop one of the mannequins, instead finishing the trek around the room and fleeing up the stairs. At the edge of the village, the dark figure emerged from the forest, growling up at the wall of Twilight before it. The smaller creature floated forwards and through the wall, and the dark figure braced themselves. A giant, dark orange hand shot out of the darkness, wrapping around the figure and dragging them through the wall. Twilight gasped as the wall rippled with an odd light, jumping up and staring out of the window. Something was coming through the wall. But she couldn’t see it. Dust flew up by the edge of the wall, showing that something had just dropped there. How had it gotten through the wall? And what was it? The alicorn bit her lip nervously. She wanted to go see what it was, but she couldn’t risk letting those bugs get inside! She settled for watching out of the window and using her magic to see further as dust flew up behind the invisible figure. Rarity paced across the room, frustrated. Her sister lay back on the bed, breathing heavily. The larger unicorn once again glanced through the window, only to see clouds of dust being pushed up by… nothing. Confused, the fashionista looked out of the window at the dust clouds, which abruptly disappeared. It was hard to make out much in the darkness. Maybe whatever is was just had a really dark coat? The dust kicked up again, aiming for the boutique, and just moments later Rarity heard the door downstairs burst open. “Sweetie, stay here.” Rarity instructed firmly, leaving the room and shakily descending the stairs. In the main room, the bug was running around madly as the table was kicked out of the way by something invisible. The unicorn backed away as the bug scuttled by her hooves, feeling a rush of air as the invisible creature darted past. “What is going on here?” she exclaimed as the bug scurried towards one of her designs. “Oh, w-wait, no!” But it was too late. The invisible monster leapt at the mannequin, destroying the bug but also ripping a horrid tear along the side of the dress. “NO!” she screamed, running towards the ruined outfit. It took only a second to realise the dress was doomed, and the unicorn turned angrily to where the monster had (presumably) landed. There was a bark and the door opened once again, closing on itself and leaving the distraught unicorn behind. Applejack panted heavily, glaring at the bug as her legs twitched slightly. “What… is this thing?” Rainbow growled, backing away. “I don’t know, but it’s obviously dangerous!” the farmpony sighed. “We have to get rid of it.” Rainbow stated angrily. There was a creak as the barn door opened. The two ponies whipped round to see… nothing. Hay shifted across the ground as something invisible moved into the barn. The bug suddenly began scurrying away in fear. “Hello?” Applejack called out cautiously. “Who’s there?” Rainbow snorted angrily. Whatever the invisible creature was, it ignored them, kicking up hay as they chased the bug. Within seconds the bug was dead, shrivelling on the ground and bursting into light. There was a bark and the door closed again, leaving the two ponies dumbstruck. The dark figure stretched before taking off again, heaving towards the small cottage by the forest, where the last insect was hiding. The smaller creature atop his back muttered something in a weird language, lazing back and laying atop the dark figure. The figure rolled their eyes and put on a burst of speed, shaking the smaller creature to attention. The creature garbled something else as the dark figure slowed to a halt beside the cottage. The dark figure growled as they forced the door open, pushing against the lock with surprising strength. Author's Note What is this mysterious dark figure? Will the poor ponies ever know? And what is this strange shadow trapping Ponyville? Chapter 3Fluttershy ran to her bedroom door as a loud bang echoed downstairs. The pegasus rechecked the lock on her door before falling back onto her bed. “Oh, I hope everypony’s okay!” she whimpered as Angel stared the door down. The bunny hopped into Fluttershy’s hooves and nuzzled her reassuringly as more bangs rattled the door. There were cries of surprise from downstairs, but no fear or pain. Whatever was down there (probably) didn’t have bad intentions. A few of her birds landed beside the pegasus, chirping worriedly. Fluttershy smiled at them nervously as a loud bark came through the door. The dark figure grinned as the final bug shrivelled up, granting them the last Tear of Light. Still smiling, they left the house and padded back towards the forest. The creature on their back leaned back again, and this time the figure allowed it. They deserved some rest after that. The figure let their smile drop as they reached the spring, leaping into the hollow and sitting patiently beside it. Twilight gasped as the dark walls shimmered again. The bugs had seemingly disappeared, so she flung the door open and rushed outside. The alicorn looked up in shock as the walls cracked. “Twilight, what’s happening?” Spike asked, coming up beside her. “I… I think the walls are breaking!” she gasped. Sure enough, the cracks on the walls met up before suddenly shattering. The sunlight hit Twilight hard, making the alicorn wince as she was momentarily blinded. All the same, it felt nice to have the warmth of Celestia’s glory on her coat. The purple pony took another step forward as the last shards of darkness burst into dark energy. She attempted to reach out with her magic – she had to find out what this stuff was! – only for a sharp pain to run up her horn. She dropped her magic abruptly, resting a hoof gently against her horn and wincing. “Twilight, are you okay?” the baby dragon asked, running forward. “Y-yeah, I’m f-fine. Just, a little… magic shock. What is that stuff?” she panted. The alicorn very carefully channelled a little bit of magic, gasping as a jolt of pain shot through the magical appendage. “Whatever it is, it’s fried my magic for a while.” “Uh oh. Last time this happened was when you first got your magic back from Starlight.” Spike frowned. Twilight grinned sheepishly. “Heh. I probably shouldn’t have used so much magic right after getting it back. Too much exertion. Speaking of which, where is Starlight?” “You sent her off to Sugarcube Corner right before the walls appeared.” Spike explained. “We have to find her!” Twilight gasped. “My other friends can handle themselves in bad situations, but Starlight’s never seen anything like this!” The dark figure stretched, yawning lazily as the Twilight wall fell. He’d seen it three times already; he didn’t need to watch again. The imp on his back spoke in her weird language before turning to dark energy and retreating to his shadow. The figure rolled his eyes before padding towards the town. Rarity sighed as the needle pierced the fabric of her ruined dress. She already knew it was doomed, but if she could stitch it up a little she might be able to save some of the fabric. “Rarity!” Sweetie Belle suddenly called from the window. “The sun’s back!” The unicorn quickly stood and trotted to her sister. Sure enough, the shadow walls were gone, leaving nothing behind. The sunlight was streaming in again, lighting up the streets and drawing terrified ponies from their homes. “Oh, thank Celestia!” the fashionista sighed with relief, unlocking the door. It opened easily, allowing the unicorns to rejoice in the returned sunlight. “Can I go looking for the other crusaders now?” Sweetie begged. Rarity hesitated. “I suppose. Just… be very careful. Who knows, there could be some of those horrid bugs left!” “I will!” Sweetie hugged her sister before fleeing towards Sweet Apple Acres. The white unicorn stared after her sister as she disappeared. She sighed softly before stepping back into the boutique. The dark figure watched with a smile as the horses rejoiced in the sunlight. Soon the humans would realise the sun was back, rein in their horses and clear the streets. The figure had usually returned to his normal form by now, but he was willing to wait. His shadow muttered something in her odd language, to which the figure simply rolled his eyes. They could wait as long as need be. Starlight flinched backwards as the crazy pink party pony flew past her hooves. She let out a groan and reached out with her magic, lifting the pony into the air and stopping her rampage. “Starry! Lemme go! I need to warn everypony about the shadowy monsters that wanna eat us all!” Pinkie cried, flailing madly in the magic aura. “Pinkie, there are no monsters aside from those bugs.” Starlight sighed. “But there are more!” Pinkie gasped, suddenly breaking free from the magic. “They’re always watching! Always!” “Stop trying to freak me out.” Starlight huffed, trotting to the window. “Twilight will sort this out– Oh. I guess she already has.” “What?” Pinkie tilted her head impossibly far, suddenly appearing beside Starlight. “Yippee! Now I can throw a party to celebrate!” Starlight facehoofed. “Just seconds ago you were saying there were monsters out there trying to eat us!” “Of course there are!” the party pony answered cheerfully. “But now you want to go out there?” “Yep!” “Pinkie Pie, are you insane?” “Maybe so maybe not!” Pinkie giggled before flinging herself out the door. The figure knew something was wrong. He had been waiting for much longer than usual and he still hadn’t turned back. His only choice was to enter the town full of pastel-coloured talking horses. His shadow giggled at his misfortune, eliciting a growl from his lips. The figure stood grumpily and began padding into the town. After about an hour, ponies were once again panicking. Twilight recoiled as Ponyville residents streamed by in front of her, screaming madly. The alicorn grumbled and quickly flew over the river of ponies before resuming her mission - she had to find out what had everypony panicked. The dark walls had disappeared and nopony had been hurt. So what was the problem? The purple mare paused and looked upwards. A lone cloud was drifting above her. Twilight lit her horn for a teleportation, only to cry out as her spell backfired. She growled in annoyance at her magical shortage and made a mental note to never acknowledge that shadowy magic again. The alicorn settled for flying up to the cloud. She landed a little ungracefully and began to look around. She went through a quick mental checklist of places in Ponyville and ran through each of them. From where she was watching she could see Rainbow Dash clearing other parts of the sky, Pinkie Pie bouncing around outside of Sugarcube Corner and Starlight Glimmer slowly going insane from being near the pink mare. Finally she found something. A dark figure was prowling down an empty street. Any ponies who glanced down the street immediately fled, screaming in fear. From afar, Twilight couldn’t see the details of this creature, but she could tell it was a little taller than a regular pony, and was around Princess Luna’s height. They seemed to radiate a dark aura, similar to that of the shadow walls. Twilight took a deep breath before gliding towards the creature. A thousand possibilities rushed through her mind. What if this creature was hostile? What if it attacked her? What if it turned out to be nice? What if it didn’t? What was that chain on its foreleg? Twilight stopped mid-glide and stared. She was just a few feet from the ground, and the creature had noticed her. The creature’s blue eyes fixed on her with an odd curiosity. The chain on its left foreleg clanked against the cuff as they took a tentative step towards her. The alicorn bit her lip and lowered little by little, waiting for the sharp-toothed creature to attack. She touched down but kept her wings spread in case she needed to flee. The dark creature flicked its tail and took a few more steps forward. Muscles rippled under their dark coat. The thick mane about their neck was bristling. Their ears twitched, displaying a blue ring in one ear. Scars ran along the sides of the creature. “Um, h-hello?” Twilight said nervously. The creature recoiled, hackles raised. They drew their lips back, revealing sharp teeth. They dropped into a crouch, tensing for a jump. Twilight recoiled in fear, her wings flaring. The creature responded with a growl. The alicorn got the idea that this creature wanted to be left alone. The alicorn flapped her wings and fled into the sky, hiding atop a cloud. She peeked over the edge and watched as the creature walked down the emptied street. The creature passed by a pony who hadn’t been scared into fleeing. The pony watched in fear as the creature strolled past them. Twilight sat back up, confused. The creature had acted hostile when she had approached it, but it hadn’t reacted at all when it walked past somepony. With a last glance at the creature she dropped from the cloud and travelled back towards her castle. Chapter 4Twilight touched down just outside of her castle, her hooves clacking on the crystal steps. She was about to use her magic to open the door, but stopped herself at the last second. Instead, she pressed a forehoof to the golden door and gently pushed it open. The hearts in the middle of the door split as it opened. The alicorn trotted through the double doors and quickly closed them behind her. The purple mare sighed and fell to her haunches. She leant back against the door and stared up at the ceiling. “What was that creature?” she asked herself. “Why was it only temporarily hostile? Why did it wear a chain?” The alicorn was broken from her musing by a knock on the door. She stood up quickly and reopened the door. “Hey, Twilight.” The unicorn behind the door smiled. “Starlight! So you finally managed to escape Pinkie?” “Thank Celestia.” Starlight laughed, trotting past her mentor. Twilight forced a smile as she watched her student disappear down the hall. She glanced back out through the door, sighed deeply and closed it again. She saw the creature again the next day. There were a couple more scars across his sides and he was walking with a sense of purpose. Twilight’s curiosity took over and she began to stalk them. The creature led her to the outskirts of the Everfree Forest, where she debated following him. In the end she was able to reason her way into the act – she was quite powerful, and this creature might be a danger. If she found out where he was going then she might be able to stop him hurting anypony. Twilight ducked behind a bush as the creature padded forwards. He stopped suddenly in the middle of a random clearing. The alicorn watched in amazement as the creature’s shadow sprung to life and turned into a dark-coloured imp. The imp casually pointed an arm to the grassy floor, shooting a small bolt of orange magic from its fingers. Twilight continued to stare in shock as the ground opened up beneath the two shadowy figures. They fell into the darkness surprisingly calmly and disappeared. Once the alicorn had finally recovered, she darted into the clearing and stared hard at the ground beneath her. It was no less solid than all the other ground around it. There was no magical signature – just some of that shadowy stuff that Twilight knew better than to touch. “What the hay?” Twilight yelled, not fearing that anypony would hear her. Nopony hung out near the Everfree anyway. The alicorn pawed at the ground a little, with enough force to break away some dirt. Surprisingly, as it fell away, it revealed the dark passage underneath. The purple mare facehoofed before picking at the rest of the earth. The shadow left on the ground made it impossible for her to use magic, so it took much longer than she’d have hoped. Twilight breathed heavily as she stared down into the darkness. This was her last chance to turn back. With a flutter of her wings the alicorn dove into the darkness. Around halfway through the drop she gave up trying to glide. It wasn’t that the tunnel was too narrow – it had widened around a hundred metres ago. It was that her magic told her the ground was a good five minutes away. However, as with the rest of the shadow magic she’d encountered, she was wrong. Twilight gasped as the ground suddenly appeared beneath her. A sudden attempt to right herself only led to more pain as she crashed into the hard stone floor. The breath was knocked from her lungs and a sharp pain filled her body. One of her wings crumpled and two of her legs twisted awkwardly. It took all of her willpower to contain the scream that threatened to pass her lips. She took deep breaths to try and calm herself, despite her body wanting to suck in all the air in the room and panic. She couldn’t afford to go into shock. Calming herself, Twilight forced herself onto her right foreleg. Her left was sore, but she could tell it was nothing serious. She flared her wings, but hissed in pain and folded one again. When she tried to stand, one of her hindlegs buckled and she smacked into the ground again. The alicorn closed her eyes and ran through it all in her head. My right wing is sprained. My left hind hoof is twisted, possibly broken… My magic didn’t work properly! What is this shadow stuff? Twilight called a ball of light to her horn and looked around. The room was small and carved from stone. The floor was covered in cracks, and large tufts of grass sprung from each one. A wooden chest lay open in one corner of the room, completely empty spare from a short length of fabric. A dot of light shone in from above. On one side of the room was a tunnel, with a single lit torch in the distance. Unfortunately, the shadow lingering in the air zapped her horn and cut out her magic once again. Twilight groaned as the light died, knowing the only other light in the place led her deeper into it. The alicorn looked around until resting her gaze on the empty chest. A few pained moments of dragging herself across the floor later, she was able to snap off some of the wood. It would be messy and painful, but without her magic she couldn’t do much else. Taking the fabric from the chest, Twilight turned to her hindleg. A quick glance told her that it was indeed broken. She could just about see where the bone must’ve snapped, although there was no blood. Thank Celestia. The alicorn rested her hooves against the limb. It would hurt a lot more since she couldn’t use magic, but it had to be done. Until her wing healed a little she would be stuck down here and wouldn’t be able to get real medical help. With a loud yelp of pain, she snapped the hoof back into place. She couldn’t help back the scream as a fresh wave of agony flowed up her leg and muddled her thoughts. She wanted nothing more than to just curl up and cry, but she forced herself to stay focused. Twilight took a deep breath before taking the plank of wood and placing it over her ankle. She took the fabric and began to wrap it tightly around her hoof. Every now and then she would stop to loosen it a little. She couldn’t let it stop her circulation. When she was finally done, she forced herself to stand so that she could test the makeshift splint. Twilight winced and yelped at every step, but it held well. With her major wound tended to, she began to check along the rest of her body. The swelling in her sprained wing wasn’t too bad. The ache in her foreleg was already dying out. There were cuts and bruises all along her form, but none of them were deep. Once she had checked every injury, she set off down the hallway. The tunnel was also carved into stone, and Twilight came across a total of three dark wood doors before she found the creature. He was standing in the centre of a large chambers with high stone walls, tall enough that the ceiling was lost in the darkness above. Vines hung against the walls and from the blackness that was the ceiling. There were doors at regular intervals across the walls, two of which were covered in chains and locks. The centre of the room was a raised platform with a single tree sprouting from the middle of it. A thin layer of grass covered the room and leaves constantly drifted down from the darkness above. The creature was crouching, muscles tensed as he glared and growled at a hunched, bipedal green creature with grubby clothes and a thick wooden club. It glared back at the quadruped creature with glowing red eyes, raising its club to strike. The dark creature lunged forward, closing their jaws around the green creature’s neck. They screamed and flailed their club, but couldn’t break free. Twilight could only watch in horror as black blood dribbled down the quadruped’s muzzle and the green creature stopped moving. A moment later, the body burst into a small shower of the shadow, which the dark creature didn’t seem to mind at all. The creature shook their head, scattering drops of black blood across the surrounding stone. They padded up to the tree and gazed up into its branches. A moment later they backed away and lunged at the tree, crashing into it with enough force to knock down a small silver key. They smirked and picked up the key in their teeth before turning to the two locked doors. Their shadow shifted on the floor, pointing to one of the doors. The creature nodded and walked over to it. Twilight hesitated before trotting painfully after him. The creature slid the key into the lock, but paused before turning it. Twilight flinched backwards as the creature rounded on her, growling. She stared at him with fear in her eyes, ready to bolt at any second, adrenaline numbing her pain. The creature seemed to calm when he saw her, and relaxed. Twilight did the same, but took a few cautious steps backward anyway. The creature looked her over before sighing and pointing back the way she’d came. “You want me to leave?” They nodded. “But I can’t!” The creature blinked before gesturing to her back. “I sprained my wing.” They groaned and pointed to her horn. “That shadowy stuff cut off my magic.” They looked a little confused. They glanced down at their shadow, but it offered no assistance. The creature sighed before turning back to the door and gesturing with their tail for Twilight to follow. Twilight limped up to the door as the creature turned the key and the chains fell to the ground. The key shattered as soon as the creature pulled it out. “So… I-I’m Twilight…” the alicorn muttered as the creature pushed the chains out of the way. If this creature was no longer hostile, why not make a new friend? “Wh-what’s your name?” The creature glanced around before resting their gaze on the chains. They rested a paw on one of the links and looked back at her. “Chain?” Twilight mused. “Uh… Link?” The creature barked. “Link. That’s… unique.” The purple mare smiled nervously. Link rolled his eyes and reared onto his hindlegs. He pressed his forelegs against the door and it swung open. Despite the darkness that covered the tunnel beyond it, Link padded through unfazed. Twilight contemplated staying here until he came back, but she didn’t want to be left alone in this place. She forced a trot and followed him down the dark tunnel. Halfway down the tunnel, Link came to a stop. He turned and padded up to a nearby door, pressing his ear against it. His tail wagged in anticipation as he pressed against the door. Twilight watched as it swung open and followed Link inside. She immediately regretted it as the door closed and locked behind them. In the centre of the room, a giant plant stuck out of the ground. It seemed to be pulsing, like a heartbeat. Sprouting from the top of the plant was a flesh-coloured stalk with a large head hanging from it. It lacked eyes and was made mostly of a large mouth with long sharp teeth that tucked grossly into an oversized lower jaw. Link barked a warning to Twilight, who backed up against a wall. He then lunged forward and ran circles around the plant, taunting it. The creature took the bait and threw their head forwards. Link easily dodged it, jumping aside as the head slammed into the ground. He then leapt at the head, digging his claws into the top of it and biting down into the soft skin of the plant. Black blood spurted across his muzzle as the plant shook itself and threw Link off. He flipped in the air and landed perfectly. He gagged a little and spat out the blood that had slipped through his jaws before repeating the process. The plant lunged at Link, and he leapt atop its head. This time, however, the plant threw him straight up. Link was obviously surprised, as he didn’t even retaliate as he flew up into the air. Twilight’s eyes widened and she began to limp towards the plant’s base. Above her, Link began to fall back down. She called for her magic, but the shadow had well and truly blocked it. In desperation, she lunged and drove her horn into the bud. The plant shrieked and flailed its head, just in time for Link to be knocked away. He smacked a little harshly against the wall, but it was better than being swallowed whole. Twilight pulled back and began to wipe to the blood from her horn. The plant roared at her, snapping her back to the battle. Twilight stared up in fear as the plant’s head loomed over her. She could only whimper as the head lunged for her, jaws open wide. Chapter 5Twilight yelped in pain as a large figure barrelled into her side, knocking her injured wing. She flew to the side and rolled across the floor, coming to a stop and curling up. She glanced up at her saviour, only to instantly regret it. Link glared down at her furiously, lips drawn back in a terrifying snarl. The plant monster’s blood dripped from his muzzle, and his own trickled from a fresh wound on his side. His blue eyes shone with anger, but also thinly veiled fear and relief. The plant monster slammed into the ground behind him, but Link ignored it, instead padding over to Twilight. He reached down, sank his teeth into the scruff of her neck and lifted her up; a rather odd experience for the alicorn. Nevertheless, she didn’t struggle as Link carried her over to the door and dropped her there. She lay on her side and watched as Link ran back towards the monster, completely ignoring his injury. The monster’s head was still laying on the ground, dazed from the missed attack. Link leapt without breaking stride, muscles rippling beneath his fur. He landed firmly on the head and dug his claws in. A tear of flesh later he was sitting calmly on the bloodstained ground as he waited for the monster to disappear. The head and stem burst into dark energy, but the base remained. Link groaned and began to sniff around the room, looking for something. Twilight glanced away from Link to check her makeshift splint, which was holding up surprisingly well. She tightened the knot a little before turning back to her new friend. Was he a friend? He must be. He’d just saved her life! Eventually Link found his prey: a long-legged creature with bug eyes and smoke curling from its back. He ran over to the base and tossed it into the hole left in it. The bug dropped into the hole and moments later blew up, blasting the base to pieces. The door behind Twilight suddenly unlocked, making her jump slightly. The smoke faded and all that was left was a small silver key. Twilight watched, fascinated, as Link’s shadow reached for the key. The small object seemed to fade into the shadow, disappearing completely. Once it was gone, Link padded back over to the alicorn. He tucked his muzzle beneath Twilight’s chest and helped her stand. The alicorn waited patiently as he opened the door and then followed him out into the hallway. The alicorn followed Link out into the hallway, and a question formed on her lips, “Link, what are you?” Link paused and stared back at her. Twilight was surprised by how expressive he could be without even moving. The action was reminiscent of a pony asking, “What do you think?” Twilight began to muse. Link most closely resembled a timberwolf when it came to structure, except he wasn’t made of wood. Timberwolves were called timberwolves because they were made of wood. So Link would be, “A wolf?” Link actually seemed surprised that she had guessed it, but nodded anyway. Twilight felt a little proud for getting it right. The alicorn followed Link down the hallway, every now and then lamenting how useless she’d been in the fight. Whatever that shadow magic was, she absolutely hated it. Now that she thought about it, Link had shown up only an hour after the shadow had disappeared. Did he have something to do with it? She stopped to think about it before turning back to Link, only to realise he had disappeared. “Link?” she called, good wing fluttering nervously. She began to limp forward, hoping that the wolf hadn’t gone too far. The alicorn reached the end of the hallway and groaned inwardly. She turned and walked back again, deciding to check each door. The first door opened into a large room carved from stone. The land only extended a few feet in front of Twilight, whilst the rest of the room was covered in water. Driftwood and dead plants floated lazily across the surface. More noticeable were the pony-sized wooden platforms that stretched from Twilight’s patch of land to a small island on the other side of the room. The platforms were connected by a thin string that Twilight was almost certain would snap if she tried to walk on the platforms. On the far island was a small wooden chest. Twilight glanced around the room to see if there was anything of importance. Vines hung from the walls and, like in the giant tree room, petals were drifting down from the shadows of the ceiling. She turned back to the platforms and the chest. The chest in the very first room had been emptied, most probably by Link, before Twilight got there. And if Link had taken stuff from it, then it must’ve been important. The alicorn stepped up to the first platform and took a deep breath. After a moment, she reached her first hoof onto the platform and tested it. The wood held so she placed her second hoof next to the first. Another test and she was dragging her back hooves onto the platform. She was slightly surprised that it held her weight, considering how thin the platform was, but decided not to complain. The next platform worked as well as the first, as did all the others. A few minutes of testing and dragging later, she was standing proudly on the island. Smiling, Twilight turned to the chest and kicked it open. Inside was a small purple gem. The purple mare looked at it, confused for a moment before picking it up in one hoof. She frowned and turned it over, trying to see if it was worth anything. As far as she could tell, it was just a normal gem. The alicorn decided it would be a gift for Spike before tucking it under her good wing. Twilight kept her wing folded tightly to her body to keep the gem safe as she began to hop back along the platforms. However, halfway to the door she wood beneath her splintered. She cried out as she plunged into the water, which turned out to be very cold. She attempted to swim back up, but her broken hoof had already begun to sting. Her bruised front hoof gave up on her and she had no real choice but to stop. The purple mare wanted to scream, but she didn’t want to waste air. She wanted to cry, but she wouldn’t be able to tell even if she was. Dozens of spells rushed through her head, but none of them worked. Stupid shadow! Daring to open one eye, Twilight found the water actually didn’t sting. She opened the other and glanced around, confused. The water, while on the surface dirtied, was pure and fresh underneath. Even so, the liquid was very cold and should’ve hurt her eyes. But it didn’t. The alicorn spun in the water, hoping for… well, for anything, really. Anything at all to help her out. Her prayers were answered in the form of a pony-sized tunnel in the wall below the water. The chances of it being something good were small, but they were bigger than her chances of surviving otherwise. It was an asinine idea, but she found herself following through with it anyway. Kicking out with her two remaining hooves, Twilight began to swim slowly towards the tunnel. Once she neared it, the sudden current caught her by surprise, disabling her hooves once again. She tried to hold on to that remaining breath as she was swept through the tunnel, but it became progressively harder. She wanted nothing more than to release the air and take in fresh air; her common sense was the only thing stopping her from doing so. Twilight was almost entirely sure she was about to die when her back smacked against the wall. The blow knocked the breath from her lungs and, on instinct, she tried to breathe again, only for water to rush down her throat. The alicorn gave a soundless scream as her vision began to fade. Both her sprained and normal wing unfolded, flapping madly. She thrashed her hooves, trying to stop herself, but the water continued to sweep her along the tunnel. Twilight felt tears prick at her eyes despite the water covering them as her world faded to black. Drowning really hurt. Pain in her lungs; pain in her back from the rocks; pain in her twisted and broken hooves; pain in her sprained wing… Wait. Twilight wasn’t much of a believer when it came to the ‘afterlife’, but she knew enough about science to know that if she was dead, she wouldn’t be in pain. Twilight sucked in a deep breath, surprised to find that clean, fresh air entered her lungs. Last she had checked, she was trapped in an underwater tunnel with a very battered body. Now she was lying on a cold rock above water. Hesitantly, she blinked open her eyes to see… something looking back down at her. The alicorn screamed and jumped to her hooves, backing away from the bird-like creature in front of her. Twilight panted heavily, flaring her good wing in panic. “Oh, thank gracious. You gave me quite a scare there, adventurer.” The creature sighed in a feminine voice. Twilight gaped for a moment before stuttering, “Y-you can talk?” “Of course I can talk!” the creature tilted her head slightly. “I didn’t know you could, though. You’re not the one who usually explores dungeons. You’re purple.” The alicorn blinked before groaning and sitting with a thump. “Who are you?” “My name is Ooccoo, dearie. I’m an Oocca.” The bird-like creature answered, hopping over to Twilight. “And who would you be?” “I’m Twilight.” The purple mare told her, standing up and looking around. Judging by the river flowing next to her, and the fact that she was only in a tiny alcove, she hadn’t gone far. A few pots lined the wall of the alcove, but there was no other decoration. One of the pots was on its side, with most of the rim completely smashed. “Well, dearie, it’s nice to meet you. But what is a nice lady like you doing in a place like this?” Ooccoo asked, concerned. “I’m looking for my... friend… Th-they’re a wolf. Black and white, blue eyes?” “Oh, of course. The adventurer came through here not too long ago. He noticed me but couldn’t get out of the water fast enough. He’ll probably come back around in a moment or so.” Ooccoo explained. “Oh thank Celestia.” Twilight sighed in relief, leaning back against the wall. She remained there for a moment before turning to Ooccoo and asking, “So this place is a ‘dungeon’?” “That it is, dear. I’m assuming you’ve never seen one before?” Twilight gave a small nod and motioned for the bird-like creature to continue. “Well, a dungeon is mostly simply defined as a large cave or structure filled with treasure and monsters. I come here to explore and the adventurer comes to find the treasure hidden deep within. He usually stumbles across me stuck in a pot; rather embarrassing. Thankfully, the river threw you at my pot and broke me free before he came.” “Why do you explore these places if they’re full of monsters?” Twilight asked. She knew she sure wouldn’t. “Is it wrong to want a few thrills in life?” Ooccoo answered vaguely. “Besides, you’re a much nicer… mare? Than myself; why are you here?” “Well, I kind of thought that Link was really dangerous, so I followed him down here. Then I got lost.” Twilight explained, trotting over to the remaining pots. Her two injured hooves were throbbing; her wing felt like it was about to drop off and her back ached horribly, but she couldn’t afford to stop moving in this place. “Oh, poor dear.” Ooccoo frowned. Twilight began to search one of the pots, coming up with nothing but a pebble and a few scraps of fabric. “It’s not so bad. It means I met you. And you’re nice, so…” “You’re much too sweet, dearie.” Ooccoo blushed a little. The Oocca suddenly perked up and hopped over to the broken pot. “I just remembered…” Twilight turned to the bird-like creature as they reached into the pot and withdrew a large purple gem. It was dripping from the river, but was otherwise undamaged. She excitedly rushed over and carefully took the gem from Ooccoo. “You’re lucky it wasn’t damaged.” Ooccoo told her. “Fifty rupees aren’t easy to come by.” “Rupees?” Twilight asked. “Currency.” Twilight stared at the gem for a little longer, but she just couldn’t find anything of value about it. It was at best a gift for a friend. Even so, it had followed her this far; she began to search the pots again. In the second one she found a short length of twine. She awkwardly knotted it around the gem and then again around her neck. As she worked, she wondered aloud, “How come Link doesn’t take these random pieces of fabric with him?” “He has no use for them. He has all the clothes he needs, since they heal whenever he does.” Twilight paused for a moment. Unless Link was wearing something invisible, he had nothing but his fur coat. Speaking of the wolf… The alicorn flinched away from the river as a large white paw shot out of it, gripping the edge with thorn-sharp claws. A moment later a giant black and white wolf dragged himself out of the water. Water trickled from his muzzle and ran down his sides. His blue eyes gleamed with anger and fear. Link began to growl and bark, as if trying to talk. “Now, now, adventurer. There’s no need for such language.” Ooccoo scolded. “You can understand him?” Twilight asked incredulously. “Why of course.” Ooccoo replied, slightly surprised. Link responded by growling some more, and the Oocca decided to take the role of a translator. “’You stupid little horse, you’ I am not saying that ’scared me half to death! Do you have any idea how’ again, not saying that ’worried I was? I thought you were’ adventurer, please stop ’dead!’” “Link, I’m sorry.” Twilight pleaded. Link continued to glare at her for a minute before sighing and turning back to the river, motioning for her to follow. Twilight trotted up to the edge, but backed away as soon as her hooves were sprayed. Ooccoo frowned a little, took one of the pieces of fabric from the pots and hopped up onto Twilight’s back. The alicorn flinched a little, turning her head to see the Oocca wrapped in the fabric and nestled in the hollow between her shoulders. Twilight looked back to Link, who rolled his eyes and stepped closer to Twilight. The alicorn wrapped one of her forelegs around his and took a deep breath as the wolf plunged into the torrent, pulling Twilight and Ooccoo along with him. Chapter 6Twilight held her free hoof over her mouth to ensure she didn’t accidentally release her precious air. Every now and then she would twitch her good wing to make sure Ooccoo was still safe between her shoulder blades, but not enough that it brushed against the walls of the narrow tunnel. She kept her eyes tightly closed, so the only thing letting her know she was still safe was the one hoof she kept wrapped around Link’s paw. The purple rupee was tied securely about her throat, but the water was causing it to bounce and bob against Twilight’s neck and chin. Eventually Twilight realised she wouldn’t be able to hold on much longer. She tugged at Link’s paw, hoping he’d understand. After a few moments Link changed course, dragging Twilight upwards. The alicorn felt panic begin to rise within her as air escaped from her nose. She continued to hold her breath even as her throat burned, refusing to lose consciousness yet again. The tips of her ears and horn suddenly turned cold. Her eyes shot open as she burst from the water; she opened her mouth and sucked in a deep breath. Coughing, Twilight gripped Link’s paw a little tighter and glanced back to make sure Ooccoo was still safe. The Oocca was still nestled in the hollow between her shoulders, shivering a little beneath her scrap of fabric. Before Twilight could protest or ask where they were, Link had released her hoof and ducked under the water. The alicorn squeaked in surprise as the wolf reappeared beneath her, lifting her onto his back before continuing to swim. Twilight took the time to take in the room around them. It was somewhat rectangular, with a hallway at one end. Roughly half the room, including that hallway, was submerged in water. The other end of them room was above water and covered in a thin layer of grass, which was odd considering they were underground. Like most of the other rooms, vines hung from the walls, although this time the roof was visible, crisscrossed with cracks and covered with dark stains. Twilight couldn’t help but wonder how they’d gotten there. She didn’t have too much time to think about it before she was being dragged out of the water rather unceremoniously. The alicorn quickly wriggled away from Link, climbing to her hooves with a slight blush. “No need to be so rough.” She pointed out, tugging at her knotted wet mane in annoyance. Link replied with a serious of short growls. Ooccoo quickly translated, “’It’s not my fault you’re heavy.’ Adventurer! Don’t be rude.” Twilight glared accusingly at her ‘friend’ until he barked once more. “’You’re stockier than a normal horse.’ I suppose that’s true.” Ooccoo mused. “That’s the second time you’ve called me a horse. I’m a pony! What is a horse?” Twilight exclaimed, more than a little fed up with Link’s inscrutability. “And while you’re at it, what is this shadowy stuff in the air? What was going on with those shadow walls and freaky bugs in Ponyville? Why in Celestia’s name am I talking to a member of one of Equestria’s longest extinct species using an ‘Oocca’ as a translator?” Link stared at her for a moment as if she’d gone mad. Then he sighed and sat down beside Ooccoo, who glanced up at him uncertainly. Twilight followed his lead, although she ended up having to lie down due to her injured hooves. Her left hoof was good enough to press down on, although that might’ve just been because it was numb from the water. Her broken hoof, however, hurt just as much as when it had first happened. Probably because she hadn’t given it a chance to rest. Her wing most likely needed to be looked at properly, too. Ooccoo translated as Link began to bark at her, “’A horse is basically a taller version of a pony, but they don’t have horns or wings. There’s more differences than that but I don’t know too many of them.’” “And the shadow stuff?” “’It’s called ‘Twilight’. It’s a form of dark magic. It doesn’t cause any harm on its own, but it does allow Twilit monsters to appear, and they can be deadly.’” “So that… thing… in the room with the tree was a ‘Twilit’ monster?” “’No, that was a Bulblin.’” “Well, why does this ‘Twilight’ cut off my magic? Twilight is a terrible name for it, by the way.” “’I have no idea why it stops your magic.’” “Okay. I’m guessing you were the invisible thing running around Ponyville killing the bugs, right?” “’Yes. I had to kill them to collect the Tears of Light, which get rid of the Twilight.’” “Good to know.” Twilight paused for a moment, wondering what to ask next. “How do you exist? Wolves have been extinct in Equestria for millennia.” “’I have no idea what Equestria is. I’m from another… country? World? Let’s go with country for now. A place called Hyrule.’” “There’s no country on Equus called Hyrule.” “’Well then I guess I’m an alien.’ Both of us, technically.” Ooccoo added. “That explains a lot.” Twilight grimaced, looking down at her hooves. She took a deep breath to compose herself before looking back to Link. The wolf was staring down at Ooccoo, who was now resting beside one of his large white paws. The two of them seemed to be having some sort of silent conversation. Eventually Link snorted in distaste and turned his gaze back to Twilight. “The adventurer has agreed to send you home.” Ooccoo explained. “Although I happily would’ve done it with or without his permission.” “Wait, what? No offense to your strength, but I highly doubt you’d be able to fly me out of here, Ooccoo.” Twilight frowned, looking down at the Oocca incredulously. “None taken, dearie.” Ooccoo reassured her. “You see, I won’t actually be carrying you. We Oocca have a sort of… magic of our own. My son is especially good at it.” “Your son?” Twilight asked, growing more confused by the second. Link glanced at her with an expression almost like a smirk. “Indeed. He’ll be able to teleport you out of here and then bring you back. If you want to come back, that is. He can only teleport back to me, so I’ll stay with the adventurer here so you don’t have to run around alone again.” Ooccoo explained in an oddly cheerful way. “Okay. So, where is your son?” Twilight questioned, glancing around the room. “Why, he’s right here.” Twilight looked back to Ooccoo to see a small creature hovering beside her. It looked kind of like Ooccoo, but with only a head and a small set of wings. Twilight blinked in surprise. Apparently Ooccoo had a similar ability to Pinkie Pie when it came to hiding things… people? Oocca. “So, um, h-how does this work?” Twilight asked worriedly, staggering to her hooves and watching the floating head with suspicion. “Ooccoo Jr. here will simply use his ‘magic’ and send you to the entrance of the dungeon.” Ooccoo told her. Way to be vague. Twilight sighed inwardly, but simply straightened her back – as best she could with a sprained wing – and lifted her head a little. Noticing she was ready, Link, too, rose to his paws and shook himself off, scattering drops of water everywhere. The alicorn suddenly took an interest both in her matted fur and the fact that Link seemed just as perfectly groomed as he had before the river. She pouted a little but made sure not to let Link see it. Ooccoo Jr. acted next, flying up to Twilight’s head height and beginning to fly slow circles around her. She watched nervously as he began to pick up speed. “Don’t look so anxious, dear!” Ooccoo called to her. “It’s perfectly safe.” Link barked a quick agreement. By this point, Twilight was nothing if not trustful of Link. So she closed her eyes and waited for… whatever was happening to happen. She could feel Ooccoo Jr. speeding up, actually managing to catch her mane in a noticeable breeze. The alicorn forced herself not to panic when she felt her hooves leave the ground. Or when she lost all sense of direction. Or when she crashed harshly onto a muddy, grassy piece of earth. Twilight waited a moment for the urge to vomit to fade before opening her eyes. She was back in the clearing where she’d seen Link disappear into the ground and made the regrettable decision to follow him. The alicorn forced herself to stand and look around. With a slight jolt of surprise she noticed Ooccoo Jr. hovering next to her. Before she could protest, he had disappeared into her mane. She groaned a little before examining her surroundings and trying to figure out which way was home. Twilight arrived back at the castle covered in mud, twigs and, of course, blood. She forced the door open with her hooves and staggered inside. The alicorn headed immediately towards the bathroom, where she awkwardly locked the door and turned to look at herself in the mirror. Ooccoo Jr. had the decency to leave Twilight’s mane and bury himself in a pile of towels as the purple mare began to clean herself up. Twilight removed her new necklace and placed it next to the sink before focusing on her broken hoof. She carefully removed the fabric and splint and thoroughly inspected it. If ponies saw her walking around with a broken hoof, they would ask questions. She couldn’t heal it herself… one curious pony was better than a town full of them. The alicorn turned to Ooccoo Jr. and said, “I want you to stay here while I go heal my hoof, okay?” Since he was just a head he was incapable of nodding, but he gave a small chirping noise to show that he understood. Twilight rolled her eyes and unlocked the door. She limped hurriedly towards Starlight’s room, where she knocked on the door and waited impatiently for somepony to answer. Starlight opened the door and looked at her mentor worriedly. Twilight ignored the suspicion and weakly pushed past her student, collapsing on the bed and displaying her broken hoof. “Twilight!” Starlight gasped. “What did you do?” “That’s not important. You need to fix it.” Twilight insisted. “Why can’t you just use your magic?” Starlight frowned, although she lit her horn for a spell anyway. “Think of it as a test.” Twilight improvised, hoping her eager-to-impress student would fall for it. Whether she did or not, Twilight wasn’t sure, as for the next couple moments all she was aware of was a searing pain in her hoof. She could’ve sworn she screamed at some point, but it was only to be expected. She was condensing weeks of healing into about a minute, after all. When she finally came to, she was on her stomach in the bath. It was filled with warm water up to her chest and Starlight was scrubbing her down with soap and water. Twilight winced as the unicorn touched her injuries, but bit her lip and held back anything louder. She couldn’t risk Spike hearing and seeing this. “So, are you going to tell me what happened or should I not even bother asking?” Starlight questioned, pausing in her washing. “I was on an important mission.” Twilight answered quickly. These lies are definitely going to catch up to me at some point. “Then why didn’t you leave me or Spike a note?” “I didn’t have time.” “You weren’t organised enough to leave a note?” Twilight fell silent, focusing on the pain across her body to keep herself concentrated. Starlight sighed and returned to washing, cleaning every one of her mentor’s cuts before moving on to her mane. Twilight forced herself not to complain as Starlight tugged the knots free in a purposefully pain-inducing way. “I healed your wing while you were out, too.” Starlight told her before pulling the plug and leaving the room. Twilight lay there for a moment while the water drained from the tub. She then sighed and stood, surprised at the lack of pain from her bad hooves. The alicorn tested her sprained wing, spreading in fully and flapping it experimentally. Nothing. Ooccoo Jr. made a sudden reappearance, flying over to Twilight and chirping oddly. It seemed like too normal a sound for a creature like him to make. Twilight brushed it off and climbed out of the bath. She gently dried herself with a towel before running a hoof through her mane. Damp and messy but mostly knot-free. Not that it really mattered. She considered retrieving her necklace. On one hoof, it was way too precious at this point to risk losing. On the other hoof, it was almost like a symbol. It had joined her during the dungeon, taken a break with her and so forth. Twilight sighed and slipped it around her neck. If it had survived that river, it could survive a… what had Link called them? Bulblins? Twilight looked herself over once more before turning to her new companion. “I think it’s time we head back to your mother.” The purple mare kept her eyes open this time as Ooccoo Jr. swirled around her, speeding up constantly and not stopping until Twilight was being lifted from the ground. She took a deep breath as her world fading into a windy, swirling mess. Hiatus NoteHello everypony! First of all, I'm sorry; this story is updated nowhere near enough anyway and putting it on hiatus is more than a little cruel to the few of you who actually enjoy this story. But, unlike Warrior Ponies, I promise that this story will come back. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye! Anyway, as for why I'm putting it on hiatus... I'm planning some big things for the finale of The Life of Princess Twilight Sparkle, and it'll be a lot easier to focus on them if I'm not constantly worrying about this story. As soon as it's over, I'll dedicate some time specifically to this fic before starting my next one. I think that's everything, so thanks for bothering to read this little note. I just wanted to clear a couple things up. Thank you.
Chapter 1Twilight hummed quietly to herself as she slid book after book onto their respective shelves in her castle's library. The sunlight shone through the perfectly cut windows, shedding light into even the darkest corners of the room - an impressive feat, considering its size. The alicorn stretched, placing the last book onto its shelf and trotting to the window. She gripped the curtains - courtesy of Rarity - and dragged them closed across the window, blocking off the sunlight. But not before something odd caught her eye. She opened the curtains again and looked out in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres. A large black cloud was forming over the farm, blocking off all sunlight. Twilight gave one last worried glance before leaving the library and trotting down the stairs to the map room. “Spike?” she called out, walking past the large crystal table towards the door. “Spike, where are you?” “Over here, Twilight.” The baby dragon waved from across the room. “I’m going out for a while, so take care of the castle while I’m gone.” Twilight told her assistant, pushing open the door. “Okay then.” Spike sighed. The alicorn smiled as she stepped through the door, but broke into a full gallop as the door closed behind her. At full speed, it took her just a few minutes to reach her friend’s farm. The cloud had grown considerably since she’d seen it through the window, and it seemed to be acting almost like a dust cloud, the shadows shrouding the bottom of it reaching down to the ground. Twilight trotted up to the shadows that had reached the ground and cautiously tapped it with her hoof. They were solid. The alicorn pressed harder against the darkness, even resorting to magically bashing it, but nothing worked. “Applejack!” she cried, banging at the dark wall as the shadows thickened. “Come on… break already!” But no matter what she did, the shadows stood steady, not moving. Finally, it created a solid black wall, devoid of colour and completely unbreakable. “Applejack!” Applejack stretched and trotted out of the barn, ready to resume applebucking. For a while it was fine – she cleared a good percentage of the orchard before she realised something was wrong. A black cloud had formed above the farm a while ago, and the earth pony had just passed it off as a storm she’d talk to Rainbow Dash about rescheduling later. The farmpony bucked her hindlegs against one last tree before sighing and looking up. She instantly recoiled at the sight – the cloud was slowly seeping down through the trees towards the orchard, covering the land in darkness. Applejack forgot her applebucking and ran, ran all the way back to the farm. She reached the house, looking through the window to ensure Applebloom and Granny Smith were still safely inside, before darting towards the fence to the Everfree Forest, where her brother was working. After a moment she reached the fence, stopping by the firm wood and looking up and down for her brother. She eventually saw him and galloped towards him. “Big Mac! Do ya’ll have any idea what’s goin’ on wi’ this cloud?” she panted, coming to a stop besides him. “Nope.” He stated simply. “Well, it’s coverin’ the orchard and startin’ to trap us all in!” “Eeyup.” “We need to stop it!” Applejack sighed, looking up at the cloud as it covered the orchard, reaching to the ground and building thick, black walls around it. "Somehow..." Over the next hour, the shadowy cloud spread across the entirety of Ponyville, swallowing ponies as the darkness trailed across the ground. It trapped anypony who ran inside, and chased those who did not. Once you were inside there was no coming back out. Twilight had tried to warn ponies away, evacuating around ten percent of Ponyville, until she saw Rainbow Dash’s cloud home get enveloped by the darkness and realised it was hopeless. The alicorn had fled to her castle, where the shadow was slowing eating at one of the ‘branches’ of the treehouse-shaped building. Inside, her faithful assistant was running around in a panic, gathering books that were falling from the shelves as the shadow shook the castle.. “Spike!” “Ah, Twilight!” Spike cried, dropping the books and hurrying to his mother figure. “W-what’s going on?” “We need to get out of here!” Twilight panted. “There’s some weird shadow thing trying to cover the castle and it already got Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and judging by the rate it’s growing, probably Pinkie and Rarity too!” “R-rarity?” Spike repeated sadly, spines drooping. “I said probably, Spike.” Twilight smiled reassuringly. “And even if it has got her, we’ll save her. But we can only do that if we’re safe.” Spike sighed. “I guess you’re right...” “I am right, Spike. Now let’s go!” The two fled the castle in a hurry as the darkness closed in behind them. Applejack bit her lip as she studied the dark wall. The shadows had spread all across Ponyville, so she wasn’t just confined to the farm anymore. The wall was completely solid, despite being made of shadow. No matter how much force she applied, it just wouldn’t break! The earth pony was actually considering getting a sledgehammer from the tool shed. “Hey, AJ!” a voice cried out from above her. Applejack looked up to see a rainbow-coloured blur land beside her. “Any idea what’s going on?” “None at all, Rainbow.” The farmpony sighed, turning away from the wall. “You?” “Nothing.” The flier growled. “What even is this stuff? It’s just a cloud! How is it solid?” “I don’t know.” “Well, I’m gonna break it. I looked around and all of Ponyville is covered. Some ponies escaped, but the other elements are stuck in here. Twi tried to run but wasn’t fast enough. We need to get out of here!” Rainbow ranted. “Now, hold your horses. What makes ya think ya’ll be able to break it, anyway?” Applejack frowned. “Uh, Sonic Rainboom, duh!” the pegasus rolled her eyes. “Nothing can withstand one of those!” Applejack shook her head. “Won’t work. Not enough room to get speed, Sugarcube. The shadow cuts off just above Twi’s castle.” Rainbow groaned and sat down angrily. “You’re right. Celestia damn it, you’re right!” “Wait. Are you feelin’ okay?” Applejack mused. “What? Why wouldn’t I be, huh?” Rainbow pouted. “You’re suddenly soundin’ alot... tamer... than usual.” “What’re you talking about?” the pegasus sighed. “Like that, right there. You’re sayin’ angry things, but there’s no aggression.” Applejack frowned. “Whatever.” The blue pony claimed, taking off into the air. Applejack paused. “I swear if she tries-” The farmpony was interrupted by a loud thump and a cry of pain. “Landsake’s Rainbow...” Rarity glared out of the window at the shadowy walls surrounding Ponyville. The cursed darkness would be horrible for her complexion, blocking out the sun like that! The unicorn turned as whimpering reached her ears. Sitting on her bed beside her, curled into the sheets, was Sweetie Belle. “Oh, it’s okay, Sweetie... I’m sure the darkness will go away soon.” Rarity smiled down at her sister, gently stroking the filly’s mane. “Are you s-sure?” the unicorn sniffed. “Of course. I’ve never lied to you, have I?” “No...” “Exactly.” “Thanks, sis.” The filly sat up and hugged their sister. Rarity stared sadly at the window. “I only wish I knew what it is.” “I wonder if Applebloom and Scootaloo are okay.” Sweetie sighed. “I’m sure they- oh for Celestia’s sake!” Rarity exclaimed as something in the window caught her eye. Sweetie looked over to see a pink blur appearing in front of every house, screaming something at the top of its lungs and disappearing, only to reappear at the next house. “Well, I suppose it’s good to see that Pinkie isn’t getting down about this.” Rarity mused. “If Pinkie was upset about this, all hope would be lost.” Sweetie pointed out. “My point exactly.” The unicorn smiled. Fluttershy ran around her cottage, trying to comfort every animal at once as they panicked. Just moments ago a giant wall of shadow had swallowed the house, sending the critters inside into a frenzy. “Now, please, will everyone just calm down?” the timid pegasus asked hopefully. She gasped and ducked as a book sailed over her head before turning back to her animal friends. “Everybody calm down now!” The creatures settled immediately, surprised at the pony’s outburst. “Good. Now, I’m sorry for shouting but you all need to stay calm.” Fluttershy insisted. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I can’t find out if you’re all breaking everything.” The animals dipped their heads apologetically. Fluttershy smiled. “It’s okay. Now, please let me through so we can look outside.” The creatures instantly protested, worried about their friend. “Hush now, I’ll be f-fine.” The pegasus told them worriedly. Angel suddenly jumped up the pony’s hooves, shaking his head determinedly. “Angel, I know you’re worried but-” Fluttershy was cut off by Angel pushing her backwards, surprising her yet again with his oddly large strength. “Angel, please...” The bunny shook his head and pushed his owner again. “Oh fine.” The pegasus sighed, following the bunny up to her room. Deep in the forest, a spring began to glow gold. A golden figure rose from the water, in the shape of a large pony. The figure walked around the edges of the spring, still upset that they could not leave the banks. They looked up and were shocked to see a large wall of Twilight before them. The golden figure nodded before retreating into the water. Author's Note
Chapter 2“AJ, stop it.” Rainbow pouted as the farmpony tended to her wing. “I warned ya, Sugarcube. Ya did it anyway and hurt yourself. I gotta feel some responsibility.” Applejack explained, tying off the bandage. The pegasus frowned as she stood up, stretching her other wing grumpily. “Yeah, but now I can’t even open my wing!” Applejack shook her head. “Good! Now ya can’t hurt it anymore.” “Whatever.” Rainbow sighed, pushing open the door to the barn. The pegasus suddenly jumped back in fright as a large black bug, glowing gold, scurried inside. “What in tarnation?” Applejack exclaimed as the bug scuttled around the barn, sparking with golden energy. “What kind of bug is that?” Rainbow gasped. “I don’t know, but we better get rid of it.” The earth pony stepped towards the bug, which stopped as she drew near. Rainbow stared at Applejack. “You think you can squish it?” “Maybe not but it’s worth a try.” Taking a deep breath, Applejack reared up before bringing her hooves down on the bug. Not only was the bug hard as rocks, but the energy sparking around the bug suddenly shot up her legs, sending the farmpony reeling. “AJ, you okay?” Rainbow asked worriedly. “Y-yeah, I’m fine… just a lil’ shock, s’all.” The earth pony panted. The pegasus launched at the bug angrily, only to bounce harmlessly off of it, mane sparking. “What is that thing?” she cried. In the woods, the golden figure emerged from their spring. Sitting at the banks was another figure, just a little bigger than a pony. The golden pony nodded to the smaller, dark figure, sending an orb of golden light towards them, before retreating to the water. A smaller creature appeared beside the dark figure and giggled as they fled the spring, the dark figure seemingly absorbing the golden orb. Twilight cried out in anger as yet another spell failed. “Every single one!” she ranted. “Every single spell in this book has failed!” “Twilight, are you sure you’re okay?” Spike asked worriedly. “Fine!” the alicorn lied, mane hairs springing out of place. “You don’t look it.” The dragon muttered, shelving another fallen book. Twilight groaned and face-planted the windowsill. “I’d get closer to the wall, that could work, but those… bug… things are blocking the way!” “What are those bugs, anyway?” “I don’t know!” “Um, Twilight? Why don’t we just take a break… and try again later?” The alicorn sighed. “Okay.” “You’re definitely not okay. You usually don’t give up that easily.” Spike worried as Twilight sat down beside him. “It’s this… shadow… stuff. I don’t know what it is, I don’t know how to break and I don’t know what these bugs are! It’s just…” Twilight sighed. “Really annoying and tiring…” “It’s okay, Twilight. You’ll figure something out – you always do!” Spike assured her. “I hope you’re right, Spike.” The dark figure growled with annoyance as they wound around another tree. The smaller creature snapped their fingers and a map appeared before the dark figure, dotted with white lights. The dark figure nodded and the map disappeared. With that the two took off, disappearing into the trees again. “Oh, I wish Twilight would hurry and get rid of those walls already. They’re blocking out the sun and those horrid bugs are running around now!” Rarity whined, glaring out of the window at the bugs scuttling along outside her boutique. “I hope so too. I have to go see if the other crusaders are okay!” Sweetie insisted. “I-I d-don’t know what I’d d-do if they g-got hurt!” “Oh, Sweetie Belle…” Rarity sighed softly, embracing her sister again. “I’m sure that Twilight will get rid of these walls, get the sun back, and then you can go straight to the clubhouse to see Applebloom, and then you two can go find Scootaloo, okay?” Sweetie nodded thankfully. “Okay, now we need to go make sure all the doors and windows are locked so that those bugs don’t get in, alright?” “O-okay.” The filly sniffed, pulling out of the hug. The two unicorns trotted out of the room and down the stairs to Rarity’s styling room. A window was hanging open, quickly snapped shut by Rarity’s magic. The white unicorn locked the window, tested its durability, and left the room again, this time heading for the main room, where all her dress designs were. Sweetie was fiddling with another window, attempting to lock it. Rarity trotted over to the door to check if it was locked. The door swung open easily. Rarity sighed and closed the door with her magic. But not before a large, black, glowing bug scurried inside. “Sweetie, look out!” the unicorn gasped as the bug scuttled towards her. The filly let out an ‘eep’ and retreated to the stairs, terrified. The bug scuttled along the floor and stopped beside one of the dresses. Breathing deeply, Rarity began sidling around the wall, flinching whenever the bug moved. She had to resist the urge to lunge at the creature as they came to rest atop one of the mannequins, instead finishing the trek around the room and fleeing up the stairs. At the edge of the village, the dark figure emerged from the forest, growling up at the wall of Twilight before it. The smaller creature floated forwards and through the wall, and the dark figure braced themselves. A giant, dark orange hand shot out of the darkness, wrapping around the figure and dragging them through the wall. Twilight gasped as the wall rippled with an odd light, jumping up and staring out of the window. Something was coming through the wall. But she couldn’t see it. Dust flew up by the edge of the wall, showing that something had just dropped there. How had it gotten through the wall? And what was it? The alicorn bit her lip nervously. She wanted to go see what it was, but she couldn’t risk letting those bugs get inside! She settled for watching out of the window and using her magic to see further as dust flew up behind the invisible figure. Rarity paced across the room, frustrated. Her sister lay back on the bed, breathing heavily. The larger unicorn once again glanced through the window, only to see clouds of dust being pushed up by… nothing. Confused, the fashionista looked out of the window at the dust clouds, which abruptly disappeared. It was hard to make out much in the darkness. Maybe whatever is was just had a really dark coat? The dust kicked up again, aiming for the boutique, and just moments later Rarity heard the door downstairs burst open. “Sweetie, stay here.” Rarity instructed firmly, leaving the room and shakily descending the stairs. In the main room, the bug was running around madly as the table was kicked out of the way by something invisible. The unicorn backed away as the bug scuttled by her hooves, feeling a rush of air as the invisible creature darted past. “What is going on here?” she exclaimed as the bug scurried towards one of her designs. “Oh, w-wait, no!” But it was too late. The invisible monster leapt at the mannequin, destroying the bug but also ripping a horrid tear along the side of the dress. “NO!” she screamed, running towards the ruined outfit. It took only a second to realise the dress was doomed, and the unicorn turned angrily to where the monster had (presumably) landed. There was a bark and the door opened once again, closing on itself and leaving the distraught unicorn behind. Applejack panted heavily, glaring at the bug as her legs twitched slightly. “What… is this thing?” Rainbow growled, backing away. “I don’t know, but it’s obviously dangerous!” the farmpony sighed. “We have to get rid of it.” Rainbow stated angrily. There was a creak as the barn door opened. The two ponies whipped round to see… nothing. Hay shifted across the ground as something invisible moved into the barn. The bug suddenly began scurrying away in fear. “Hello?” Applejack called out cautiously. “Who’s there?” Rainbow snorted angrily. Whatever the invisible creature was, it ignored them, kicking up hay as they chased the bug. Within seconds the bug was dead, shrivelling on the ground and bursting into light. There was a bark and the door closed again, leaving the two ponies dumbstruck. The dark figure stretched before taking off again, heaving towards the small cottage by the forest, where the last insect was hiding. The smaller creature atop his back muttered something in a weird language, lazing back and laying atop the dark figure. The figure rolled their eyes and put on a burst of speed, shaking the smaller creature to attention. The creature garbled something else as the dark figure slowed to a halt beside the cottage. The dark figure growled as they forced the door open, pushing against the lock with surprising strength. Author's Note What is this mysterious dark figure? Will the poor ponies ever know? And what is this strange shadow trapping Ponyville?
Chapter 3Fluttershy ran to her bedroom door as a loud bang echoed downstairs. The pegasus rechecked the lock on her door before falling back onto her bed. “Oh, I hope everypony’s okay!” she whimpered as Angel stared the door down. The bunny hopped into Fluttershy’s hooves and nuzzled her reassuringly as more bangs rattled the door. There were cries of surprise from downstairs, but no fear or pain. Whatever was down there (probably) didn’t have bad intentions. A few of her birds landed beside the pegasus, chirping worriedly. Fluttershy smiled at them nervously as a loud bark came through the door. The dark figure grinned as the final bug shrivelled up, granting them the last Tear of Light. Still smiling, they left the house and padded back towards the forest. The creature on their back leaned back again, and this time the figure allowed it. They deserved some rest after that. The figure let their smile drop as they reached the spring, leaping into the hollow and sitting patiently beside it. Twilight gasped as the dark walls shimmered again. The bugs had seemingly disappeared, so she flung the door open and rushed outside. The alicorn looked up in shock as the walls cracked. “Twilight, what’s happening?” Spike asked, coming up beside her. “I… I think the walls are breaking!” she gasped. Sure enough, the cracks on the walls met up before suddenly shattering. The sunlight hit Twilight hard, making the alicorn wince as she was momentarily blinded. All the same, it felt nice to have the warmth of Celestia’s glory on her coat. The purple pony took another step forward as the last shards of darkness burst into dark energy. She attempted to reach out with her magic – she had to find out what this stuff was! – only for a sharp pain to run up her horn. She dropped her magic abruptly, resting a hoof gently against her horn and wincing. “Twilight, are you okay?” the baby dragon asked, running forward. “Y-yeah, I’m f-fine. Just, a little… magic shock. What is that stuff?” she panted. The alicorn very carefully channelled a little bit of magic, gasping as a jolt of pain shot through the magical appendage. “Whatever it is, it’s fried my magic for a while.” “Uh oh. Last time this happened was when you first got your magic back from Starlight.” Spike frowned. Twilight grinned sheepishly. “Heh. I probably shouldn’t have used so much magic right after getting it back. Too much exertion. Speaking of which, where is Starlight?” “You sent her off to Sugarcube Corner right before the walls appeared.” Spike explained. “We have to find her!” Twilight gasped. “My other friends can handle themselves in bad situations, but Starlight’s never seen anything like this!” The dark figure stretched, yawning lazily as the Twilight wall fell. He’d seen it three times already; he didn’t need to watch again. The imp on his back spoke in her weird language before turning to dark energy and retreating to his shadow. The figure rolled his eyes before padding towards the town. Rarity sighed as the needle pierced the fabric of her ruined dress. She already knew it was doomed, but if she could stitch it up a little she might be able to save some of the fabric. “Rarity!” Sweetie Belle suddenly called from the window. “The sun’s back!” The unicorn quickly stood and trotted to her sister. Sure enough, the shadow walls were gone, leaving nothing behind. The sunlight was streaming in again, lighting up the streets and drawing terrified ponies from their homes. “Oh, thank Celestia!” the fashionista sighed with relief, unlocking the door. It opened easily, allowing the unicorns to rejoice in the returned sunlight. “Can I go looking for the other crusaders now?” Sweetie begged. Rarity hesitated. “I suppose. Just… be very careful. Who knows, there could be some of those horrid bugs left!” “I will!” Sweetie hugged her sister before fleeing towards Sweet Apple Acres. The white unicorn stared after her sister as she disappeared. She sighed softly before stepping back into the boutique. The dark figure watched with a smile as the horses rejoiced in the sunlight. Soon the humans would realise the sun was back, rein in their horses and clear the streets. The figure had usually returned to his normal form by now, but he was willing to wait. His shadow muttered something in her odd language, to which the figure simply rolled his eyes. They could wait as long as need be. Starlight flinched backwards as the crazy pink party pony flew past her hooves. She let out a groan and reached out with her magic, lifting the pony into the air and stopping her rampage. “Starry! Lemme go! I need to warn everypony about the shadowy monsters that wanna eat us all!” Pinkie cried, flailing madly in the magic aura. “Pinkie, there are no monsters aside from those bugs.” Starlight sighed. “But there are more!” Pinkie gasped, suddenly breaking free from the magic. “They’re always watching! Always!” “Stop trying to freak me out.” Starlight huffed, trotting to the window. “Twilight will sort this out– Oh. I guess she already has.” “What?” Pinkie tilted her head impossibly far, suddenly appearing beside Starlight. “Yippee! Now I can throw a party to celebrate!” Starlight facehoofed. “Just seconds ago you were saying there were monsters out there trying to eat us!” “Of course there are!” the party pony answered cheerfully. “But now you want to go out there?” “Yep!” “Pinkie Pie, are you insane?” “Maybe so maybe not!” Pinkie giggled before flinging herself out the door. The figure knew something was wrong. He had been waiting for much longer than usual and he still hadn’t turned back. His only choice was to enter the town full of pastel-coloured talking horses. His shadow giggled at his misfortune, eliciting a growl from his lips. The figure stood grumpily and began padding into the town. After about an hour, ponies were once again panicking. Twilight recoiled as Ponyville residents streamed by in front of her, screaming madly. The alicorn grumbled and quickly flew over the river of ponies before resuming her mission - she had to find out what had everypony panicked. The dark walls had disappeared and nopony had been hurt. So what was the problem? The purple mare paused and looked upwards. A lone cloud was drifting above her. Twilight lit her horn for a teleportation, only to cry out as her spell backfired. She growled in annoyance at her magical shortage and made a mental note to never acknowledge that shadowy magic again. The alicorn settled for flying up to the cloud. She landed a little ungracefully and began to look around. She went through a quick mental checklist of places in Ponyville and ran through each of them. From where she was watching she could see Rainbow Dash clearing other parts of the sky, Pinkie Pie bouncing around outside of Sugarcube Corner and Starlight Glimmer slowly going insane from being near the pink mare. Finally she found something. A dark figure was prowling down an empty street. Any ponies who glanced down the street immediately fled, screaming in fear. From afar, Twilight couldn’t see the details of this creature, but she could tell it was a little taller than a regular pony, and was around Princess Luna’s height. They seemed to radiate a dark aura, similar to that of the shadow walls. Twilight took a deep breath before gliding towards the creature. A thousand possibilities rushed through her mind. What if this creature was hostile? What if it attacked her? What if it turned out to be nice? What if it didn’t? What was that chain on its foreleg? Twilight stopped mid-glide and stared. She was just a few feet from the ground, and the creature had noticed her. The creature’s blue eyes fixed on her with an odd curiosity. The chain on its left foreleg clanked against the cuff as they took a tentative step towards her. The alicorn bit her lip and lowered little by little, waiting for the sharp-toothed creature to attack. She touched down but kept her wings spread in case she needed to flee. The dark creature flicked its tail and took a few more steps forward. Muscles rippled under their dark coat. The thick mane about their neck was bristling. Their ears twitched, displaying a blue ring in one ear. Scars ran along the sides of the creature. “Um, h-hello?” Twilight said nervously. The creature recoiled, hackles raised. They drew their lips back, revealing sharp teeth. They dropped into a crouch, tensing for a jump. Twilight recoiled in fear, her wings flaring. The creature responded with a growl. The alicorn got the idea that this creature wanted to be left alone. The alicorn flapped her wings and fled into the sky, hiding atop a cloud. She peeked over the edge and watched as the creature walked down the emptied street. The creature passed by a pony who hadn’t been scared into fleeing. The pony watched in fear as the creature strolled past them. Twilight sat back up, confused. The creature had acted hostile when she had approached it, but it hadn’t reacted at all when it walked past somepony. With a last glance at the creature she dropped from the cloud and travelled back towards her castle.
Chapter 4Twilight touched down just outside of her castle, her hooves clacking on the crystal steps. She was about to use her magic to open the door, but stopped herself at the last second. Instead, she pressed a forehoof to the golden door and gently pushed it open. The hearts in the middle of the door split as it opened. The alicorn trotted through the double doors and quickly closed them behind her. The purple mare sighed and fell to her haunches. She leant back against the door and stared up at the ceiling. “What was that creature?” she asked herself. “Why was it only temporarily hostile? Why did it wear a chain?” The alicorn was broken from her musing by a knock on the door. She stood up quickly and reopened the door. “Hey, Twilight.” The unicorn behind the door smiled. “Starlight! So you finally managed to escape Pinkie?” “Thank Celestia.” Starlight laughed, trotting past her mentor. Twilight forced a smile as she watched her student disappear down the hall. She glanced back out through the door, sighed deeply and closed it again. She saw the creature again the next day. There were a couple more scars across his sides and he was walking with a sense of purpose. Twilight’s curiosity took over and she began to stalk them. The creature led her to the outskirts of the Everfree Forest, where she debated following him. In the end she was able to reason her way into the act – she was quite powerful, and this creature might be a danger. If she found out where he was going then she might be able to stop him hurting anypony. Twilight ducked behind a bush as the creature padded forwards. He stopped suddenly in the middle of a random clearing. The alicorn watched in amazement as the creature’s shadow sprung to life and turned into a dark-coloured imp. The imp casually pointed an arm to the grassy floor, shooting a small bolt of orange magic from its fingers. Twilight continued to stare in shock as the ground opened up beneath the two shadowy figures. They fell into the darkness surprisingly calmly and disappeared. Once the alicorn had finally recovered, she darted into the clearing and stared hard at the ground beneath her. It was no less solid than all the other ground around it. There was no magical signature – just some of that shadowy stuff that Twilight knew better than to touch. “What the hay?” Twilight yelled, not fearing that anypony would hear her. Nopony hung out near the Everfree anyway. The alicorn pawed at the ground a little, with enough force to break away some dirt. Surprisingly, as it fell away, it revealed the dark passage underneath. The purple mare facehoofed before picking at the rest of the earth. The shadow left on the ground made it impossible for her to use magic, so it took much longer than she’d have hoped. Twilight breathed heavily as she stared down into the darkness. This was her last chance to turn back. With a flutter of her wings the alicorn dove into the darkness. Around halfway through the drop she gave up trying to glide. It wasn’t that the tunnel was too narrow – it had widened around a hundred metres ago. It was that her magic told her the ground was a good five minutes away. However, as with the rest of the shadow magic she’d encountered, she was wrong. Twilight gasped as the ground suddenly appeared beneath her. A sudden attempt to right herself only led to more pain as she crashed into the hard stone floor. The breath was knocked from her lungs and a sharp pain filled her body. One of her wings crumpled and two of her legs twisted awkwardly. It took all of her willpower to contain the scream that threatened to pass her lips. She took deep breaths to try and calm herself, despite her body wanting to suck in all the air in the room and panic. She couldn’t afford to go into shock. Calming herself, Twilight forced herself onto her right foreleg. Her left was sore, but she could tell it was nothing serious. She flared her wings, but hissed in pain and folded one again. When she tried to stand, one of her hindlegs buckled and she smacked into the ground again. The alicorn closed her eyes and ran through it all in her head. My right wing is sprained. My left hind hoof is twisted, possibly broken… My magic didn’t work properly! What is this shadow stuff? Twilight called a ball of light to her horn and looked around. The room was small and carved from stone. The floor was covered in cracks, and large tufts of grass sprung from each one. A wooden chest lay open in one corner of the room, completely empty spare from a short length of fabric. A dot of light shone in from above. On one side of the room was a tunnel, with a single lit torch in the distance. Unfortunately, the shadow lingering in the air zapped her horn and cut out her magic once again. Twilight groaned as the light died, knowing the only other light in the place led her deeper into it. The alicorn looked around until resting her gaze on the empty chest. A few pained moments of dragging herself across the floor later, she was able to snap off some of the wood. It would be messy and painful, but without her magic she couldn’t do much else. Taking the fabric from the chest, Twilight turned to her hindleg. A quick glance told her that it was indeed broken. She could just about see where the bone must’ve snapped, although there was no blood. Thank Celestia. The alicorn rested her hooves against the limb. It would hurt a lot more since she couldn’t use magic, but it had to be done. Until her wing healed a little she would be stuck down here and wouldn’t be able to get real medical help. With a loud yelp of pain, she snapped the hoof back into place. She couldn’t help back the scream as a fresh wave of agony flowed up her leg and muddled her thoughts. She wanted nothing more than to just curl up and cry, but she forced herself to stay focused. Twilight took a deep breath before taking the plank of wood and placing it over her ankle. She took the fabric and began to wrap it tightly around her hoof. Every now and then she would stop to loosen it a little. She couldn’t let it stop her circulation. When she was finally done, she forced herself to stand so that she could test the makeshift splint. Twilight winced and yelped at every step, but it held well. With her major wound tended to, she began to check along the rest of her body. The swelling in her sprained wing wasn’t too bad. The ache in her foreleg was already dying out. There were cuts and bruises all along her form, but none of them were deep. Once she had checked every injury, she set off down the hallway. The tunnel was also carved into stone, and Twilight came across a total of three dark wood doors before she found the creature. He was standing in the centre of a large chambers with high stone walls, tall enough that the ceiling was lost in the darkness above. Vines hung against the walls and from the blackness that was the ceiling. There were doors at regular intervals across the walls, two of which were covered in chains and locks. The centre of the room was a raised platform with a single tree sprouting from the middle of it. A thin layer of grass covered the room and leaves constantly drifted down from the darkness above. The creature was crouching, muscles tensed as he glared and growled at a hunched, bipedal green creature with grubby clothes and a thick wooden club. It glared back at the quadruped creature with glowing red eyes, raising its club to strike. The dark creature lunged forward, closing their jaws around the green creature’s neck. They screamed and flailed their club, but couldn’t break free. Twilight could only watch in horror as black blood dribbled down the quadruped’s muzzle and the green creature stopped moving. A moment later, the body burst into a small shower of the shadow, which the dark creature didn’t seem to mind at all. The creature shook their head, scattering drops of black blood across the surrounding stone. They padded up to the tree and gazed up into its branches. A moment later they backed away and lunged at the tree, crashing into it with enough force to knock down a small silver key. They smirked and picked up the key in their teeth before turning to the two locked doors. Their shadow shifted on the floor, pointing to one of the doors. The creature nodded and walked over to it. Twilight hesitated before trotting painfully after him. The creature slid the key into the lock, but paused before turning it. Twilight flinched backwards as the creature rounded on her, growling. She stared at him with fear in her eyes, ready to bolt at any second, adrenaline numbing her pain. The creature seemed to calm when he saw her, and relaxed. Twilight did the same, but took a few cautious steps backward anyway. The creature looked her over before sighing and pointing back the way she’d came. “You want me to leave?” They nodded. “But I can’t!” The creature blinked before gesturing to her back. “I sprained my wing.” They groaned and pointed to her horn. “That shadowy stuff cut off my magic.” They looked a little confused. They glanced down at their shadow, but it offered no assistance. The creature sighed before turning back to the door and gesturing with their tail for Twilight to follow. Twilight limped up to the door as the creature turned the key and the chains fell to the ground. The key shattered as soon as the creature pulled it out. “So… I-I’m Twilight…” the alicorn muttered as the creature pushed the chains out of the way. If this creature was no longer hostile, why not make a new friend? “Wh-what’s your name?” The creature glanced around before resting their gaze on the chains. They rested a paw on one of the links and looked back at her. “Chain?” Twilight mused. “Uh… Link?” The creature barked. “Link. That’s… unique.” The purple mare smiled nervously. Link rolled his eyes and reared onto his hindlegs. He pressed his forelegs against the door and it swung open. Despite the darkness that covered the tunnel beyond it, Link padded through unfazed. Twilight contemplated staying here until he came back, but she didn’t want to be left alone in this place. She forced a trot and followed him down the dark tunnel. Halfway down the tunnel, Link came to a stop. He turned and padded up to a nearby door, pressing his ear against it. His tail wagged in anticipation as he pressed against the door. Twilight watched as it swung open and followed Link inside. She immediately regretted it as the door closed and locked behind them. In the centre of the room, a giant plant stuck out of the ground. It seemed to be pulsing, like a heartbeat. Sprouting from the top of the plant was a flesh-coloured stalk with a large head hanging from it. It lacked eyes and was made mostly of a large mouth with long sharp teeth that tucked grossly into an oversized lower jaw. Link barked a warning to Twilight, who backed up against a wall. He then lunged forward and ran circles around the plant, taunting it. The creature took the bait and threw their head forwards. Link easily dodged it, jumping aside as the head slammed into the ground. He then leapt at the head, digging his claws into the top of it and biting down into the soft skin of the plant. Black blood spurted across his muzzle as the plant shook itself and threw Link off. He flipped in the air and landed perfectly. He gagged a little and spat out the blood that had slipped through his jaws before repeating the process. The plant lunged at Link, and he leapt atop its head. This time, however, the plant threw him straight up. Link was obviously surprised, as he didn’t even retaliate as he flew up into the air. Twilight’s eyes widened and she began to limp towards the plant’s base. Above her, Link began to fall back down. She called for her magic, but the shadow had well and truly blocked it. In desperation, she lunged and drove her horn into the bud. The plant shrieked and flailed its head, just in time for Link to be knocked away. He smacked a little harshly against the wall, but it was better than being swallowed whole. Twilight pulled back and began to wipe to the blood from her horn. The plant roared at her, snapping her back to the battle. Twilight stared up in fear as the plant’s head loomed over her. She could only whimper as the head lunged for her, jaws open wide.
Chapter 5Twilight yelped in pain as a large figure barrelled into her side, knocking her injured wing. She flew to the side and rolled across the floor, coming to a stop and curling up. She glanced up at her saviour, only to instantly regret it. Link glared down at her furiously, lips drawn back in a terrifying snarl. The plant monster’s blood dripped from his muzzle, and his own trickled from a fresh wound on his side. His blue eyes shone with anger, but also thinly veiled fear and relief. The plant monster slammed into the ground behind him, but Link ignored it, instead padding over to Twilight. He reached down, sank his teeth into the scruff of her neck and lifted her up; a rather odd experience for the alicorn. Nevertheless, she didn’t struggle as Link carried her over to the door and dropped her there. She lay on her side and watched as Link ran back towards the monster, completely ignoring his injury. The monster’s head was still laying on the ground, dazed from the missed attack. Link leapt without breaking stride, muscles rippling beneath his fur. He landed firmly on the head and dug his claws in. A tear of flesh later he was sitting calmly on the bloodstained ground as he waited for the monster to disappear. The head and stem burst into dark energy, but the base remained. Link groaned and began to sniff around the room, looking for something. Twilight glanced away from Link to check her makeshift splint, which was holding up surprisingly well. She tightened the knot a little before turning back to her new friend. Was he a friend? He must be. He’d just saved her life! Eventually Link found his prey: a long-legged creature with bug eyes and smoke curling from its back. He ran over to the base and tossed it into the hole left in it. The bug dropped into the hole and moments later blew up, blasting the base to pieces. The door behind Twilight suddenly unlocked, making her jump slightly. The smoke faded and all that was left was a small silver key. Twilight watched, fascinated, as Link’s shadow reached for the key. The small object seemed to fade into the shadow, disappearing completely. Once it was gone, Link padded back over to the alicorn. He tucked his muzzle beneath Twilight’s chest and helped her stand. The alicorn waited patiently as he opened the door and then followed him out into the hallway. The alicorn followed Link out into the hallway, and a question formed on her lips, “Link, what are you?” Link paused and stared back at her. Twilight was surprised by how expressive he could be without even moving. The action was reminiscent of a pony asking, “What do you think?” Twilight began to muse. Link most closely resembled a timberwolf when it came to structure, except he wasn’t made of wood. Timberwolves were called timberwolves because they were made of wood. So Link would be, “A wolf?” Link actually seemed surprised that she had guessed it, but nodded anyway. Twilight felt a little proud for getting it right. The alicorn followed Link down the hallway, every now and then lamenting how useless she’d been in the fight. Whatever that shadow magic was, she absolutely hated it. Now that she thought about it, Link had shown up only an hour after the shadow had disappeared. Did he have something to do with it? She stopped to think about it before turning back to Link, only to realise he had disappeared. “Link?” she called, good wing fluttering nervously. She began to limp forward, hoping that the wolf hadn’t gone too far. The alicorn reached the end of the hallway and groaned inwardly. She turned and walked back again, deciding to check each door. The first door opened into a large room carved from stone. The land only extended a few feet in front of Twilight, whilst the rest of the room was covered in water. Driftwood and dead plants floated lazily across the surface. More noticeable were the pony-sized wooden platforms that stretched from Twilight’s patch of land to a small island on the other side of the room. The platforms were connected by a thin string that Twilight was almost certain would snap if she tried to walk on the platforms. On the far island was a small wooden chest. Twilight glanced around the room to see if there was anything of importance. Vines hung from the walls and, like in the giant tree room, petals were drifting down from the shadows of the ceiling. She turned back to the platforms and the chest. The chest in the very first room had been emptied, most probably by Link, before Twilight got there. And if Link had taken stuff from it, then it must’ve been important. The alicorn stepped up to the first platform and took a deep breath. After a moment, she reached her first hoof onto the platform and tested it. The wood held so she placed her second hoof next to the first. Another test and she was dragging her back hooves onto the platform. She was slightly surprised that it held her weight, considering how thin the platform was, but decided not to complain. The next platform worked as well as the first, as did all the others. A few minutes of testing and dragging later, she was standing proudly on the island. Smiling, Twilight turned to the chest and kicked it open. Inside was a small purple gem. The purple mare looked at it, confused for a moment before picking it up in one hoof. She frowned and turned it over, trying to see if it was worth anything. As far as she could tell, it was just a normal gem. The alicorn decided it would be a gift for Spike before tucking it under her good wing. Twilight kept her wing folded tightly to her body to keep the gem safe as she began to hop back along the platforms. However, halfway to the door she wood beneath her splintered. She cried out as she plunged into the water, which turned out to be very cold. She attempted to swim back up, but her broken hoof had already begun to sting. Her bruised front hoof gave up on her and she had no real choice but to stop. The purple mare wanted to scream, but she didn’t want to waste air. She wanted to cry, but she wouldn’t be able to tell even if she was. Dozens of spells rushed through her head, but none of them worked. Stupid shadow! Daring to open one eye, Twilight found the water actually didn’t sting. She opened the other and glanced around, confused. The water, while on the surface dirtied, was pure and fresh underneath. Even so, the liquid was very cold and should’ve hurt her eyes. But it didn’t. The alicorn spun in the water, hoping for… well, for anything, really. Anything at all to help her out. Her prayers were answered in the form of a pony-sized tunnel in the wall below the water. The chances of it being something good were small, but they were bigger than her chances of surviving otherwise. It was an asinine idea, but she found herself following through with it anyway. Kicking out with her two remaining hooves, Twilight began to swim slowly towards the tunnel. Once she neared it, the sudden current caught her by surprise, disabling her hooves once again. She tried to hold on to that remaining breath as she was swept through the tunnel, but it became progressively harder. She wanted nothing more than to release the air and take in fresh air; her common sense was the only thing stopping her from doing so. Twilight was almost entirely sure she was about to die when her back smacked against the wall. The blow knocked the breath from her lungs and, on instinct, she tried to breathe again, only for water to rush down her throat. The alicorn gave a soundless scream as her vision began to fade. Both her sprained and normal wing unfolded, flapping madly. She thrashed her hooves, trying to stop herself, but the water continued to sweep her along the tunnel. Twilight felt tears prick at her eyes despite the water covering them as her world faded to black. Drowning really hurt. Pain in her lungs; pain in her back from the rocks; pain in her twisted and broken hooves; pain in her sprained wing… Wait. Twilight wasn’t much of a believer when it came to the ‘afterlife’, but she knew enough about science to know that if she was dead, she wouldn’t be in pain. Twilight sucked in a deep breath, surprised to find that clean, fresh air entered her lungs. Last she had checked, she was trapped in an underwater tunnel with a very battered body. Now she was lying on a cold rock above water. Hesitantly, she blinked open her eyes to see… something looking back down at her. The alicorn screamed and jumped to her hooves, backing away from the bird-like creature in front of her. Twilight panted heavily, flaring her good wing in panic. “Oh, thank gracious. You gave me quite a scare there, adventurer.” The creature sighed in a feminine voice. Twilight gaped for a moment before stuttering, “Y-you can talk?” “Of course I can talk!” the creature tilted her head slightly. “I didn’t know you could, though. You’re not the one who usually explores dungeons. You’re purple.” The alicorn blinked before groaning and sitting with a thump. “Who are you?” “My name is Ooccoo, dearie. I’m an Oocca.” The bird-like creature answered, hopping over to Twilight. “And who would you be?” “I’m Twilight.” The purple mare told her, standing up and looking around. Judging by the river flowing next to her, and the fact that she was only in a tiny alcove, she hadn’t gone far. A few pots lined the wall of the alcove, but there was no other decoration. One of the pots was on its side, with most of the rim completely smashed. “Well, dearie, it’s nice to meet you. But what is a nice lady like you doing in a place like this?” Ooccoo asked, concerned. “I’m looking for my... friend… Th-they’re a wolf. Black and white, blue eyes?” “Oh, of course. The adventurer came through here not too long ago. He noticed me but couldn’t get out of the water fast enough. He’ll probably come back around in a moment or so.” Ooccoo explained. “Oh thank Celestia.” Twilight sighed in relief, leaning back against the wall. She remained there for a moment before turning to Ooccoo and asking, “So this place is a ‘dungeon’?” “That it is, dear. I’m assuming you’ve never seen one before?” Twilight gave a small nod and motioned for the bird-like creature to continue. “Well, a dungeon is mostly simply defined as a large cave or structure filled with treasure and monsters. I come here to explore and the adventurer comes to find the treasure hidden deep within. He usually stumbles across me stuck in a pot; rather embarrassing. Thankfully, the river threw you at my pot and broke me free before he came.” “Why do you explore these places if they’re full of monsters?” Twilight asked. She knew she sure wouldn’t. “Is it wrong to want a few thrills in life?” Ooccoo answered vaguely. “Besides, you’re a much nicer… mare? Than myself; why are you here?” “Well, I kind of thought that Link was really dangerous, so I followed him down here. Then I got lost.” Twilight explained, trotting over to the remaining pots. Her two injured hooves were throbbing; her wing felt like it was about to drop off and her back ached horribly, but she couldn’t afford to stop moving in this place. “Oh, poor dear.” Ooccoo frowned. Twilight began to search one of the pots, coming up with nothing but a pebble and a few scraps of fabric. “It’s not so bad. It means I met you. And you’re nice, so…” “You’re much too sweet, dearie.” Ooccoo blushed a little. The Oocca suddenly perked up and hopped over to the broken pot. “I just remembered…” Twilight turned to the bird-like creature as they reached into the pot and withdrew a large purple gem. It was dripping from the river, but was otherwise undamaged. She excitedly rushed over and carefully took the gem from Ooccoo. “You’re lucky it wasn’t damaged.” Ooccoo told her. “Fifty rupees aren’t easy to come by.” “Rupees?” Twilight asked. “Currency.” Twilight stared at the gem for a little longer, but she just couldn’t find anything of value about it. It was at best a gift for a friend. Even so, it had followed her this far; she began to search the pots again. In the second one she found a short length of twine. She awkwardly knotted it around the gem and then again around her neck. As she worked, she wondered aloud, “How come Link doesn’t take these random pieces of fabric with him?” “He has no use for them. He has all the clothes he needs, since they heal whenever he does.” Twilight paused for a moment. Unless Link was wearing something invisible, he had nothing but his fur coat. Speaking of the wolf… The alicorn flinched away from the river as a large white paw shot out of it, gripping the edge with thorn-sharp claws. A moment later a giant black and white wolf dragged himself out of the water. Water trickled from his muzzle and ran down his sides. His blue eyes gleamed with anger and fear. Link began to growl and bark, as if trying to talk. “Now, now, adventurer. There’s no need for such language.” Ooccoo scolded. “You can understand him?” Twilight asked incredulously. “Why of course.” Ooccoo replied, slightly surprised. Link responded by growling some more, and the Oocca decided to take the role of a translator. “’You stupid little horse, you’ I am not saying that ’scared me half to death! Do you have any idea how’ again, not saying that ’worried I was? I thought you were’ adventurer, please stop ’dead!’” “Link, I’m sorry.” Twilight pleaded. Link continued to glare at her for a minute before sighing and turning back to the river, motioning for her to follow. Twilight trotted up to the edge, but backed away as soon as her hooves were sprayed. Ooccoo frowned a little, took one of the pieces of fabric from the pots and hopped up onto Twilight’s back. The alicorn flinched a little, turning her head to see the Oocca wrapped in the fabric and nestled in the hollow between her shoulders. Twilight looked back to Link, who rolled his eyes and stepped closer to Twilight. The alicorn wrapped one of her forelegs around his and took a deep breath as the wolf plunged into the torrent, pulling Twilight and Ooccoo along with him.
Chapter 6Twilight held her free hoof over her mouth to ensure she didn’t accidentally release her precious air. Every now and then she would twitch her good wing to make sure Ooccoo was still safe between her shoulder blades, but not enough that it brushed against the walls of the narrow tunnel. She kept her eyes tightly closed, so the only thing letting her know she was still safe was the one hoof she kept wrapped around Link’s paw. The purple rupee was tied securely about her throat, but the water was causing it to bounce and bob against Twilight’s neck and chin. Eventually Twilight realised she wouldn’t be able to hold on much longer. She tugged at Link’s paw, hoping he’d understand. After a few moments Link changed course, dragging Twilight upwards. The alicorn felt panic begin to rise within her as air escaped from her nose. She continued to hold her breath even as her throat burned, refusing to lose consciousness yet again. The tips of her ears and horn suddenly turned cold. Her eyes shot open as she burst from the water; she opened her mouth and sucked in a deep breath. Coughing, Twilight gripped Link’s paw a little tighter and glanced back to make sure Ooccoo was still safe. The Oocca was still nestled in the hollow between her shoulders, shivering a little beneath her scrap of fabric. Before Twilight could protest or ask where they were, Link had released her hoof and ducked under the water. The alicorn squeaked in surprise as the wolf reappeared beneath her, lifting her onto his back before continuing to swim. Twilight took the time to take in the room around them. It was somewhat rectangular, with a hallway at one end. Roughly half the room, including that hallway, was submerged in water. The other end of them room was above water and covered in a thin layer of grass, which was odd considering they were underground. Like most of the other rooms, vines hung from the walls, although this time the roof was visible, crisscrossed with cracks and covered with dark stains. Twilight couldn’t help but wonder how they’d gotten there. She didn’t have too much time to think about it before she was being dragged out of the water rather unceremoniously. The alicorn quickly wriggled away from Link, climbing to her hooves with a slight blush. “No need to be so rough.” She pointed out, tugging at her knotted wet mane in annoyance. Link replied with a serious of short growls. Ooccoo quickly translated, “’It’s not my fault you’re heavy.’ Adventurer! Don’t be rude.” Twilight glared accusingly at her ‘friend’ until he barked once more. “’You’re stockier than a normal horse.’ I suppose that’s true.” Ooccoo mused. “That’s the second time you’ve called me a horse. I’m a pony! What is a horse?” Twilight exclaimed, more than a little fed up with Link’s inscrutability. “And while you’re at it, what is this shadowy stuff in the air? What was going on with those shadow walls and freaky bugs in Ponyville? Why in Celestia’s name am I talking to a member of one of Equestria’s longest extinct species using an ‘Oocca’ as a translator?” Link stared at her for a moment as if she’d gone mad. Then he sighed and sat down beside Ooccoo, who glanced up at him uncertainly. Twilight followed his lead, although she ended up having to lie down due to her injured hooves. Her left hoof was good enough to press down on, although that might’ve just been because it was numb from the water. Her broken hoof, however, hurt just as much as when it had first happened. Probably because she hadn’t given it a chance to rest. Her wing most likely needed to be looked at properly, too. Ooccoo translated as Link began to bark at her, “’A horse is basically a taller version of a pony, but they don’t have horns or wings. There’s more differences than that but I don’t know too many of them.’” “And the shadow stuff?” “’It’s called ‘Twilight’. It’s a form of dark magic. It doesn’t cause any harm on its own, but it does allow Twilit monsters to appear, and they can be deadly.’” “So that… thing… in the room with the tree was a ‘Twilit’ monster?” “’No, that was a Bulblin.’” “Well, why does this ‘Twilight’ cut off my magic? Twilight is a terrible name for it, by the way.” “’I have no idea why it stops your magic.’” “Okay. I’m guessing you were the invisible thing running around Ponyville killing the bugs, right?” “’Yes. I had to kill them to collect the Tears of Light, which get rid of the Twilight.’” “Good to know.” Twilight paused for a moment, wondering what to ask next. “How do you exist? Wolves have been extinct in Equestria for millennia.” “’I have no idea what Equestria is. I’m from another… country? World? Let’s go with country for now. A place called Hyrule.’” “There’s no country on Equus called Hyrule.” “’Well then I guess I’m an alien.’ Both of us, technically.” Ooccoo added. “That explains a lot.” Twilight grimaced, looking down at her hooves. She took a deep breath to compose herself before looking back to Link. The wolf was staring down at Ooccoo, who was now resting beside one of his large white paws. The two of them seemed to be having some sort of silent conversation. Eventually Link snorted in distaste and turned his gaze back to Twilight. “The adventurer has agreed to send you home.” Ooccoo explained. “Although I happily would’ve done it with or without his permission.” “Wait, what? No offense to your strength, but I highly doubt you’d be able to fly me out of here, Ooccoo.” Twilight frowned, looking down at the Oocca incredulously. “None taken, dearie.” Ooccoo reassured her. “You see, I won’t actually be carrying you. We Oocca have a sort of… magic of our own. My son is especially good at it.” “Your son?” Twilight asked, growing more confused by the second. Link glanced at her with an expression almost like a smirk. “Indeed. He’ll be able to teleport you out of here and then bring you back. If you want to come back, that is. He can only teleport back to me, so I’ll stay with the adventurer here so you don’t have to run around alone again.” Ooccoo explained in an oddly cheerful way. “Okay. So, where is your son?” Twilight questioned, glancing around the room. “Why, he’s right here.” Twilight looked back to Ooccoo to see a small creature hovering beside her. It looked kind of like Ooccoo, but with only a head and a small set of wings. Twilight blinked in surprise. Apparently Ooccoo had a similar ability to Pinkie Pie when it came to hiding things… people? Oocca. “So, um, h-how does this work?” Twilight asked worriedly, staggering to her hooves and watching the floating head with suspicion. “Ooccoo Jr. here will simply use his ‘magic’ and send you to the entrance of the dungeon.” Ooccoo told her. Way to be vague. Twilight sighed inwardly, but simply straightened her back – as best she could with a sprained wing – and lifted her head a little. Noticing she was ready, Link, too, rose to his paws and shook himself off, scattering drops of water everywhere. The alicorn suddenly took an interest both in her matted fur and the fact that Link seemed just as perfectly groomed as he had before the river. She pouted a little but made sure not to let Link see it. Ooccoo Jr. acted next, flying up to Twilight’s head height and beginning to fly slow circles around her. She watched nervously as he began to pick up speed. “Don’t look so anxious, dear!” Ooccoo called to her. “It’s perfectly safe.” Link barked a quick agreement. By this point, Twilight was nothing if not trustful of Link. So she closed her eyes and waited for… whatever was happening to happen. She could feel Ooccoo Jr. speeding up, actually managing to catch her mane in a noticeable breeze. The alicorn forced herself not to panic when she felt her hooves leave the ground. Or when she lost all sense of direction. Or when she crashed harshly onto a muddy, grassy piece of earth. Twilight waited a moment for the urge to vomit to fade before opening her eyes. She was back in the clearing where she’d seen Link disappear into the ground and made the regrettable decision to follow him. The alicorn forced herself to stand and look around. With a slight jolt of surprise she noticed Ooccoo Jr. hovering next to her. Before she could protest, he had disappeared into her mane. She groaned a little before examining her surroundings and trying to figure out which way was home. Twilight arrived back at the castle covered in mud, twigs and, of course, blood. She forced the door open with her hooves and staggered inside. The alicorn headed immediately towards the bathroom, where she awkwardly locked the door and turned to look at herself in the mirror. Ooccoo Jr. had the decency to leave Twilight’s mane and bury himself in a pile of towels as the purple mare began to clean herself up. Twilight removed her new necklace and placed it next to the sink before focusing on her broken hoof. She carefully removed the fabric and splint and thoroughly inspected it. If ponies saw her walking around with a broken hoof, they would ask questions. She couldn’t heal it herself… one curious pony was better than a town full of them. The alicorn turned to Ooccoo Jr. and said, “I want you to stay here while I go heal my hoof, okay?” Since he was just a head he was incapable of nodding, but he gave a small chirping noise to show that he understood. Twilight rolled her eyes and unlocked the door. She limped hurriedly towards Starlight’s room, where she knocked on the door and waited impatiently for somepony to answer. Starlight opened the door and looked at her mentor worriedly. Twilight ignored the suspicion and weakly pushed past her student, collapsing on the bed and displaying her broken hoof. “Twilight!” Starlight gasped. “What did you do?” “That’s not important. You need to fix it.” Twilight insisted. “Why can’t you just use your magic?” Starlight frowned, although she lit her horn for a spell anyway. “Think of it as a test.” Twilight improvised, hoping her eager-to-impress student would fall for it. Whether she did or not, Twilight wasn’t sure, as for the next couple moments all she was aware of was a searing pain in her hoof. She could’ve sworn she screamed at some point, but it was only to be expected. She was condensing weeks of healing into about a minute, after all. When she finally came to, she was on her stomach in the bath. It was filled with warm water up to her chest and Starlight was scrubbing her down with soap and water. Twilight winced as the unicorn touched her injuries, but bit her lip and held back anything louder. She couldn’t risk Spike hearing and seeing this. “So, are you going to tell me what happened or should I not even bother asking?” Starlight questioned, pausing in her washing. “I was on an important mission.” Twilight answered quickly. These lies are definitely going to catch up to me at some point. “Then why didn’t you leave me or Spike a note?” “I didn’t have time.” “You weren’t organised enough to leave a note?” Twilight fell silent, focusing on the pain across her body to keep herself concentrated. Starlight sighed and returned to washing, cleaning every one of her mentor’s cuts before moving on to her mane. Twilight forced herself not to complain as Starlight tugged the knots free in a purposefully pain-inducing way. “I healed your wing while you were out, too.” Starlight told her before pulling the plug and leaving the room. Twilight lay there for a moment while the water drained from the tub. She then sighed and stood, surprised at the lack of pain from her bad hooves. The alicorn tested her sprained wing, spreading in fully and flapping it experimentally. Nothing. Ooccoo Jr. made a sudden reappearance, flying over to Twilight and chirping oddly. It seemed like too normal a sound for a creature like him to make. Twilight brushed it off and climbed out of the bath. She gently dried herself with a towel before running a hoof through her mane. Damp and messy but mostly knot-free. Not that it really mattered. She considered retrieving her necklace. On one hoof, it was way too precious at this point to risk losing. On the other hoof, it was almost like a symbol. It had joined her during the dungeon, taken a break with her and so forth. Twilight sighed and slipped it around her neck. If it had survived that river, it could survive a… what had Link called them? Bulblins? Twilight looked herself over once more before turning to her new companion. “I think it’s time we head back to your mother.” The purple mare kept her eyes open this time as Ooccoo Jr. swirled around her, speeding up constantly and not stopping until Twilight was being lifted from the ground. She took a deep breath as her world fading into a windy, swirling mess.
Hiatus NoteHello everypony! First of all, I'm sorry; this story is updated nowhere near enough anyway and putting it on hiatus is more than a little cruel to the few of you who actually enjoy this story. But, unlike Warrior Ponies, I promise that this story will come back. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye! Anyway, as for why I'm putting it on hiatus... I'm planning some big things for the finale of The Life of Princess Twilight Sparkle, and it'll be a lot easier to focus on them if I'm not constantly worrying about this story. As soon as it's over, I'll dedicate some time specifically to this fic before starting my next one. I think that's everything, so thanks for bothering to read this little note. I just wanted to clear a couple things up. Thank you.
