"Um... Excuse me?"
White Hot looked up from studying her forge hammer. She felt all the joints from her neck and down her spine cracking, but it felt more refreshing than painful. Her gaze travelled up the cloaked, lopsided figure who had just spoken to her until they met a pair of dull silver eyes glowing with an air of hopelessness. White smiled politely and gestured for the pony to speak on.
"I... Can you help me with something?" The mare asked quietly, in a voice that seemed to shimmer when she held out a word. It didn't seem to belong to the pony, who looked like nothing more than a beggar who had gone through some horrible times. White Hot, who wasn't keen on leaving her workshop, hesitated for a moment before nodding unsurely. As a member of Ponyville, she shouldn't neglect ponies in need when she had spare time to help them out. The other pony's eyes seemed to shine brighter as her smile spread wider on her muzzle.
"Th-thank you! I'll repay you with whatever... whatever I can." The pony gratefully bowed to White. "My name is... is... well, you can call me Fate. I lost an important... important pendant in the library here, but I... I went off-track and... and I'm not... not really from around... here. I lost my way... I was... was wondering... If you could guide me... to the library." She finished, a little out of breath. White grinned, happy because the task she was given was both important to the pony she'd be helping and she might be able to see this pendant's design. She was always looking for new inspirations for her jewelry, and this could be a nice chance.
"Of course. Could you wait for a second, though? I need to lock my workshop before leaving."
As they neared the library, Fate seemed to become a little happier than she was when White had met her. Fate was a mare from a place called 'Erebos'. The name itself didn't sound very home-like nor welcoming, but Fate seemed to miss it a lot. She was in Ponyville to 'find something' she had lost many years ago. "It comes from where the pendant I'm looking for right now... came from," She described the 'something'.
"Oh, hey, White! I don't see you much in this part of Ponyville, you should come around here more often... And who's this?" Cloud Ribbon, White's best friend, walked up to the two mares. She was a pale magenta mare with a cyan-streaked white curly mane. Her long yet puffy tail bounced gracefully (if that was a possible thing) whenever she took a step.
"I'm just showing Fate here," White gestured, "to the library. I'll talk to you later, I'll help this pony first." White waved and continued on, leaving Cloud Ribbon behind to wonder what White was up to again. Cloud shrugged as the two mares grew farther away from sight.
They arrived at the library, and they stopped at the door. White carefully knocked at the door, which opened after a few seconds, revealing a short baby dragon with a welcoming grin.
"Twilight, we have visitors!" He shouted up the stairs.
"Oh, no. We're just here to find something." White Hot slowly entered the library and Fate followed her in. When a slight glow came into sight, Fate jumped excitedly, and her dull silver coat seemed to glow with it. She hurriedly made her way towards the glow, and let out a large, thankful sigh.
"It IS here... Thank Celestia..." She hugged the pendant, and put it into a pocket of her cloak. She turned to White Hot and hugged her, taking White by surprise. "Thank you..." she whispered, "You wouldn't know how much this pendant means to me. How... how will I ever repay you?"
"Oh? Oh, it's nothing. I'm happy with the fact that you found it." White patted the mare on her back and they broke out of the hug. "Hopefully you don't lose it again. I have to head back now... It was nice meeting you. Good luck on finding whatever you were looking for." White made her way out of the library, but was stopped by Fate's hoof grabbing onto her hind legs.
"Wait... here." Fate handed White Hot a intricately carved silver bracelet that emitted a bluish light. White Hot gasped at its beauty and looked back at Fate.
"You... What is this?" White managed to get the few words past her surprised vocal chords.
"It's something I got from a friend many... many years ago. I had nothing else... to give you, so this will have to do... Hopefully it's not... not too little."
"NO!" White yelled excitedly, making Fate jump. "THIS IS BEAUTIFUL! PERFECT! A MASTER'S WORK OF ART! THANK YOU! I LOVE YOU!" White pulled Fate into a hug, and let out a small yelp of happiness. Fate released a small laugh that sounded like chiming bells. White released Fate, and her interest was immediately drawn to the silver artefact.
"Oh, if I knew... you liked these kind... of things..." Fate dug through her pocket and produced another bracelet, this time black in colour with a small purple gem embedded in the center. "You... can have this... too... but do-" She held it out to White, who immediately snatched it out of Fate's hand, eager to study the craftsmanship of this one. The pure excitement she felt while feeling the graceful curves and notches in the bracelet averted her attention from the slowly changing landscape and the fading screams of Fate.
When her focus returned to the world around her, White yelled in astonishment as she studied the structures before her eyes. The library was no longer the bright-coloured, wacky building she remembered. It was built with stone bricks, and the building's top stretched high into the sky, looming over her small figure. She felt uncomfortable just from looking at it.
She was no longer in Ponyville. What concerned her more, though, was that there were no ponies in the empty streets. Well, they weren't really streets- they were more like paths of hardened mud poking out of the vast fields of grey, soggy grass. The busy streets and houses that she had seen moments ago were now gone. The library was gone. Fate was gone. The bright colours and friendly neighbours that had comforted her since she was a child... All gone. She looked frantically around, trying to grasp onto something that looked familiar, but the only things that were familiar were the bracelets she had just received from Fate, and they were the only thing she had with her. She carefully put them onto her two front legs, and studied her surroundings.
This place was more like a cemetery than a town. Everything was black and white, not to mention the gloomy atmosphere surrounding it. She warily walked towards the tall tower that replaced the library, and slowly knocked on the door. The knocks seemed to echo through the empty streets and purge the silence. A shiver ran down White's spine. The sound of hoofsteps approached from the other side of the door, and there was some muffled discussion behind it. While she waited, she studied the iron door. It was well-known amongst blacksmiths that using iron for a door was a bad idea because it would rust, but some kind of spell had been cast on it to prevent it from rusting away. Despite this amateur mistake, the carving of a pony and the gems embedded in the door to represent the starry night sky was beautifully done. Mesmerized by its intricate designs, White stretched out her hoof to feel the patterns. She flinched backwards as the door swung open.
"Peasant. The Ritual of the Star is in progress. Why are you not participating?" A large unicorn pony in full metal armour looked down onto White. She gasped and tried to answer, but the fear that seemed to radiate from the pony immobilized her vocal chords. The pony frowned and lifted his spear, ready to attack White. "Are you not going to answer me, peasant?"
"I... I was... wondering where I am..." White stuttered, and slowly backed away.
"You did not answer my question. Answer or be imprisoned. You are breaking the Princess's rules; you are not attending the ritual."
"I- I don't know... I don't know where I am." White's mind was blank, and all she could hear was her internal voice screaming, RUN.
"You did not answer me." The armoured pony grabbed White by his magic and they teleported to a dark room that White assumed to be an enclosed room. She gasped with fright as the eyes of starving, dying, and injured ponies stared back from the void.
"You had a chance, peasant."
The pony released her from his magic, and disappeared as White begged to be released. She banged on the nearest wall frantically, screeching at the top of her lungs for help. She slowly wore out, but nothing had changed. She was still a confused pony jailed in darkness, with Celestia knows what.
She gave the wall one last body slam and she collapsed onto the floor, crying with the energy she had left. She had no idea what was going on, where she was, nor did she know why she was here. What she did know was that wherever she was right now... was certainly not Ponyville.
