Into the Twilight

by JackRipper

Rating: teen
Tags: Dark, Sad, Thriller, Mystery, Adventure
Length: 9333

After the death of Celestia, Equestria is thrown into chaos as darkness sweeps the land and a bitter cold seeps into its denizens. What they may find though, it that something evil lurks within the dark.

Princess Celestia died.

This, of course, started the biggest investigation in Equus history. No pony was certain as to how she died, whether it was of foreign plague or assassination, no pony could determine the causing factor. This caused panic, naturally, but the citizens of Equestria quickly realized that they had an even bigger problem on their hooves.

The sun had died with Princess Celestia, and all that remained, was darkness.

It is now up to Twilight and her friends to restore civil order within Equestria. This may not be easy though, as an insidious evil now lurks within the endless black.

Cover art by FPesantez.
Pre-read by koolkai7.
Heavily inspired by "Darkest Dungeon".

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2017-03-15 15:01:17 UTC

The Curtain Falls

Princess Luna understood death. She might argue that she understood it better than her sister. Her sister, Princess Celestia, was like a bright light, a big shining star. She was warm and welcoming, and treated all of her little ponies as if they were her own children. She was the embodiment of the sun, after all.

However, Luna was different, she was colder than her sister. Even though she didn't consider herself cruel, her fundamental views of death were different from Celestia's. Celestia found death to be an unfortunate circumstance that all ponies must face. There were only two circumstances in which Celestia directly defied the will of Death. The time her adopted niece almost found herself victim to pestilence, and the time she deemed her esteemed student too precious to lose.

Luna did not blame her sister for taking such drastic action to avoid an otherwise inevitable fate, however, she herself had never attempted to challenge Death, for fear of this exact circumstance.

Celestia was dead, and Luna truly had no idea why.

Luna did not, could not understand, comprehend nor fathom the death of a goddess. It simply wasn't possible, and yet, there she was. Celestia was dead on the marble floor, the color had been purged from her alabaster coat, and she was nothing more than a shell of who she once was.

Luna, for the first time since Twilight became her first friend in this new life, started to cry. She wept openly onto Celestia's coat, her tears staining Celestia's mane, which had now faded back to pink. It's usual phantasmal spectra of color was now void, just like Luna's still-beating heart.

The royal guards attempted to say something to Luna as she wept, but all she could her was a never-ending ringing. Luna, at this point, wasn't sure if this was how normal ponies felt when their loved ones died suddenly, or if there was a legitimate spiritual bond that was severed between she and her sister. She didn't feel any physical pain, she didn't feel anything at all.

She didn't even see the light fading from the castle windows.

"Princess Luna!"

Princess Luna shook herself back to reality and stared back at the pony who called to her. Lavender coat, urgent expression and crystal clear eyes with tears building beneath them, it was none other than Celestia's student and daughter, Princess Twilight Sparkle.

"Princess! What happened?! Why is Princess Celestia dead? Why is it pitch black outside?"

Luna did not know the answer to the first question, and she was left puzzled at the second question. Nightfall right now? That didn't make any sense, it was only mid-day! Unless...

Princess Luna felt an unstoppable wave of nausea overtake her. She glared at Twilight with determination and commanded only one thing, "Twilight, rally the guards, Canterlot will not be safe soon. I fear that we may not see the light of day again. Evacuate Canterlot, and keep its citizens safe."

Princess Luna's vision became spotted before quickly collapsing onto the cold tiled floor next to her dead sister.

Twilight stared at Princess Luna only for a few seconds before panic started to overwhelm her. What did she mean by, 'I fear we may not see the light again'? She had provided no context, no reason as to why she said what she said. Twilight's breathing became irregular and rapid and it took nearly a minute of pacing to get herself thinking again.

She had to do what Princess Luna said, she trusted her, and if they were in danger, it was up to her to keep Canterlot safe.

"Guards! I order a mass evacuation of Canterlot's citizens. We are dealing with an unknown forces at hoof. Please be ready to mobilize immediately!" Twilight shouted, her voice echoing across room.

There were close to a dozen guards in the room, yet none of them said or did anything, they just shifted glances between Princess Twilight and the other guards.

Twilight glared at them, "Princess Celestia is d- gone, and Princess Luna is unconscious, that leaves me in charge of you. Get your hindquarters in gear and evacuate Canterlot!"

"Yes Ma'am!" the guards collectively shouted, arming themselves and splitting into groups.

"I want an outpost set up at the base of Canterlot mountain, activate the sirens. I don't know what to expect, but I assume it's nothing good," Twilight said, rushing out of the main hall and into the courtyard of Canterlot Castle.

Canterlot was all but silent.

The chilling siren mixed with the sounds of unadulterated panic blended together in a horrific concoction of mania. Twilight would have guessed that it would have taken some time to convince some of the nobles to start evacuating, but it seems that when life is on the line, everypony generates the same amount of pure fear.

Twilight wanted to oversee the evacuation, wanted to help set up the outpost at the base of Canterlot Mountain. However, deep in her mind, she knew that whatever happened next, it was beyond her control. Princess Luna would command the guards, and they in turn would lead the evacuation. Twilight was now left with only one major concern, her friends.

It was Princess Luna that sent the letter to her, moments after Princess Celestia's passing. She teleported all the way to Canterlot Castle without providing her friends any context, she didn't know if they were safe, she needed to get to Ponyville as fast as possible.

"Guard! See to it that Princess Luna wakes up. Brief her on the situation at hoof and tell her I've arranged for the citizens of Canterlot to evacuate to the base of Canterlot Mountain," Twilight said to a nearby guard as she quickly trotted down the steps of the courtyard towards the city.

"But princess, what about you? Where do you plan on going?" the guard asked, bewildered at the idea of being down yet another princess.

Twilight stared at him a moment before replaying in an even tone, "Ponyville is the next town over, I need to see to it that it's safe as well."

That wasn't a lie, Twilight did intend on protecting Ponyville from foreign threats, but it wasn't the whole truth either. Twilight's friends meant the world to her. Her mother and father would be taken care of by Princess Luna, as the Princess of Friendship, it was her job to make sure her friends were safe too.

She teleported all the way from Ponyville to Canterlot, from which she then galloped from the inner city all the way to the palace in less than a minute. To say Twilight was exhausted would be an understatement. Twilight didn't have the energy to teleport all the way back to Ponyville again, so she opted for the next best thing.

She'd have to take the train to Ponyville, and she'd have to get to the train fast too, as many ponies already were probably using it as a method of evacuating.

She hardly even noticed the ponies she bashed into as she moved at breakneck speeds. The air had become unfathomably freezing. Twilight grew up in Canterlot, and in all the winters she experienced, she'd never felt this level of cold.

Twilight then came to a horrific conclusion. They were at the precipice of a mountain, despite this, Canterlot's climate was unusually stable for its location. Princess Celestia once told her that it was her and Princess Luna's magic that held together the climate of the city. Twilight used to be puzzled by what she meant, but now she understood perfectly.

With Princess Celestia gone, and Luna unconscious, Canterlot would become uninhabitable very quickly. There was a chance she might freeze to death if she didn't leave soon enough.

The adrenaline from this revelation surged through Twilight as she bolted towards the train conductor.

"We have to leave now! Canterlot's going to freeze over if we don't flee to lower altitude!" Twilight shouted as the conductor fiddled with the train's control panels.

He gave her a nervous glance, "Princess, we are still waiting on everypony to load their possessions into the train."

She gave him a dark glare that could crack a mirror, "Buck the luggage, ponies are going to die. I'd prefer it if less died because we decided to get this train moving. Fit as many ponies as you can on this train and start moving, that's an order."

With that, every pony was quickly hustled into the train, leaving their luggage behind with some ponies having to sit on the floor.

Twilight was afraid. She was banking on Princess Luna waking up and stalling the permafrost that would cover Canterlot within the next hour. She hoped that the base of Canterlot Mountain would be a suitable place to evacuate. She hoped that her family, her brother and Cadence were alright.

She hoped that her friends would be alive when she got off the train.

Off the Rails

Twilight's brain was addled. She replayed the events that had transpired over the last hour, from when she had been spending a relaxing day meddling with her friends, to crying over her former teacher's dead body.

She couldn't cry, she wanted too, but she couldn't, not right now. Not when so many ponies depended upon her. She had time to mourn later, when she knew that her friends and family were safe.

The train to Ponyville would take some time, and in the meantime, Twilight kept herself busy by tending the wounded, who were trampled over during the mass evacuation. She answered anypony's questions as best she could. Even then, she only knew so much. She didn't know why Princess Celestia was dead, she didn't know if Princess Luna had fainted from the shock or if it was something more severe, she didn't even know when exactly Canterlot would fall.

This bothered Twilight, it bore into her more than anything. She loathed, even resented ignorance.

Twilight tried to think of the next step, what would happen after she found her friends, assuming they would all still be there, but she couldn't.

Twilight was so fixated on getting to her friends, that she couldn't even predict that what would happen next.

"They're going to die, aren't they?" a filly suddenly asked Twilight.

Twilight thought she couldn't be anymore surprised, she thought wrong.

"Wh-what? What are you talking about? Is who going to die?" Twilight asked her, feigning ignorance.

The filly looked past Twilight, a blank look glazed across her face, fixated on the red velvet-lined carpet. "You don't have to lie to me Princess Twilight, I felt the air get colder too. I don't know what's going to happen, but it's not going to be good."

Twilight stared at the filly with morbid curiosity. The filly reminded her of herself in Twilight's younger years, how remarkably intuitive she was, always searching for the real answer. Twilight recalled a fond memory of showing her mother empirical evidence proving that the Hearth's Warming Eve Wendigo wasn't real. She wasn't easily fooled, and hardly held onto fillyhood innocence for very long.

The mother of the foal looked at Twilight sympathetically before picking the filly up and holding her in her hooves. Twilight couldn't tell that filly the truth, even if that filly knew it already. Part of her did it because it was the politically just thing to do, the other part of her did it because she didn't want to believe it herself.

Canterlot was gone.

All of her time spent there, remnants of her past and present life, erased in an instant.

The eerie silence that had built up within the train car had become uncomfortable. Twilight didn't recognize most of their faces, but a few stuck out. Fleur dis Lis and her husband Fancy Pants were near the back of the train car, looking worse for wear, his expression a sympathetic one as he gently comforted Fleur. Twilight winced, how many of the ponies had lost someone already? She prayed to a higher power that she wouldn't be placed in that category.

Fancy Pants looked directly at her, "Princess, I just want to say, thank you for what you did. If this train didn't start moving quickly, well, I don't know what would have happened."

Twilight gave him a soft smile, "I did what I had to, and I'm glad I did it."

She felt humbled. She knew Fancy Pants from the Gala, he was one of the more tolerable nobles that existed within Princess Celestia's close circle. He was living proof that money didn't dilute integrity. Twilight's smile faded as soon as it came, money wouldn't be an issue for a while.

The train shook just enough to jerk everypony back to reality. Fancy Pants resumed the conversation, "I know that you probably don't know everything Princess, but would you please enlighten me as to what's happening?"

Twilight gazed out the window. This wasn't nightfall, it was black outside. This wasn't a serene night in Equestria, it was as if all colors had been sapped from the world, and replaced with this sickly black abyss.

"All I know is that Princess Celestia is dead, Fancy. If we stayed in Canterlot for much longer, the harsh winds of Canterlot Mountain would have ripped through the city," Twilight sighed and sat down, "I think there's- there is something else out there, that Princess Luna warned me about. I don't know what it is, but I know it's coming."

Fancy Pants stared at the ground, a morose expression clearly showing. "Do you think that we'll be able to stop it once it comes for us?"

Twilight breathed in sharply, "I don't know."

Kerchink!

The train shook again, this time throwing Twilight off-balance. The train ride was becoming more and more erratic, even the lights from inside the train car were flickering.

"Excuse me Fancy, I think I need to speak with the train conductor, something's not right," Twilight said, trotting towards the front of the train car while at the same time attempting to steady her balance.

When she finally got to the front of the train, Twilight felt panic start to build up. The train conductor was sweating profusely, he was jittery and it seemed like he was about to faint at any moment.

"Princess Twilight! Thank Celestia you're here! Something- or someone is interfering with the train."

"Someone?" Twilight questioned, glancing out of one of the windows, only to notice shadows creeping in her peripheral vision.

"I don't know what they are, but at the speed we're going, the train is going to flip on its side!"

"What!? No, that's impossible!" Twilight exclaimed. Canterlot's trains were made of steel, it would take an insurmountable amount of strength, or hundreds of ponies to tilt the train, let alone capsize it.

Screech!

"Well it looks pretty damn possible to me Princess," the conductor mumbled in fear, "I have no choice, I need to slow down the train. That way even if it does crash, less will likely die."

Twilight bit her lip, he made a good point, but at the rate they were going, it was going to take several hours to reach Ponyville. "Can't you just, speed up? Try to lose them even?"

The train conductor gave her a stern glare, "We're going as fast as we can Princess, we're already short on staff as it is."

Crash!

Twilight felt a stinging sensation as chilling air blasted through the front of the train and shattered glass serrated her cheek, "Shit!"

The front window of the train had been smashed open by something, the train itself was swerving back and forth rapidly. The howling winds kept Twilight from hearing the sounds of the train conductor being dragged out of the train's side window.

Twilight willed herself to cast the most effective shielding spell she knew, and braced for impact.

Carpe Noctem

Twilight was a selfish pony.

At least that's what she thought of herself at this point. She was still alive, but only for one reason. The next time she saw her brother, she needed to thank him, for it was his spells that he taught her that saved her life.

However, this particular spell came at a price.

Instead of casting a shielding spell over her and the train car, she encased herself in a stronger spell that would protect her from almost all external trauma. It had a faster casting time, took less effort to cast and worked more efficiently.

It didn't protect the ponies in the train car, though.

She needed to survive, she needed to see her friends at least one more time. Even if it meant others would die, even if the other spell was slightly less effective, she couldn't take the chance. She needed to live so that more ponies in the future might live.

That's what she told herself.

She stood up slowly, the pain from the scratch marks across her body and the constant ringing in her ears was all she needed to tell that she was alive. She started to cough profusely, the smoke and heat from the fires surrounding her were beginning to feel too intense for her.

How many ponies had died because of her?

She began to limp slowly past the wreckage of the train, she couldn't see any survivors, she clung to the small hope that some had made it out before she woke up. She only took a few more steps forward before she saw it.

To say it was intimidating would be an understatement. The beast was made of pure darkness, its shadowy figure melded into the night around it. Its menacing white eyes pierced into the very depths of Twilight's soul, her entire body froze as she stared back at it.

As she stared back at them.

There had to be dozens of them, they all possessed the same stark white eyes. They all had the same primal objective.

They wanted to kill her, and rip her to pieces.

Their outlines vaguely resembled that of a pony's, but she knew better. The original stood up, walking away from the corpse that it was feasting upon, and screeched at her.

Twilight turned towards the train tracks, and ran.

She never galloped so fast in her life, nothing could compare to this, not even when she was rushing to get to the train station when her life depended on it. If she was caught by these things, she would suffer the most brutal of deaths, Twilight had never been so afraid. Their screeches continued, echoing into the night, rusted nails on a chalkboard merged with radio static.

Following the train tracks, Twilight could just barely see an outline of Ponyville in the distance, illuminated by street lamps and fire. Twilight felt like a siege engine running on fumes, she had nothing keeping her going other than sheer willpower.

She would not die, not here, not now.

Twilight illuminated the train tracks ahead of her with her horn, looking back and launching a spell at the one closest to the front. The spell didn't do anything to it, its body simply absorbed the spell before its glow dissipated entirely.

This couldn't be real. This was a living nightmare, Equestria and Tartarus were synonymous with each other now.

Twilight was quickly closing in on the town, she could now hear the sounds of distant screams coming from within Ponyville, none of them sounded like any of her friends so far. Twilight was only a few feet from the entrance of Ponyville before one of the shadows pounced her.

Twilight never imagined these things to be corporeal, let alone have significant weight to them. She was pinned against the cobblestone road, helpless against the black beast. She was able to see its maw clearly, lined with razor-sharp fangs, Twilight accepted her fate.

An orange blur knocked the creature off of her in the blink of an eye, a sickening crack could be heard a few feet away, as well as a sizzling sound right after. In an instant, Applejack was there, her emerald eyes filled with trepidation.

"Twilight, thank Celestia yer here! What's goin' on? Where did you go?"

Twilight stood up wearily and looked back at the shadows catching up to them, it almost looked like they were wincing at the light from the fire.

"We'll talk about it later Applejack, we need to get to the others and drive these things out of town!"

The two took off into the center of town, evading the monsters that were ransacking nearby homes. Applejack picked up the conversation, "Ah still don't understand why ya had to up and leave like that, you made us worried sick!"

Twilight gave her a remorseful glance, "Yes, you have every right to be mad at me, but I had to act quickly. This, this attack is happening worldwide Applejack, no pony is safe."

Applejack's expression turned into a hard glare, "Well, we can make sure that Ponyville is safe at the very least. The rest of our friends and mah family are holed up near Sweet Apple Acres. Ah hope ya know some fire spells, 'cause that seems to be the only thing that stops 'em."

Twilight's horn emitted a small spark, before an orange glow encased its entirety. "Really? You're asking me if I know a spell?"

Applejack gave her a small chuckle, "Fair point."

When they finally arrived to Sweet Apple Acres, Twilight let out a small gasp. Several of the trees had caught fire and streaks of black painted the ground around them. The house was in fairly good condition, but the barn looked like it had been heavily damaged.

Twilight thought that Applejack looked worn out, but it seemed like the rest of her friends were in even worse condition. Rainbow Dash was littered with cuts and scrapes, her mane was slightly singed from all the fire around them. Rarity and Pinkie Pie were both covered in mud and grime, frantically smacking away the monsters that charged them. They were guarding Fluttershy, who's left side of her face was heavily bandaged.

Twilight and Applejack rushed over to the four of them, attacking any that got in their way. It seemed like they couldn't be killed, their bodies simply evaporated out of existence after a certain amount of trauma was inflicted upon them. Still, that didn't stop Twilight from trying.

Twilight channeled all of the raw anger, confusion and fear that she had gathered over the past hour and poured it into her magic. Scorching flames and balefire incinerated the monsters in front of her, their screeches muffled instantly.

Twilight fought viciously, hitting any and all targets in her way. Her vision was becoming blurry, she couldn't even hear the sounds of her friends calling to her anymore.

Twilight glanced at the demons fading into the darkness, and collapsed.

A Place Called Home

Twilight groggily woke up in her castle only after a meager amount of rest. She remained sore and exhausted, but at least the ringing in her ears had finally ceased. Twilight felt a hard punch to her shoulder from Rainbow Dash, who was looking rather annoyed at her.

"What the hay do you think you were doing Twilight!?"

Twilight levitated the covers off herself and gently sat up, Spike and her five friends were crowded around her. Fluttershy was asleep, and Rarity looked significantly cleaner.

"Uh, sleeping?"

Rainbow Dash gave her a huff of annoyance, "You know what I mean, egghead. Why did you just up and vanish on us? Right after you left, it was pitch black outside and these, things started coming after us."

Twilight sighed, "Princess Luna needed me in Canterlot. If I wasn't there to evacuate every pony, well, let's just say the body count would be a lot higher than it is now."

Spike tilted his head in confusion, "Why would Princess Luna need you in Canterlot? And what do you mean by 'body count'?"

Twilight's head stooped low, "Princess Celestia is dead."

The room was was completely quiet, until Pinkie Pie broke the silence.

"That's not a funny joke Twilight."

Twilight was afraid this would happen, that they'd be in denial. She almost didn't want to believe it herself, but it was true, a revered goddess had died.

"You know that I wouldn't joke like that, Pinkie Pie."

There were no cries of sorrow, just plain confusion. Applejack was the first to speak up, "B-but how Twilight? How can a Princess just die? What happened in Canterlot? W-what's gonna happen to us?"

Twilight sat up from her bed, a blank stare etched across her face. "I don't know."

She heaved another, heavier sigh. "All I know is, that it's going to get even colder than it is now, Applejack. We aren't going to be seeing daylight anytime soon, so I don't know how we're going to get our food," Twilight rubbed her temples in frustration, "Rarity, we are going to need warmer clothing for all of us, and maybe even more for the town. Do you think you can do that?"

Rarity's eyes were fixated on Fluttershy's sleeping form, who was still heavily bandaged, "You need not to ask, darling. Unfortunately, I'm running low on supplies, but I'll work with what I have."

Applejack looked at Twilight's horn for a few seconds, before gasping from a sudden thought, "Twilight, ah think I have an idea."

Twilight glanced at her, beckoning her to continue.

"Do ya think that ya might be able to make an artificial sun? Somethin' that the crops could use to grow?" Applejack suggested with a small smile on her face.

Twilight pursed her lips together in thought, a small smirk appearing on her face as well, "You know what Applejack? That just might work! Granted, it might be straining to pull off an illusion of that scale, but I don't see why I couldn't do it."

Twilight's smile faded as soon as it came, "But, those monsters, they're going to come back. We haven't even begun reconstructing damaged buildings."

"W-What if we build a wall?" Fluttershy timidly suggested.

The five of them all glanced over at her, causing her to squeak at the sudden amount of eyes looking at her. She continued, "If we build a wall around Ponyville, that might buy us enough time to think of a plan. O-or at least do whatever we need to do," she muttered quietly.

Twilight felt the whole plan coming together, all she needed to do was cast a complex illusion spell that simulated a proper day-night cycle, rally enough ponies to build a wall around Ponyville in under a day, give out enough coats to keep all of Ponyville warm and rebuild all damages that had occurred prior to her arrival.

Simple, right?

Clang!

Twilight's thoughts were interrupted as she heard the front doors to the castle open. Shortly after, Starlight Glimmer ran into the room, panting and gasping for breath. "Twilight! Thank Celestia you're safe! I-I'm sorry that I wasn't helping the others, Spike and I were holed up in the library and ponies went to the castle as a haven and I-"

"Starlight," Twilight interrupted, "I'm not going to blame you for not being with them when Ponyville was attacked. Not be be rude, but in that moment, you were the last thing on my mind."

Starlight grimaced, "I-I understand. Still, I feel like I should have been there, you know?"

Twilight nodded, "Yeah, I think I'm having similar thoughts. Listen, I'll talk more about where I went and what happened later, but for now I'm going to need your help, Trixie's too, if she's up for it."

Starlight gave her a confused look, "Why do you need our help?"

"We're going to make a sun."

...

"What?!"

Ponyville spent the next day and a half undergoing major reconstruction. Twilight, Starlight, Trixie and several other unicorns spent their time researching and adding on to the illusion spell that would be cast across Ponyville's sky. It was difficult to cast, for sure, but hardly impossible. The tricky part wasn't making it look convincing, the difficulty came in making it generate enough warmth to make it feel genuine. It would have to be maintained on a daily basis, and, just like before, the sun and the moon would have to be manually raised.

Meanwhile, Applejack and the rest of the Earth ponies spent their day doing maintenance work, repairing any damaged buildings and quickly getting to work on the wall being built around the town. Even Filthy Rich partook in manual labor, much to Applejack's pleasure and amusement.

Rainbow Dash and the other pegasi spent their day doing reconnaissance and defending the town from the monsters still trying to invade the town, it was a tiring job, luckily there were few injuries on their part.

Rarity and Fluttershy began to sew the clothes needed to overcome the chilling cold that seeped into Ponyville, working with as little material as possible to produce the most effective clothing.

All Pinkie Pie did was prepare. Twilight gave her, Starlight, and Rainbow Dash a job. The four of them were going to travel to the base of Canterlot Mountain to find the outpost that had supposedly been set up by Canterlot's guards. Twilight needed to make sure Princess Luna was alright. Starlight had suggested using dragon fire to send her a message, but Twilight pointed out that it wouldn't work, seeing as they didn't know where the outpost was, if it existed at all.

As much as Pinkie Pie wanted to make every pony smile, she couldn't. If she couldn't make herself smile, how could she make anypony else smile?

So Pinkie Pie sat in solitude and packed their bags.

It was going to be an arduous journey from Ponyville to New Canterlot, after all.

Back Into the Fray

After several hours of hard work, Starlight and Twilight looked up at their creation, exhausted but proud. It was beautiful, but it wasn't the same. Twilight couldn't be Princess Celestia, she couldn't replicate her golden sun, but she could damn well try.

"Well-" Starlight said while panting, "I wasn't sure we'd be able to pull it off, but there it is."

Twilight rubbed her eyes, evidently staring at the mimic sun for too long, "According to the clock, we'll have to lower it soon. Make sure you're ready to leave in the morning, I asked Pinkie Pie pack our bags for tomorrow, I made sure she only packed the bare essentials."

Starlight frowned, looking over at Sugercube Corner, "Twilight, do you think Pinkie Pie is alright?"

Twilight gave her a confused look, Starlight continued, "I don't think I've seen her smile since you first left. I'm worried about her."

Twilight began walking toward the castle with Starlight in tow, "Yeah, I'm worried about her too. I was hoping the sun would at least brighten her mood a little and pull her out of that slump, but no such luck."

She paused at the castle doors before continuing, "I need to study up on my pyromancy spells before we leave tomorrow, but before we do, I'll have the castle arranged so that any pony that lost their home during the attack has a place to stay."

Starlight bowed her head and smiled, "That's very noble of you."

Twilight huffed in response, "Whatever you say, I'll be in the library if you need me. Do me a favor and check up on the construction team, see how that wall is coming along."

Starlight gave her a mock salute, "Will do, Princess."

The rest of the day went swimmingly, Applejack and the rest of the Earth Ponies had constructed most of the wall. It wrapped around most of Ponyville, and even though it was shoddy, it would be reinforced over the next several days.

Twilight could only bring so many of her friends with her on this mission. Applejack was needed in Ponyville to help keep the town fed, Rarity and Fluttershy, on the other hoof, needed to provide warmth to Ponyville as fast as possible. That was the one thing the false sun didn't do, it didn't replicate the warmth of Princess Celestia's sun.

Still, the light from it was enough to keep every pony in good spirits.

The next morning, Twilight would take Starlight, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie to New Canterlot, which had supposedly been set up at the base of Canterlot Mountain. Hopefully, it would still be there by the time they arrived.

The journey itself would not take longer than a day, but Twilight made sure to be prepared, just in case. They packed enough to last them two days on the road, and enough rations to feed seven ponies. It was probably unnecessary, but anything they didn't eat wouldn't be wasted. There was going to be a long road ahead of them, and Twilight was afraid again.

"So Twilight," Rainbow Dash paused, adjusting the lantern on the side of her satchel, "I thought of a name for the creatures that keep attacking us."

Twilight smirked at her, "Oh yeah? Let's hear it then."

"What if we call them Outsiders?"

"Outsiders? I kind of like it. Of course, I wouldn't mind catching a live one so that we could study its biology. I just don't understand how its possible for a creature like that to exist."

Dash snickered, "Alright egghead, a simple 'okay' would have been good."

They walked in silence for the next few minutes. They had already been walking for several hours without seeing any Outsiders for miles. It was almost, peaceful. Still, they had to keep their guard up at all times, the last thing they wanted was to be ambushed and surrounded.

Twilight heard Pinkie Pie whimper behind her, causing her to glance back in concern, "Pinkie, are you alright?"

"Am I useless, Twilight?" Pinkie Pie timidly asked.

The three of them went slack-jawed, unable to think of any suitable response. Pinkie Pie continued, "I just feel like you gave every pony a role Twilight, and you just didn't know what to do with me."

Twilight gave herself a minute to compose herself, "I wanted you to pack our bags because I knew that you had a keen eye for detail. I would have done it myself, but I was so busy making that illusion spell, I just had to pick the next best pony."

Pinkie Pie smiled a little, Twilight pressed on, "I brought you along for a reason Pinkie, and it wasn't because I felt sorry for you. If any Outsiders came after us, you'd be the first to know, you're unnaturally perceptive like that."

"I guess so," Pinkie said, still not fully convinced.

Twilight stopped for a second to stare at Pinkie, looking into her bright blue eyes, "When we get back to town, we're going to need you Pinkie Pie. You're going to have to teach a lot of ponies how to smile again, I hope you're up for it."

Pinkie's smile brightened, "You betcha! I'll do anything I can to help out!"

Rainbow Dash hovered next to Twilight, her posture unusually rigid, "That goes for all of us Twilight. If there's anything we can do to help out, just let us know."

Twilight gave them a soft smile, "Thanks, guys."

Screech!

Starlight scoffed, "I'd hate to ruin a heartfelt moment, but we have to run guys!"

In the last two days, it became blatantly apparent to Twilight that she was lacking in the endurance department. It had only been ten minutes of running and Twilight was already breathing heavily. Granted, she was still sore from the day before, but doing more cardio exercises would have to become routine for her in the future.

They were rapidly approaching the base of Canterlot Mountain, luckily, it seemed to be well illuminated by something other than fire. "We're almost there guys, just a mile or so more!" Twilight yelled over the sound of the Outsider's screeches.

"If it makes you feel any better," Starlight huffed, "We have a pretty good incentive not to slow down, or else we might be eaten alive!"

"You're not helping Starlight!" Twilight retorted.

Crack!

Their skirmish was interrupted by the sound of a large bolt of magic, which disintegrated one of the closer Outsiders behind them. Princess Luna peered over one of the outpost's walls, a smile on her face, "Open the doors! Princess Twilight has arrived!"

Regroup, Retain, Restore

Luna waited patiently as the four ponies sat down to catch their breath. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were alright for the most part, but Twilight and Starlight were still panting heavily.

"Unicorns, am I right?" Dash gestured to Pinkie, causing her to giggle.

Twilight huffed in annoyance, "Sorry for the rude interruption, Princess Luna."

Princess Luna glanced back at the outpost walls, "I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting you back so soon, Twilight. I question your decision to come here immediately."

Twilight stood up and stretched her hind legs, "I had to make sure you were alright Princess. I know it's only been two days, but I wasn't sure if you would wake up after you fell unconscious, I had to come back to make sure you weren't in danger," Twilight looked into Moon Princess's eyes, "After the fall of Canterlot, I couldn't lose you too."

Princess Luna winced, "You are welcome to stay for as long as you need to Twilight. We aren't doing the best on supplies, but we'll manage. I saw Velvet near the back of the camp earlier, you may want to talk to her before you leave at the very least."

Twilight's heart leaped, "Mother?"

Luna gave her a small smile, "Indeed. Go ahead and make yourself feel at home, I doubt you'll stay for long?"

Twilight bit her lip, "I'm afraid not Princess, I only came to make sure you were alright. Although, now that I know where this outpost is, I should be able to teleport from here to Ponyville easily."

Princess Luna walked back towards the gate, "Go ahead and catch up with your family Twilight, and be sure to speak with me before you go, I have a few questions for you."

"Hey mom," Twilight said softly as she embraced her mother.

"Hello sweetheart," Twilight Velvet said, returning the embrace. Her smile disappeared as fast as it came, "Twilight, your father isn't here."

Twilight stopped looking around the tent and gave her a look of bewilderment, "Wh- Where is he?"

Velvet bit her lip, "He, he and I got separated during the evacuation. Before he left though, he asked me to find you while he went to go find Shining Armor, I haven't seen him since then."

Twilight slumped over in anguish, "Why? Why wouldn't the two of you stick together?"

Velvet stared at her daughter in the eyes, "We care more about you than we do ourselves. Your father will be fine Twilight, he knows how to handle himself."

Twilight wanted to believe her mother, but a hint of doubt resided in the back of her mind, "I love you, mom."

Velvet held Twilight in her hooves, "Please Twilight, I know you're probably going to go back to Ponyville, but please, just stay one night?"

Twilight felt herself start to tear up, "O-okay, mom."

Rainbow Dash was bored out of her mind, despite feeling happy that Twilight was reunited with her mother, she herself had no close family in Canterlot, so she had nothing to do. One thing that had intrigued her though, was the project that the royal blacksmith was working on.

Dash's eyes bugged out when she got a closer look at the contraption on the workshop table, "Dude, is that a crossbow?!"

The blacksmith gave her a small smile, "Yup, it sure is. By the looks of it, I assume you've taken an interest in it?"

Dash only nodded her head up and down numbly, causing the blacksmith to chuckle. "Well, you seem quite bored, why don't you go ahead and practice with it? You've got nothing better to do, you might as well practice your aim."

"Mind if I watch you practice?" Pinkie Pie asked as she bounced up to Dash. Rainbow Dash smiled wide in response, today was going to be a good day.

Starlight wanted answers, Twilight had given her the general gist of what had happened over the past couple of days, but she felt that Princess Luna could clue her in on the details.

"Princess Luna?" Starlight asked as she walked up to the front entrance of the gate, "May I speak with you?"

Luna looked down at Starlight, a neutral expression plastered across her face, "I suppose so. What is it that you need Starlight?"

Starlight wasn't sure where to start off, "W-what exactly happened in Canterlot?"

Luna sighed as she sat down and leaned against one of the wooden walls, "My sister is gone. She didn't have a pulse, she didn't open her eyes, and she didn't move a muscle. I have reason to believe that she died of supernatural occurrences," Luna took a moment to steady her voice, "When she died, the environmental spells protecting Canterlot broke, now the whole city is buried in snow."

"I-is Princess Celestia's body still in the castle?" Starlight asked timidly.

Luna stiffened, and then relaxed after a few seconds, "Y-yes, I assume so. I-I didn't think about that."

Starlight chastised herself internally for grilling the Princess, but she had to know more, "When Princess Celestia died, is that when the Outsiders started showing up?"

Luna chuckled darkly at that, "Outsiders, is that what you call them?" Luna paused for a moment, "I'm afraid that my sister's magic wasn't keeping them at bay, but rather when she died, they felt that they had enough of an advantage to emerge from the darkness."

Luna stared at Starlight deep in the eyes, "Make no mistake, Starlight, these Outsiders you speak of are pure evil, but they are not the worst thing to emerge from the dark."

Starlight didn't know how to respond to that.

After a few seconds of silence, Luna sat up, "Go reacquaint with your friends, Starlight, I have business to attend to."

The rest of that day had passed with little activity. Twilight had spent the rest of the day talking to Princess Luna, explaining to her what adjustments she and her friends had made to Ponyville. Luna winced at the part where Twilight had mentioned recreating a false sun, but commended Twilight on her diligence to maintain stability.

The next morning consisted of Twilight and her three other friends re-supplying and going over final details with Princess Luna. Now that Twilight knew exactly where the outpost was, she could teleport there and back again easily, even dragon fire would now be a possible method of communication.

Before they could leave though, the royal blacksmith had one more thing to add.

"Miss Rainbow Dash," the blacksmith paused for a minute and levitated the crossbow in front of her, "I know that you have taken a liking to the crossbow I made, so I want you to have it. I can make more, and the bolts are pretty easy to make as well."

Rainbow Dash stared at him as she held the crossbow in her hooves, "Dude, you are like, my favorite pony right now."

He smiled at her, "I'm sure you'll put it to good use."

Rainbow Dash smirked at him as she disappeared in front of him in a flash of purple light.

Trouble in the Homestead

The quartet landed in Ponyville near the main gate. Slightly dazed, the four adjusted their bearings, the first thing that stuck out was the sky.

"Hey Twilight," Rainbow noted, "Isn't the sun supposed to be out right now?"

Twilight eyed Applejack arguing with Caramel, surrounded with a few other folks who looked more than a little irritated.

"Yeah, I suppose it is. Starlight, wasn't Trixie supposed to be in charge of handling the sun illusion?"

Starlight glanced over at Twilight nervously, "I may have only suggested it to her, I didn't exactly make it her responsibility," Twilight began to glare at her, causing Starlight to panic, "I didn't want to pressure her into doing something that I'm not entirely sure she can do!"

Twilight sighed and began to walk over to the arguing crowd, "I suppose that makes sense. I wish you would have told me though. We are already running low on food as it is, and the Earth ponies can't grow crops in these conditions."

Starlight's ears lowered in response, "I-I'm sorry, Twilight."

"Oh finally, Princess Twilight is here. She'll have this all sorted," Caramel said as Twilight and the others approached the crowd.

"What's wrong, Caramel?" Twilight asked as she glanced over at Applejack, who was starting to look more than a little impatient.

"Applejack's been holding out on us, we know she keeps barrels of apple cider in her cellar. Now normally, I know it's reserved for special occasions, but we're starting to run really low on supplies. Shouldn't we should start distributing it out to all the ponies that need it?" Caramel asked, some of the crowd nodding in agreement.

"Now hang on just a second," Applejack said firmly, stomping her hoof into the ground, "We might be running low on food, but that don't mean we're short on water, or dyin' of thirst for that matter. Ponyville is next to a river for Celestia's sake! The only reason your doin' this now is to get an early taste of this year's cider."

Caramel opened his mouth to argue again, but was interrupted by Twilight's sudden intervention, "Really? Are you bucking kidding me? This is what you are arguing about?"

Caramel was at a loss for words, Twilight pressed on, "My friends and I were nearly mauled to death by packs of Outsiders, Equestria has had all contact from the outside world cut off, Princess Celestia herself is dead, and you are mad because you can't have bucking cider right now?"

Caramel looked like a fish out of water, desperately struggling for air. Twilight growled at him, "I'm only going to say this once, and this goes for all you other ponies who feel the need to voice a complaint right now. I'm at the end of my wire right now, and my castle is equipped with dungeons, do not make me use them for the first time."

The crowd went dead silent, before dispersing quickly. Applejack was the only one that stayed back, giving Twilight a small smile, "Ah appreciate that Twilight. Ah didn't think ya had it in you to make the crowd back down like that."

Twilight returned her smile, "Anything for a friend, Applejack. Do me a favor and help me gather the rest of us, I have something planned for us."

"Y-You want us to do w-what?!" Fluttershy squeaked before becoming faint, using Rarity to hold herself up.

"I want us to go to the Castle of the Twin Sisters," Twilight stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Twi, I don't know if that's a good idea. I mean, we just got back. We were only gone a day and we already have problems in Ponyville, we haven't even put the sun back up yet. I doubt too many ponies would take kindly to us leaving again," Rainbow Dash said, adjusting the sling around her crossbow.

"I must agree, Twilight. I heard about your quarrel with Caramel earlier, your reputation is going to falter if you keep leaving Ponyville without telling everypony," Rarity added while comforting Fluttershy.

"As much as I'd love to come with ya this time, you know ah can't. I gotta catch up on harvesting apples or else we aren't gonna have  enough food to feed everypony," Applejack stated.

Twilight rubbed her head in frustration, she knew her friends were going to do this, and they were right. She couldn't leave Ponyville again, not unless she wanted riots to ensue. She needed to keep things under control, and she needed to plan out this next expedition. Twilight came up with a compromise.

"Alright, I'll start to plan out this expedition, but we won't leave Ponyville for at least a week and a half. We need to recuperate and make sure that Ponyville is in the best condition possible before we head out," Twilight stared at each of her friends, "I won't make you go, but I can't do this alone. I'd like it if all of you went, but I understand if you'd rather stay in Ponyville."

"Are you kidding?!" Pinkie Pie asked as she bounced towards Twilight, "Of course we'll go silly! We just can't go right now! Ponyville needs us, they need you more than anything!"

Twilight smiled at Pinkie, "I know. I'm going to get us prepared for this expedition. In the meantime, I'll make sure that Ponyville is in working condition, and I'll make an official announcement to the rest of Ponyville. It looks like not everypony knows what's going on right now, so I'll make sure to answer any questions before we finally go."

Twilight's head was briefly filled with images of her former teacher, and second mother. "If anywhere holds information about Princess Celestia, it's the Canterlot Archives, but seeing as we can't go there right now, the Castle of the Two Sisters is our next best bet."

Into the Everfree

The next week and a half were grueling at best, if Twilight were to describe it. She was constantly at work, whether it was delivering a public speech and explaining the circumstances to the Ponyville populace, or gathering enough supplies to visit the Castle of the Two Sisters.

The former event was much more emotional than Twilight had anticipated. After everything that had happened, she really hadn't had the time to fully acknowledge everything she knew. She delivered the speech with confidence and stoicism for the first few minutes, but then began to break down once she recalled what had happened to her mentor.

She'd been strong for this long, she'd anesthetized herself from the true amount of anguish she was feeling. Everything had went wrong so fast, and Twilight couldn't do anything to prevent it. She only knew that she was one of the few that could prevent it from becoming any worse. It was the only thing holding her together at this point.

Arranging provisions for this expedition that she'd been planning out was as difficult as it was cumbersome. Ponyville was already limited in the supplies it had, and making this journey into the Everfree wasn't going to help out their circumstances unless it yielded the knowledge that Twilight so desperately yearned for.

Everything else ran rather smoothly, the border that surrounded Ponyville was finally complete, and the lighting situation had finally been resolved with the help of a stubborn Trixie and Starlight. She decided that it would be best if Starlight stayed behind this time around to maintain the doppelganger sun, much to Starlight's chagrin.

Twilight made sure the rest of her friends were preparing as well. Applejack was finally able to start harvesting apples now that the conditions were suitable again, but she would leave some of the work to her brother and younger sister while she was gone. Rarity was able to to produce some pretty sturdy wool coats for Ponyville, albeit not very attractive on the eyes, even Twilight had admitted. Twilight admired how fast Rarity worked, but was not surprised in the slightest.

Pinkie Pie worked alongside Applejack and the Pie family, sorting out the meal situation, as well as keeping everypony's morale up. Twilight had meant what she said, she couldn't have picked a better pony for the job, and she hoped that Pinkie Pie had taken her words to heart.

Fluttershy was still timid after what Twilight had suggested, and she knew she wouldn't be able to assist them in the event that something attacked them in the forest or in the castle, but Fluttershy was well practiced when it came to medicine. Twilight actually hoped, for once, that Fluttershy's skills would not be necessary in this event. Rainbow Dash had really taken a liking to her newfound weapon, and had been practicing aiming with it all week. Twilight had no doubt that Dash would be able to put it to use.

Twilight sighed, she still had no idea what would be out there. They had scouted the entrance to the Everfree, but it was always eerily silent, like all the monsters that once occupied the Everfree had gone into hiding. Zecora had fled the Everfree once Princess Celestia had died, and hadn't gone back into the forest since. They'd be trudging through the forest completely blind. Granted, they still had a map that led to the castle that Twilight had made when they first started visiting the place, but there was no telling how the geography had changed.

Spike was sitting next to her in the library. He had been so busy helping Starlight set up a makeshift refugee camp in the middle of the castle that he hadn't been able to talk to her at all since they had a picnic with all their friends. Twilight's guilt continued to pile when she left again prematurely to find Princess Luna without having a chance to talk to him. She was surprised by how much he had done without her, and glad that the two of them were talking again.

"I don't understand why I can't come with you, I can handle myself you know," Spike said, kicking his feet in front of him as he sat on one of the wooden desks.

"It's the same reason Starlight is staying in Ponyville too," Twilight explained, "We need all the help we can get, and even though I'm bringing my friends with me, you're needed here."

Of course that was only half the truth, it was true that he had done marvelously so far in making sure that everypony in town had a place to sleep, particularly those that had lost their homes during the initial incursion. However, Twilight knew that Spike wouldn't be safe in the Everfree. She'd seen firsthoof what kind of things crawled out of the dark, and she could only shudder imagining what would be waiting for them in that wretched forest.

Spike grumbled a bit in disapproval as Twilight levitated her travel pack towards her, double-checking everything she had packed.

Twilight and her five friends were gathered at the edge of the Everfree forest, Twilight had already said her farewells to Starlight and Spike, promising that they'd be back shortly. She knew she probably shouldn't make promises she couldn't guarantee that she'd keep, but she didn't want to worry the two of them.

As soon as the six were to step in the forest, darkness would reign down upon them, and they would relive Tartarus once again.

"Alright girls," Twilight said in an even voice, masking her fear, "We all know how to find the castle in case we get lost, but stay together and follow the trail, it should be a straight shot there."

Rainbow Dash grumbled as she shifted the crossbow on her shoulder, she hadn't dropped it since it was given to her in New Canterlot, "You know, I'd hate to be that one pony, but when you say it's going be a straight shot there, you know we're going to run into trouble."

Applejack shot her a look, "Well, let's jus' hope otherwise then, you can't say things like that, Rainbow. We'll be fine Twilight, we've done this before after all."

Twilight gulped as she looked into the ominous black, "I hope you're right, AJ."