Seven Days

Chapters

Day 1: Zero Hour
Night 1: It's Just A Myth
Day 2: The Gift

Day 1: Zero Hour

Knock knock

Princess Celestia walked over to the front door of the castle. She knew what time it was and she knew what was coming. The daily visitation that reminded her of all the troubles that were going on around Equestria—and the bills. With a sense of dread, she opened the door and was greeted to a blast of the cold, winter air and the sunshine-smile of Derpy, who landed on the ground

“Package for the royal sisters!”

Celestia raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t order anything.”

Derpy pulled out a rectangular package that was wrapped in seasonal gift wrap. “Well, somepony named…” Derpy narrowed her eyes. “Sa… mara sent this to you guys!” She handed the package to Celestia and saluted her.

“Was… that it?” Celestia asked with a look of shock.

Derpy shook her head. “There was a fire at the Ponyville post office and we didn’t have time to re-sort the mail. So, the letters that were to be sent today will arrive tomorrow, along with whatever else we get!”

“Uh-huh…” Celestia cleared her throat. “And… how did this survive the fire?”

“It came to me personally from a scary-looking mare with a really long mane.” Derpy said. “She told me to bring it to you right away.”

“I see…” Celestia looked down at the package, then back up at Derpy. “Well, thank-you.”

Derpy saluted Celestia again before flying off.

Celestia closed the palace door and walked to her room with the package. Once she arrived, she placed it on her bed.

From Samara. To the royal sisters. Watch me.

Celestia tapped her chin. “Now there’s a name that doesn’t ring a bell…” She walked to her bedroom door and opened it. “Go to the archives and see if there’s anypony by the name of Samara.” she said to one of the nearby guards.

The guard saluted Celestia before he ran off down the hallway towards the archives.

Celestia closed her bedroom door and looked back at the package. “Hmm… better safe than sorry...” From a distance, she unwrapped it.

Thankfully, it didn’t explode.

Celestia wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead and walked over to the now-opened gift. To her surprise, it was an unlabeled VHS tape, in remarkably good condition despite the fact that the last VHS tape was produced many moons ago.

“Well, well, well. A movie? How kind of Samara.” Celestia said with a smile. She turned and looked at the clock. “I’ve been ahead of my usual schedule today… maybe Luna will—”

Knock knock

“—want to watch it with me…” Celestia walked over to the door and opened it. Outside was the guard who had went off the archives.

“What did you find?” Celestia asked.

“Well, your majesty,” the guard began, “There is a pony by the name of Samara.”

Celestia smiled. “Oh, well, I must send her a card thanking her for her gift.”

“That’s the thing,” the guard said. “She hasn’t been seen for ten years, and was legally declared dead a year ago. The only other pony named Samara lives out in Neighbraska and was born six months ago.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Well, then I’ll just have to send her parents a thank-you card.”

“Would you like me to get you one?” the guard asked.

“Later.” Celestia said. “For now, I have to surprise Luna with this!”

“Oh, I’m so excited!” Luna said. Although she had bags under her eyes, the immense amount of joy on her face overshadowed it tenfold. She levitated a large amount of popcorn out of a bucket that could cover her entire head. “I can’t remember the last time we watched something together!”

“If memory serves me well, it was that Batmare movie where she fought the other superhero.” Celestia walked over to her dust-covered VHS player. “And if memory continues to serve me well, you got really upset at me when I said I hated it.” She blew off the dust, which in turn caused her to cough. After she stopped, she put the tape into the player and walked back to her bed, sitting on it with her sister, who continued to devour her popcorn.

Luna swallowed the popcorn and shot her sister a glare. “Yes, well, you just didn’t get it.” she said indignantly.

“Sure I didn’t.” Celestia said with a smirk.

“So, what’cha think is on the video?” Luna asked. “Something action-packed?”

“Maybe,” Celestia said. “I guess we’ll find out soon enough.” She hit the play button and, with that, the movie began.

“Where is this, sister?” Luna asked as the video started. From what she could tell, it was dark. Very dark.

“I don’t know.” Celestia replied with a perplexed look on her face. She narrowed her eyes and attempted to figure out just where the heck the movie took place. Eventually though, it became clear. Sort of. “Oh, it’s… a well,” Celestia said. “I think.”

Before either of them could figure out for sure, the tape cut to a scene of a young girl brushing her hair in a mirror.

“Oh, she has nice hair.” Luna said cheerfully. She turned to her sister, whose eyes were glued to the screen. “Who is she? The heroine?”

Celestia shrugged. Though a thought that greatly unnerved her floated around her head.

She looks like she’s from the world that Sunset Shimmer lives in now…

A few seconds later, the scene changed. This time, to various letters from a foreign language. They slowly shifted as if they were submerged in water.

“What… does it say?” Luna asked. She had once made it a priority to learn various languages when she had been reformed. Alas, she had forgotten some.

“I don’t know.” Celestia stared blankly at the screen. The randomness of the images had started to give her a headache. Which was quite amazing, as it was only now that she realized there was very little sound coming from the television. Before she could comment on the oddity, the scene changed.

And it was to a scene that made her eyes nearly pop out of their sockets. No thanks to the sudden surge in volume.

A handful of bipeds were in the ground, crawling and chanting. In the background were a few who shambled around like zombies.

“Uhh…” Luna stared at the screen with a mixture of fear and confusion. She found it remarkably difficult to decide which she felt was the most appropriate.

“I have no idea what in Tartarus is on the screen.” Celestia said. She knew what her sister was going to ask.

Mainly because she herself wanted to know what was going on.

The movie, on the other reel, had other plans, and none of them involved answering the royal sisters’ questions.

The scene changed to one of a girl with what looked like a lampshade over her head. She stood near a cliffside, motionless.

Neither sister uttered a word. In fact, neither of them moved. If it wasn’t for the fact that they were alone, one may have gone to check for a pulse as they looked more dead than alive, which was odd, since the phone hadn’t even rung yet.

After a few more seconds of incoherent nonsense that only makes sense if you live in a well, the scene changed to that of a close-up shot of an eye.

Luna, naturally, took this as a challenge and stared back intensely.

Naturally, she lost, no thanks to Celestia, who yanked her back.

Before Luna could chastise her sister for causing her loss to the mysterious entity who stared at them, the scene changed for the final time. This time, to that of a well.

“Oh, thank you!” Celestia said. “Something that makes sense!”

“This makes no sense.” Luna retorted, with a scowl on her face.

“Listen, Luna, I’ll take anything that isn’t just some random shot of something that has no context to it!” Celestia said fervently.

“Is that why you like those movies by Malicolt?” Luna asked with a giggle.

Before Celestia could give a long-winded response that, ironically, could rival the length of one of Malicolt’s films, the television screen turned to static. Both sisters turned their attention to it. Then, without warning, the telephone rang.

Celestia levitated the phone over and answered it. “Hello, castle of the royal—”

“You’re going to die in seven days.” a young female voice said from the other end. Then, the caller hung up.

Celestia’s mouth hung open. The phone fell out of the magical grasp she had on it.

“Uh, ‘tia?” Luna shook her hooves in front her sister’s face. “You there?”

Celestia remained dead silent. And dead still.

It was as though she were dead.

“’Tia, you’re scaring me.” Luna took a hoof and hesitantly poked her sister, which proved to her that her sister was, in fact, not dead.

Armed with that newfound knowledge, Luna got to work on getting her sister out from her catatonic state. So, she did what any sibling would do.

She tossed pillows at Celestia.

And dumped her bucket of popcorn onto Celestia’s head.

And cast a spell that turned Celestia’s dresser into a sabertooth tiger—which ran out of the room after it came to be.

None of which worked.

“Well then…” Luna turned her head to her sister’s personal desk, which had a gold cover book on it. “Desperate times call for desperate measures.” With a smirk, she walked over to Celestia’s personal diary, at which point the princess of the day snapped out of her stupor. Without hesitation, Celestia teleported over to her sister and tackled her to the ground.

“Oh, so now you decide to do something!” Luna said with a grin. “Here I figured I’d have to tell Twilight about your crushes.”

Celestia got off of her sister and narrowed her eyes. “You wouldn’t dare.”

Luna giggled and sat up. “So, pray tell, what did our caller want?”

Celestia sat up. She had an uneasy look on her face, which didn’t go unnoticed by her sister.

“Was it something bad? Did a dragon attack an outpost?”

Celestia shook her head. “No, nothing like that,” she said. “It was a… filly—at least I think it was. She said I was going to die in seven days.”

Luna’s eyes widened and unbridled wrath filled her heart. “Who would dare threaten my sister like that!?”

“Luna, calm down,” Celestia said. “For all you know, it was some prankster. Don’t get worked up just yet…” She sighed and looked at the floor. “Though it is rather unnerving. The filly had no emotion. I’ve never met a child who sounded so… dead.”

Luna tapped her chin. “Do you think the tape has anything to do with it?” she asked. “It does feel a little odd to me that you got it the second it ended.”

“Don’t you think you’re being a little paranoid there, Luna?” Celestia asked.

“No, I think I’m being reasonable,” Luna retorted. “It doesn’t sit right with me that we would receive a gift and the moment that our gifted video is over, you receive a death threat! Perhaps… perhaps Twilight will know something.”

Celestia sighed. “You won’t take no for an answer, will you?”

Luna shook her head.

“Alright, let me send her a letter.” Celestia levitated over some ink and a piece of parchment. After writing a quick letter about their gift and the call, she sent it off to her former student.

And mere seconds letter, she received a response.

“What’s it say?” Luna asked, unnerved at how wide her sister’s eyes had become.

“Why don’t you look for yourself?” Celestia levitated the letter to her sister.

COME. NOW!

“Oh…” Luna looked at Celestia, who looked equally as worried as herself. “Well, let’s go.”

“Okay, this is bad!” Twilight said once she found it within herself to stop hyperventilating. She threw a brown paper bag behind herself, which joined the handful of bags that had been discarded across her bedroom floor over the past ten minutes. “Like, really bad!”

“And for the tenth time, Twilight, why is it?” Luna huffed.

Twilight blushed slightly. “Hehe… sorry,” she said. “It’s bad because that tape that you got is cursed by a spirit named Sadako. She kills anyone who watches it!”

“Wait, what!?” Luna shrieked in her Royal Canterlot Voice; which caused Twilight’s mane to look as though it had been the victim of a wind tunnel.

Twilight crudely fixed her mane and went over to a bookshelf. “I know it may seem crazy, but there are a few curses that I know for a fact are true.” She brought down a book and brought it over to the princesses after she had opened it to a page that showed a sketch of a biped with unkempt black hair that stretched down to her knees. “The curse can be avoided if you copy and share the tape with someone, but I have a better idea.”

Luna raised an eyebrow. “What would be better than just making it so we both don’t die?”

“We destroy Sadako!” Twilight said. She cast the book aside, which crashed into a lamp and shattered it into dozens of pieces. “Kind of like that!”

“Wouldn’t it just be easier to pass it along?” Luna asked. “What guarantee is there that your idea will work?”

Twilight chuckled nervously. “Well, there isn’t a guarantee it’ll work…” She rubbed the back of her neck and looked up at the princesses. “B-but there is a very good chance that it will! I’ve studied how to break curses like this in my spare time because Spike always gets paranoid about them.”

“And how would we break this curse?” Celestia asked.

“Well, once Sadako enters our world, you and Luna would cast a spell to make her vulnerable to your magic, then restrain her and I would banish her to Tartarus,” Twilight said. “And in the off chance that she breaks free of the bonds that you two attach…” Twilight went silent and looked at the ground.

“I take it you don’t have a backup plan?” Celestia said.

“Nope…” Twilight looked back up at the princesses. “Nopony has ever gotten enough information on the spirit, and the origin of the tape is a mystery to me. No book or historian had ever documented it.” As Twilight finished her sentence, her face lit up, and her eyes glistened as a realization hit her. “Though the fact that you’re in possession of it is exciting! If it’s possible, I’d love to try and find out where this all began. Perhaps we can find something out along the way!”

“And if we don’t?” Luna asked nervously. Throughout her silence, her facial expression had grown to one of extreme worry—and her legs were shaking ever-so slightly.

“Then at least we’ve documented it for history?” Twilight said sheepishly.

Celestia turned to her sister and immediately noticed her worry. She wrapped a leg around her and smiled. “Don’t worry, Lulu,” she said reassuringly. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

Twilight went to say something, but Celestia shot her a glare, which caused Twilight to shut her mouth for a moment. That is, until she had something important to say. “Well, I guess I should go inform Starlight and Spike that I’ll be away for a bit.”

Celestia nodded. “We’ll be back at the castle. Your room will be next to the archives. It’s where the vast majority of the information that you seek should be. I’ll send a carriage to pick you up when we get back.”

Twilight nodded and ran off. With that, Celestia and Luna left Twilight’s castle and got onto the carriage that they’d arrived in.

“What’s wrong, Luna?” Celestia asked shortly after they’d take off. Deep down, she knew what was eating away at her sister, but she knew better than to come out and say it.

“Nothing,” Luna replied after a few seconds as she stared out the window. “Just tired.”

Celestia leaned forward and rested a hoof on Luna’s shoulder. “Look, I know you’re scared,” she said in a motherly tone, “but I promise you that everything will work out.”

Luna sighed and turned to face her sister. “Why can’t we just copy the tape? Why can’t we just get the curse off of our backs and move on with our lives?”

Celestia sat back. “Luna, I understand that you’d rather not have to deal with this, but we can’t just do that,” she said. “Do you realize the nightmare that’d cause if we passed on that tape and potentially put the curse on somepony else? What if they didn’t pass it on? What if we became responsible for one of our citizen’s deaths?”

“Then we tell them how to pass it on and survive!” Luna protested.

“And we have the opportunity to stop it forever!” Celestia retorted. “If you wish to copy the tape and pass it on to somepony else, then so be it. Just know you’ll have left me without somepony to help restrain Sadako.”

Luna lowered her head. “I understand, sister,” she said. “I just don’t want this to fail. If there’s no guarantee it will work, why do we take the chance? This isn’t something the Elements of Harmony can take care of! We’re in mortal danger!”

“Luna, please, calm down,” Celestia pleaded. “We have seven days, and Twilight will be here to assist us.” She looked into her sister’s eyes. “I cannot stress it enough: you should not worry. Things can and will work out. I promise you. Sadako will not hurt you.”

Luna smiled and gave her sister a hug. For the rest of the ride home, she remained silent. Upon their arrival back at the castle however, she spoke up. “I’m… going to my room,” she said softly.

Celestia nodded. “I’ll see you at sundown then.”

Luna nodded back and trotted off to her room. Celestia, meanwhile, penned a letter to somepony, before she sent it off. A half-hour later, her former student arrived and rushed over.

“Princess!” Twilight said. She gave her former mentor a hug, which she broke when she heard the thud of her luggage. She thanked the guard who’d brought it over and then looked up at Celestia. “So, I brought whatever might be useful to finding out where this all began—and a few books on the curse itself and other curses!”

“That’s wonderful, Twilight,” Celestia said. “Come, your room is just down the hall. Once you’re prepared, we can begin our research.”

“But… don’t you have royal duties to attend to?”

“I’m having Prince Blueblood fill in for me for the week,” Celestia said. “I told him I had a severe medical emergency, and that he had to fill in for me or else I’d appoint Philomena as my successor.”

Twilight giggled. “Does he actually think that you’ll do such a thing?”

“No, but he doesn’t like the prospect of being one-upped by anypony who isn’t his reflection.”

The two mares shared a laugh. A few moments later, they arrived at Twilight’s bedroom. “Get yourself situated. I’ll be in the archives,” Celestia said. She left her former student alone and walked into the archive room, where she waited. A few minutes later, Twilight walked in with the book she had thrown at her lamp in her magic. Her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as she took in the sheer size of the room.

“Okay…” Twilight placed her book on a nearby table and fell to her haunches. “I knew this room was big, but I wasn’t prepared for it to be this big.”

Celestia chuckled. “Well, this room does have every documented citizen of Equestria in it,” she said. “It goes as far back as to when my parents created it for historical purposes, so future generations could learn about their ancestors.”

“So, Sadako’s family lineage is here… guess it’s time to get to work.” Twilight sat up and took a deep breath. She walked over to the aisle that was marked with a Y and trotted down it.

Celestia walked over to Twilight’s book and flipped it open to the page with the sketch of Sadako. She read through the pages herself as she listened to her former student struggle to find Sadako’s file. That is, until she read over something that made her raise an eyebrow. “Twilight, come here,” she said.

Twilight ran over with a large box full of files in her magic. “What is it?” she asked placed it onto the table. She looked at the page the book was open and immediately knew what her former mentor wanted. “Oh, you read about the legend being just that, didn’t you?”

Celestia nodded in response.

“Nopony has ever been able to trace the tape because the original has never been found,” Twilight said. “Every copy is usually destroyed or lost. They’re always passed along in secrecy.”

“Then why does a pony such as yourself believe it to be real?” Celestia asked. “You never seemed like the one to believe in such a tale.”

“I remember Shining Armor telling me about it years back,” Twilight said. “He said that a guard had watched it and was found dead seven days later. His face was… unrecognizable. On his bed was a videotape that had ‘watch me’ on it.”

“Where’s the tape now?”

“They threw it in a quarantined room just to ward off any guard who may be stupid enough to watch it.” As Twilight finished her sentence, a realization dawned on her. “Wait, where’s your copy?”

“My bedroom,” Celestia responded. “Why?”

Without a word, Twilight raced out of the room, leaving Celestia to herself. A few minutes later, Twilight ran back into the room with the videotape.

“Who sent this to you?” Twilight asked as she gasped for air.

“Samara,” Celestia answered. “But a guard said that the only living pony with that name was six months old and lives in Neighbraska. So I guess her parents sent it.”

Twilight looked up at her former mentor, perplexed and terrified. “That… that can’t be right. This is the original!”

“How do you know that?” Celestia asked.

“No copy of it has ‘watch me’ on it,” Twilight said. She placed the videotape on the table and attempted to take the message that was taped onto it off, which failed to move an inch. “At least, none that have it magically sealed on.” With a heavy sigh, Twilight stared at the tape, a look of confusion on her face. “Still… how on Equus did it get out of that quarantined room? It was locked in a vault that could only be accessed by him and Cadance.”

“Do they know that it’s missing?”

Before Twilight could respond, a letter appeared in front of her. She grabbed it with her magic and opened it up to read. “Yep, they know it’s missing,” she deadpanned.

“I’ll go inform them that we’re in possession of it,” Celestia said. “What do you suggest we do with the tape?”

“Leave it with me. I want to inspect it.” Twilight looked at her former mentor, who gave her a disapproving look. Instantly, she knew what Celestia had on her mind. “I’m not going to watch it. I promise,” she said reassuringly. “I just want to see what the magical properties are, and see if I can figure out what powers the curse.”

Celestia nodded and left the room, leaving her former student to herself.

“Alright, let’s see what powers you,” Twilight said. She lowered her horn, which glowed brightly, and made contact with the tape. Instantly, her eyes widened. The colors of the world around vanished—leaving everything grey. Then the world started to collapse.

“Ah!” Twilight leaped out of the way as the roof to the castle collapsed, as though an unimaginably powerful earthquake was taking place. As the castle continued to become undone, Twilight found herself running. Large chunks of the ceiling crashed to the ground around her, causing dust and debris to fill the hallways that Twilight found herself running down. Soon, she found herself at the front doors, which stood tall and mighty. She blasted them open and fell down onto the ground. “I… will never get used to that,” she said as she gasped for air.

Once Twilight had caught her breath, she looked up. The world around had regained its color had returned, though the sky had a gloomy, grey overcast, and the rest of the world had turned into a frozen tundra.

“Is this the outskirts of the Crystal Empire?” Twilight sat up and looked around. Although she could see her breath, she didn’t feel the least bit cold. “What sort of magic is this?”

The doors to the palace slowly faded away, and were replaced with an endless sea of snow and a faint light at the end of it—one that belonged to what looked like a house.

“Well, I guess it’s my only choice.” Twilight ran towards the light, the crunching of the snow filling the air. After a few minutes of running, she arrived at the source of the light: a cottage. Cautiously, Twilight walked up to the front door and pushed it open, which revealed a living room that looked like something that belonged in a mansion. A lavish, red carpet led into a living room with a velvet couch and a fireplace that looked to have just been started.

Twilight stepped inside and shut the door behind her. “Okay, there has to be some magical source within this place,” she mused to herself as she walked towards the living room. As she entered it though, the world around felt as though it stopped. The air went deathly still.

And the wrath of a thousand warlords tore its way through the back of Twilight’s skull.

Do not look back, Twilight repeated endlessly in her head. She took a few steps forward, doing her best to ignore the footsteps that echoed her own hoofsteps, and eventually reached a door. Opening it revealed a large room filled with dozens of mirrors, patterned in a tight arch.

A shadow darted past Twilight, leaving behind a frigid sensation in the air. One-by-one, each of Twilight’s reflections in the mirrors was replaced by that of a girl with long black hair.

And one-by-one, they each started to walk towards her.

Twilight’s horn lit up. An enormous shockwave of energy shot out of it, shattering each of the mirrors and causing thousands of small shards to litter the floor between Twilight and a large door that had been hidden behind the mirrors.

As she took her first step though, a few of the shards merged together. Then a few more joined them, creating what looked like a small crescent moon.

Twilight watched as the shards all converged onto the area where the crescent was, creating a variety of shapes that looked like they were taken straight out of a kaleidoscope, until every shard of glass was now a part of a circle no larger than a dinner plate. A dark energy caused the once-chipped pieces to be connected like a jigsaw puzzle.

Twilight watched as the top of a dark figure emerged from the circle. She teleported past it and barged through the door, revealing a room with an absurd number of mirrors that hung on the walls adjacent to her. As she ran past each one, an arm as pale as the moon reached out to swipe at her. For every blow that was landed onto her, another narrowly missed or grazed her. As she reached the end of the hallway, the hand grabbed a firm grip on her tail, causing her to fall to the floor with a pained grunt. She managed to teleport out of Sadako’s grasp and ran out of the hallway, and into the only door she could see.

To her astonishment, Twilight was met with what she had been looking for. The source of the tape’s power. A blue orb the size of at least a castle floated at the center of what was otherwise a bedroom. Electricity flickered and danced on its surface with a mixture of beauty and terrifying power. Despite the orb’s massive size, there was still enough room to fit in two more of it and that wasn’t even accounting for the fact that the ceiling opened into a void.

Twilight’s breath fled her body as she gazed at the orb. The immense power that radiated from it sent a shiver down her spine. She faltered and took a few steps back, only to bump into the one whose very gaze was but a gateway to meeting death. It took her several seconds to find it within herself to speak, but once she did, she wasted no time in speaking for fear of Sadako taking her silence as a sign of weakness. “This power,” Twilight said under her breath. The radiant electricity from the orb filled her with a tingling sensation, which slowly increased in intensity. “I see… you bear something truly remarkable, Sadako.”

Twilight felt a hand caress her mane in response. A smile crept onto her face as she continued to stare at the orb. “Tell me,” she began, “what is it that you seek to accomplish with your curse?”

Twilight felt the caressing cease. Slowly, the orb moved away, stopping once a masterfully painted portrait had fully been revealed. It was of a unicorn stallion with a mane as black as the night sky. His coat was grey as the clouds outside. He wore a suit that, even when painted, looked to have cost a fortune.

“Is he your father?” Twilight asked. In the back of her head, she felt she was done for. A spirit as vengeful as the one directly behind her would no doubt kill her for such an assumption.

Luckily for her, death didn’t come. Rather, a soothing sensation filled her. One that she knew meant that Sadako had told her she was correct in her assumption.

“What is it that you wish to do to him?” Twilight asked hesitantly.

A pale arm extended out. After a few moments, the portrait burst into flames, along with the rest of the wall. Twilight could feel the air get considerably hotter. The entire room suddenly felt immensely hostile and angry. The flames spread from the wall to the floor, and rapidly gained ground until they surrounded her, drawing closer at a terrifying rate. Twilight closed her eyes as she braced for the end.

But it never came.

As quickly as it began, everything went back to the way it was. The flames vanished, and not a scar was left on the floor or the wall. Even the portrait was back to the way it had been mere seconds ago.

Twilight sat still in the deafeningly silent room, until she mustered the courage to call out the spirit’s name. “Sadako…?” She looked around, only for her eyes to land on the orb.

It was spinning.

Fast.

Before she could react, the massive orb pulsated once, sending a shock through Twilight’s body. She felt herself fall backwards onto the cold, hard floor.

It took a bit, but Twilight managed to sit up. She focused her gaze on the orb, which had begun to spin at a speed that sent an insurmountable amount of terror through her body. Twilight attempted to rise to her hooves, only to feel a vastly stronger pulse of electricity, which swept across the cottage, causing the walls to be blown out into the frozen wasteland.

Twilight let out a pain-filled scream. She could feet the electricity course through her body, and it made her feel like she was a living tesla coil. She watched helplessly as the orb continued to increase in speed, before it exploded with the fury of a small star. As the energy filled her though, she saw it.

She saw it all.

Twilight groggily opened her eyes. “W-where am I?” she asked as her eyes adjusted to the light around her.

“Twilight!” Celestia ran over to her former student’s side. “Oh, thank goodness you’re awake. You’ve been out for nearly six hours! Luna’s raised the moon, and I was about to retire for the night.”

“What!?” Twilight sat up and looked at Celestia with a maddened look in her eyes. “No, no, no! This cannot be! There’s so much that I must tell you! We have no time to wait until—”

“Twilight,” Celestia interrupted, “I know that you’ve learned something.”

“How?”

“You were talking in your sleep about all sorts of things,” Celestia said. She levitated over a small notebook and placed it in front of Twilight. “So I started to take notes on everything. Though some things were a bit… odd. Like you turning into a cicada.”

Twilight rubbed the back of her neck and giggled. “Yeah, not everything made sense…” She looked up at Celestia before giving her a hug. “So… I guess I’ll see you in the morning?”

Celestia nodded. “Get some rest if you can. Otherwise, write down whatever I may have missed. We can review it in the morning and plan from there.

Twilight smiled and levitated over a pen as Celestia left the room. She flipped open the notebook and read over it. Alright, let’s see what she missed…

Night 1: It's Just A Myth

Dear diary.

Well, 'Tia has told me that there's nothing to worry about, though I cannot help but question if she's right. I looked through some of my books on urban myths from recent times and it seems that there's a popular one about a ‘cursed electronic’ that sprang up a few years before I returned. Nopony has been able to prove its existence, so I now wonder: Is the tape we watched a prank that pulled on us by some rowdy colt or filly? If so… what of the phone call? A coincidence? I don't know. The thought of dying terrifies me. I've yet to do so much. I've always dreamt of finding a prince. To have that never come true because of a curse is soul-crushing.

Not even my worst nightmares are this taxing on my mind. I've every minute between then and now doing nothing but thinking about it. I tried to fall asleep, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't do so much as drift off into a twilight sleep.

Now I can only wonder: If this isn't a myth… what are we to do if Twilight’s plan fails? Do we just capitulate and let Sadako win? This has all begun to eat away at me.

I have faced many trials and tribulations with Celestia, but none of them match up to something that never fails to get what it has marked. Whatever, I must listen to Celestia. She's never failed me, right? Sure, I have gotten upset at her, but that's no reason to doubt her. Besides, she has Twilight with her. And I have a dream realm to watch over!

Princess Luna closed her diary and rested it on her nightstand. “Now to begin my nightly duties.” She exited her room, greeting her guards as she did so, and made her way towards the balcony that overlooked Equestria. A rush of cold, winter air hit her as she opened the door, which sent a shiver down her spine.

As Luna gazed out, she immediately took notice of the fact that the vast majority of houses had their lights off. Looks like tonight's going to be a busy night, she thought to herself. No matter. It's not like the holiday season is ever exactly easy for me.

Luna's horn glowed a midnight blue. The world around her slowly turned into one full of floating orbs with stars that lit up the otherwise dark land that had replaced the conscious world. To Luna's delight, the inhabitants were all sleeping peacefully and dreaming. “Ah, this is more like it,” she said to herself. Looking around, Luna examined each and every one of the dreams that surrounded her.

Derpy dreamed of a world filled with muffins. Pinkie Pie dreamed about a party that stretched around the world, while Fluttershy's dream was that of a winter wonderland, where her animal friends were indoors with her, playing a tabletop game.

Then she saw it. A dream that was… blurry. Though an unusually dark feeling radiated from it. One that was more intense than the normal nightmare, let alone a night terror.

Luna wasted no time in entering the dream, and found herself within an ancient lighthouse. Outside, a horrifically intense storm raged on. The trees that had once led up to the building itself had been reduced to splinters. Torrential rain streamed down to the point that Luna was incapable of seeing out of the windows. While she couldn't see them, she could hear monstrous waves slam into the rocks that surrounded the lighthouse. Exactly how big they were, Luna dared not think about. All she knew was she could hear some of the water strike the top of the lighthouse.

And if the stairway that Luna was about to ascend was any indication, she knew that they could bury the castle she called home with ease.

I hope whoever's in this dream hasn't suffered too much, Luna thought as the apocalyptic sounds reverberated throughout the lighthouse. And just how tall is this thing!?

Another surge of water slammed into the land outside, shaking the foundation of the lighthouse, causing the lights to flicker several times. The world around Luna to became as dark as the night sky. A second surge followed shortly thereafter, and made the entire building violently shake.

Luna cast a spell, which caused the lighthouse to restabilize. “Great,” she said unhappily. The faint bit of light that radiated from her horn provided a slight bit of illumination. She trekked on forward, but stopped when something caught her eye. It was the silhouette of… something. Something tall, and slender.

“Sadako?”

The silhouette tilted its head slightly before it dashed up the stairs, managing to tear up a few stairs in the process.

“H-hey, wait!” Luna cried out as she resumed running up the stairs. The air between the two had become significantly colder, and sent a chill down Luna's back. “Stop!” She attempted to grab the silhouette with her magic. However, instead of making any sort of contact, the spell simply passed through its shadowy body, before it struck the wall on the other side; creating a hole where the ferocious winds from outside tore through. Chunks of stone were thrown like they were simply leaves.

Before Luna could think about resuming her pursuit, a shadow was cast over the land. Looking outside, she could see a colossal wave loom over the lighthouse. As quickly as she could, Luna cast a spell that sealed the hole in the wall and braced for impact.

Crash

The skyscraper-sized wave slammed into the lighthouse. Luna was thrown into the side of the stairway. Slowly, she stood back up and looked ahead. To her delight, the silhouette had been kind enough to wait on her to recover. “Who are you?” she asked after several seconds.

The being motioned for Luna to follow before it tore up several stairs as it dashed away.

Luna resumed her pursuit, but no matter how fast she ran, the silhouette was always but a few feet in front of her. Every crashing of a wave only further increased that gap though as Luna found herself growing more and more weary from running and maintaining the spell that kept the lighthouse stable. Before she knew it, all she could do was assume that the thing she had seen was still in front of her.

After what felt like an eternity of running, Luna stopped to catch her breath. “How… how tall is this thing?” she wondered aloud through gasping. “Who designs such a large lighthouse!?”

I did.

A soft voice echoed inside Luna's head. “Who said that?” she asked as she looked around for the source of the voice. “Sadako? Is that you?”

Why don't you continue up? I can assure you though, I'm not the one you call Sadako. I'll keep a lookout for her and tell her to come your way if I see her though.

A faint chuckle filled the air before dying off. That had to have been her. She sounds like she'd be one to torment her victims, Luna thought as she continued her journey upwards. As she did though, another wave crashed into the side of the building, which caused it to shake violently, and for the window to go into a static frenzy. Luna watched in horror as the static slowly ceased—only for it to no longer show the outside, but instead dozens upon dozens of shots of the well from the tape.

Then a hand slammed down onto each of them.

“No, no, no!” Luna resumed running as a second hand landed onto the top of the wells. Every section of the window flew into a static frenzy as she ran passed. Soon, the entire stairway was filled with the sound, and assaulted the princess’ ears relentlessly.

Eventually, she reached the door at the top. To her delight, the sound ceased. It was then that Luna saw the silhouette standing in front if it. It turned to face her. “Sadako? Is that you?” she tilted her head; and silhouette mimicked her action.

A few moments later, the silhouette blew open the door before vanishing into thin air. Before Luna could even think about what had just happened, the cry of a foal filled the air. Inside the room, Luna saw Sweetie Belle; terrified and in tears.

“P-Princess Luna?” Sweetie Belle said as she did her best to hold back tears.

“Sweetie Belle, what in the world is wrong?” Luna asked. Although she knew she should probably be slightly more restrained with the filly, even she had begun to wonder why a foal was dreaming of what she could only assume was armageddon.

Sweetie Belle looked up at Luna. Her eyes were red from crying. The fur on her face was drenched, and whether that was from crying of having been outside, Luna couldn't tell.

“S-she’s going to end it all!” Sweetie wailed before falling back into hysterics. “There's nothing anypony can do!”

Luna wrapped a wing around Sweetie. “Nopony is going to end anything,” she said. “But who is ‘she’? Why do you believe they will end it all?”

“R-Rarity…” Sweetie looked up at Luna again and wiped away her tears. “Rarity had a magazine she got from the market. She left it on the table and it said that doomsday was upon on us because of The Lady of the Shadows! She’s going to awaken a beast of legend!”

Luna cocked her head. She had not heard that name in ages—let alone any foal who still feared her. “Sweetie Belle,” she began, “there's no such thing as the ‘The Lady of the Shadows’. That was an old mare’s tale from back when I was a foal.”

“Yes there is!” Sweetie protested with a horrified look in her eyes. The winds outside suddenly increased in intensity tenfold. “She's standing behind you!”

Luna turned around. Behind her, with a tome under her arm, and with a bit of hair covering her face, was the silhouette that she had chased up here, though she now looked distinctly more humanoid and having a more smokey appearance. She felt her heart sink as the Lady stretched her arms out and looked to the ceiling. Purple lightning sparked from her body and quickly engulfed the entire room.

Luna watched as the protective spell she'd set up against the storm shattered into a thousand pieces. Once it was gone, the Lady glowed purple, which increased in intensity by the second. “Duck!” Luna set up a barrier around herself and Sweetie Belle. Mere seconds later, a burst of energy erupted from her.

Luna took down the barrier and shot a glare at the Lady. “Cease this cruelty immediately, you fiend!” she yelled angrily.

The Lady remained silent, and simply looked out the window behind Luna.

“By order of one of the Princesses of Equestria, I demand that you answer me!”

“I do not serve your authority, Luna,” the Lady said in an arrogant tone. “Nor do I serve the pathetic excuse of a princess that you call a sister. No, I serve a greater authority.”

Aren't you just a charmer… bitch.

“I heard that.”

“Oh…” Luna blushed. “Well, I don't know what sort of authority has more dominion here than I do,” she said. “May I ask who you serve?”

“I serve a far greater power!” the Lady snapped. She walked over and smirked. “A power that you cannot even hope to fathom!

“What's she talking about?” Sweetie asked, a scared look on her face.

The Lady chuckled. “I'm surprised that you've never heard of the one I’m alluding to considering the fact you know my name,” she said with a grin. “Or are you as wilfully ignorant as all the others who think I'm but a fable?”

“Enough!” Luna fired off a blast of magic, which struck the Lady's chest. She staggered back and glared daggers at Luna.

“Aren't you feisty.” The Lady held out an arm. A dark aura surrounded Luna, and she was slowly dragged over to her. “Have a nice trip, princess.” She blast open one of the nearby windows, which let in a ferocious draft. With a wink, the Lady cast Luna out of the lighthouse and into the violent sea below.

Luna slammed into the ocean. A brutal stinging sensation filled her body as she slowly stopped sinking. After she had, she mustered up the energy to cast a bubble around herself. To her left, she could see an enormous rock that, if it wasn't for the fact it was connected to the earth itself, Luna could've mistaken for a mountain suspended in the ocean. To her right was the dark, forbidding depths of the ocean that beckoned to her; to journey and discover their secrets.

Before Luna could begin her ascent back up to Sweetie Belle though, a low growl disturbed the waters. Something shifted around, causing rocks from above to plunge into the ocean.

Then the rock cracked along the middle in a straight line. Every so slowly, it opened. A sickly yellow eye that glowed faintly in the murky waters glared at Luna, who could only see its pupil, which itself was the size of a large town.

Luna stared in horror at the behemoth. The only sound she could hear was that of her heart, which made her head throb with its every beat. As she continued to stare, the monster that rested mere inches from her finally made another movement.

It blinked. Slowly.

Luna flew as fast as her wings could take her. She shot out of the water and burst threw the window she had been thrown out of moments before. “W-what is that thing!?”

The Lady ran a hand through Sweetie Belle's mane and chuckled. “So I see you've met it?”

“Answer me, you insufferable bitch!” Luna growled as she prepared a spell.

“Now is that any way to speak around a foal?” the Lady asked sardonically. “But if you must know.” The Lady glowed an absurdly vibrant purple. “This isn't a lighthouse. It's the horn of that which I intend on awakening!” An immensely bright beam of magic struck the ceiling and surged downwards into the ocean. “You stand atop a god!”

The ground heaved and quaked. The waters, both afar and local, were perturbed with incredible force. Slowly, Luna watched as the land rose and pierced the heavens. Off in the distance, more and more land masses shifted, sending waves in every which direction with even the slightest of movement.

“Behold, dear princess,” the Lady said. “The herald of the end of all things that you've ever held dearest to your heart.” A thunderous roar, unlike anything Luna had ever heard, even in the darkest of her nightmares, tore through the air. “Behold: the Leviathan!”

The horn of the Leviathan glowed a dark crimson. Luna levitated Sweetie Belle over and placed her onto her back. “Hold on!” she said as she took off out the window she'd been recently defenestrated. They found themselves just below the storm clouds; the world beneath them was barely visible. However, not too far from them, a portion of the Leviathan's body rose out of the water. Entire sections of Fillydelphia collapsed off of it as it reached the zenith of its rise before it crashed back down into the water, causing the rest of the city to be given a watery grave.

As Luna watched in horror, another thunderous roar filled the air. She turned around just in time to see the Leviathan's horn fire off a powerful beam of magic at them. Flying out of the way, she and Sweetie watched as the beam obliterated the clouds that it struck. She flew towards the opening and dove down. Within a few seconds, the two found themselves on the ground. Once they settled, they could see the flora of the land had withered and died.

“Luna,” Sweetie Belle said with a weak voice. “What's going on?”

Before Luna could speak, a shadowy figure flew past them atop a giant raven. “Don't worry, dear child,” the Lady said as she dismounted the bird, which vanished into a puff of smoke. “I promise that your death will be a swift one.” A blast of dark energy struck Luna's chest, which caused her to stagger backwards in pain.

“Luna!” Sweetie Belle ran over to the princess's side, only to be yanked backwards by a dark force.

“Enough, little one!” The Lady trapped Sweetie in a dark cage before setting her sights back onto Luna. She held an arm out and waited. A massive shadow slowly spread over the land, Luna and Sweetie watching in horror as a gigantic red aura filled the sky. Then a crimson beam vaporized the land surrounding the three. Ever so slowly, it encroached onto their location.

Luna snapped out of her stupor. She looked at the Lady and fired off a beam of magic, which struck the Lady. “I should've figured that the enticing scene of mass destruction wouldn't be enough for you, princess.” She glared angrily at Luna. A shadowy hand wrapped around the princesses throat and yanked her forward. The Lady pressed her nose against Luna's muzzle and grinned. “How does it feel to know that all that you've done to resist me has been all for naught?”

Luna grit her teeth. “Can it, heathen.” A blast of magic shot out in all directions from her horn, slicing through the Lady. Once she was freed from her grasp, Luna fired off a volley of magic bolts at her opponent, each tearing a large hole through her. “You shall torment Sweetie Belle no more!” Luna fired off one final blast of magic at the Lady, which struck her chest.

The Lady cried out in pain as she felt the power in her dwindle. She fell to the ground, limp, and vanished in a cloud of purple smoke. As she did, the chaotic crimson beam vanished and the Leviathan receded into the ocean. The storm also cleared, and the light of the sun filled the land once more.

“You… you did it!” Sweetie said cheerfully as the prison she was in vanished. She ran over to Luna and wrapped her legs around her.“You actually beat her!”

Luna wrapped her legs around Sweetie. “Listen,” she said. “I’m going to cast a spell and you will wake up,” she continued, to which Sweetie nodded in response. “This was nothing more than a nightmare caused by a nonsensical tabloid article.”

Sweetie Belle broke away from the hug. Immediately, her eyes became fixated on something behind Luna. She went dead silent for several seconds, which greatly unnerved Luna. “Y-yes, princess,” Sweetie replied once she found it within herself to speak up.

Luna’s horn glowed a vibrant blue, at which point Sweetie Belle vanished. Before she could do anything else though, a powerful blast of hot air struck her. A sense of unfathomable terror coursed through her. The gaze of the beast ripped through her soul, destroying any bravery she may have had to stand up to its god-like might.

A growl shook the very land that Luna stood upon. A gust of brutally hot air blew past her, which was followed by an unspeakably terrible stench.

Then, everything went deafeningly silent.

Luna took off flying as fast as her wings could possibly carry her as the very land she had stood on mere seconds ago was torn apart. The sounds of life itself being eviscerated by skyscraper-sized teeth penetrated her senses, sending a sensation of absolute fear the princess had never felt through her body.

Chunks of earth fell around her, with some of them having entire towns falling along with them. Another blast of hot air struck Luna. A gaping maw of endless teeth loomed over her. Off in the distance, she could see a cataclysmic beam of magic vaporize the beautiful land. Beneath her was a direct mirroring of the nightmare above her. A tongue that separated the two rose up and attempted to wrap itself around her.

Luna narrowly dodged it and fired off a beam of magic at it before flying out of the mouth of the beast. As she did, she cast a spell that enveloped her in light. The warmth of the sun filled her as she felt herself slowly slip back into reality. Just as she disappeared, she looked into the mouth of the beast before it finally clamped down onto the air she had been.

Then she hit the cold, hard ground of the balcony.

“Luna!” Celestia hugged her sister. “Oh, thank goodness you're okay!”

“Celestia…?” Luna sounded dead inside. “What… what time is it?”

“I don't know,” Celestia replied. “But I was about to cast a spell to help you get out of whatever dream you were in. The sun was supposed to have been raised ten minutes ago. Just what sort of nightmare were you in?”

Luna's thought for a moment. “I remember the Lady of the Shadows…” Her eyes widened as she remembered her experience in the stairway. “And… and the Leviathan” But that was it.”

“Are you sure, Lulu?” Celestia asked, visibly worried.

“Yes, Celestia. I'm just exhausted.” Luna stood up and hugged her sister. “I'll eat when I wake up.”

“Understandable,” Celestia said. The two performed their respective duties to set the moon and raise the sun. “Do sleep well.”

Luna nodded and walked off, all the while a thought ate away at her.

How did she know?

It echoed through her head until she arrived at her bedroom, which she staggered into. “I can't possibly have been dreaming about her. I hold power over the dream realm! She has no authority over it!” Luna fell to her haunches and looked at the ceiling. “How can she possibly enter it? Is… Is she actually real? Was I wrong to ever doubt it?”

A few moments passed before Luna let out a sigh. She got up and walked over to the book she had read earlier in the day.

Legends of Equestria: Volume XI

She flipped the book open to the page that had the sketch of Sadako she had seen in Twilight's book.

We can neither confirm nor deny the validity of this legend, but one has to question the reality of a videotape that can kill you in seven days.

Luna glowered at the page. She tore it out with her magic, crumpled it up into a ball and threw it into a nearby trash can. In a huff, she walked over to her bed and fell onto it. A tear ran down her face as she stared back up at the ceiling. She let out a sigh as a realization dawned on her. “I guess she's not a myth. She's real. Sadako's real. And wherever I go, she will follow me.”

Day 2: The Gift

“Ugh… where am I?”

Twilight sat up from behind a table in the archival room. Rubbing her head, she looked around. The shimmering light of a candle danced in the otherwise dead-still room. She stood up and stretched out. After she was done, her stomach growled.

“I wonder if Celestia's made breakfast yet,” Twilight wondered to herself. She walked over to the door, only for the gap between her and it never close. In fact, it only grew. She ran. She teleported forward. But her every action only caused it to further increase.

Bang

That is, until the door suddenly surged forward and collided with Twilight. She flew through it and slammed into the wall on the other side.

“Twilight…”

A weak and barely audible voice echoed in Twilight's ears. She rolled over and looked up. The hallway was devoid of any and all light. She illuminated her horn and looked around, but saw nothing.

“Twilight… why didn’t you save us?”

Twilight frantically looked around, but still the hallway remained as empty as the void it looked to be before she created her source of light. “Who’s saying that?!” she asked in desperation.

Snap

No sooner had she stopped speaking that the sound of bones breaking filled the air. Twilight looked around once more, only to see something step into the vicinity of her light; the hair of the being stretching upwards. Twilight glanced up, only to gasp at the sight barely a yard above her.

Celestia was hung in the air by the hair of Sadako, which acted as a noose around her neck. Her face had turned purple from being devoid of oxygen. Next to her was Princess Luna, who was motionless. Below them stood the malevolent spirit; her hair slithering towards her like a constrictor snake. It rose up and wrapped itself around Twilight's neck repeatedly, after which it was yanked back towards Sadako.

Twilight attempted to speak, but her every attempt only caused the grip of Sadako's hair to tighten. She rose up and looked at Celestia, who looked to be at Death's doorstep.

“Twilight… why did you not save us?” she asked with a look of sadness and fear. “You said you'd banish her… you said you could do it…”

Twilight watched as the pressure around Celestia’s neck reached its zenith. A stomach-churning snap filled the air, and her body fell limp.

“No… no, no, no!” Twilight shook. She attempted to her use her magic. But no matter what she did, nothing worked. Her every action only caused her further pain and agony. Before she knew it, her vision blurred. Her eyes felt as though they were going to burst out of their sockets.

Then everything went silent.

Twilight’s eyes shot open. She sat up and frantically looked around. The table in front of her was covered in notebooks, each of which was accompanied by at least one folder. Several empty cups that were once filled with coffee were littered around the table. She looked over at a clock that hung on the wall, which read seven o’clock.

“Oh… thank Celestia,” she said once she calmed down. “I was only asleep for thirty minutes.”

Twilight levitated over the folder she remembered having last read and opened it. She skimmed it and narrowed her eyes. “So, where did I leave off…” Twilight mentally read off everything she could recall. “Ah, here we go!” She cleared her throat and continued. “So you lived in the Crystal Empire, Samara?” she asked no one in particular in a snarky tone. “Went to the best school there? Hmph. Well, weren't you just a talented filly.”

She sighed and threw the folder back onto the table. She rubbed her temples and swore beneath her breath. “And yet you've left behind nothing for me to go on!” She swiped a few files and notebooks off the table. “I spent the entire night reading your stupid life story over and over, yet all you've given me in return is that you were oh so great!”

Twilight sighed and fell to the floor, her mane now disheveled. “Oh, for Celestia’s sake,” she mumbled to herself. “I wish I had Spike here. At least then I'd feel less silly about talking to myself.”

After a few seconds of staring at the ceiling, Twilight sat up and looked back out at the sea of folders. “What'd I'd give to just know how you were able to take that tape… unless.” Twilight shook her head. “No, that can't be right.”

The door to the room opened. “Talking to yourself I see?” Celestia asked with a chuckle. She shut the door behind her and and walked over to Twilight's side.

Twilight rested the folder onto the table and groaned. “I spent all night reading over Samara's archive at least thirty-seven times,” she said. “And through all of that, I managed to compile everything I learned into a single notebook.”

“Well, what did you learn?” Celestia asked.

Twilight levitated a notebook over and opened it. “That her family moved around a lot,” she said. “Far more than anypony I've ever heard of. She attended prestigious magic schools—some of which are up there with your own.” A frown formed on her face before she closed the notebook and placed it back onto the table. “Then it just ends. It's like she fell off the face of Equus. The last place mentioned in the archive was the Crystal Empire.”

“And… what's in the other notebooks?” Celestia asked.

“Questions,” Twilight deadpanned.

“Like?”

“Where her family is,” Twilight said. “I sent a letter to Shining Armor and he told he he had no idea who they were. They never attended a public event while they lived there. Heck, they never left the house, save for when they went to get groceries. Then one day, they just up and left. They took a handful of things with them and were never seen after that. Nopony found any remains out in the tundra. They just… vanished.” Twilight sighed and rested her head on the table. “No family members have ever reported the parents missing, so I can only assume they're alive.”

Celestia tapped her chin. “What of the orb? Did you see anything with Samara?”

“That's the entire reason that I decided to look into Samara. Well, that and the fact that she apparently stole it from beneath my brother's muzzle,” Twilight said. “The orb told me who Sadako was and why she was doing this, but I didn't see even the slightest hint of who Samara is… or was.”

“What of Sadako's father? You mentioned in your sleep that she seemed to hate her.”

“I can't even find where he is,” Twilight said. “He vanished after Sadako died.” She sat up and looked at Celestia with a twitchy eye. “It feels like it's par for the course with both families to just go poof!” Twilight threw her forelegs up into the air. “I can't decide which does it better: the ones who moved around a dozen times in a single year or the one who's daughter is going to crawl out of a television and murder the rulers of Equestria.”

Celestia cleared her throat. “Yes, well, breakfast is downstairs if you'd like some.”

“In a moment,” Twilight said. “First, tell me: who delivered the tape to you?”

“Derpy,” Celestia said. “But she didn't talk to Samara. The post office had caught fire before she was handed the package.”

“W-wait, what!?” Twilight's eyes widened. “How'd it catch fire?”

“I'm unsure,” Celestia replied.

Twilight sat still for a bit, lost in thought. Could it… perhaps? She stood up and walked out of the room alongside Celestia. “I think I know how it did.”

“Do you now?” Celestia entered the dining room and sat across from Twilight.

“Well, I mean, it's a theory,” Twilight said sheepishly. “But… maybe Samara did it?”

Celestia chuckled. “Twilight, I understand your concern, but don't you think that you're taking things a bit too far?” she asked in a motherly tone. She cut a piece of a pancake and held it up to her mouth. “You already have a plan to banish Sadako. Don't you think you can worry about Samara after dealing with Sadako?”

Twilight looked at Celestia, baffled. She chewed and swallowed a piece of pancake herself before responding. “No, of course not! If she managed to do what she did in the Crystal Empire and went to so many prestigious schools, what else do you think she could manage?”

“You don't even know if Samara's actually alive,” Celestia replied. “You yourself can't even decide. You only have one pony’s testimony to go on, and you don't even know if the one delivered it was her and not a relative.”

Twilight went dead silent and dropped her fork from her magic as a flurry of thoughts filled her head. Was Celestia right? Could she have been looking in the wrong place? But if that was the case, who else on Samara's family could be skilled enough to break into the quarantine room? Could there be another pony who she didn't know about?

“Twilight?”

Twilight shook her head. “Huh? What?”

“You've been staring off into space for quite some time,” Celestia said. “Did what I say really get to you?”

“Oh, um…” Twilight blushed. “Maybe?”

Celestia stood up and walked over to her former pupil’s side. “Twilight, I understand that you want to help,” she said, “but just know that what you already intend on doing is more than enough. Perhaps you should focus your efforts on making sure you can banish Sadako?”

Twilight let out a sigh. “I will tonight,” she said. “For now though, I need to make sure that I'm right about the post office.” She looked up at Celestia with puppy-eyes. “Please? Just this one trip.”

Celestia looked down. “Alright, Twilight,” she said. “But I must ask: what do you think Derpy can actually tell you?”

“Where she saw her go or if she saw her around town before she approached her,” Twilight replied. “Worst case scenario: she tells me what Samara's favorite kind of muffin is.”

Celestia chuckled. “Well, I guess we should get going then.”

Twilight nodded in response and, with that, the two mares made their way to the carriage and headed to Ponyville.

A short while later, Celestia and Twilight arrived at the Ponyville market.

“Okay,” Twilight began as she looked around. “Normally, Derpy is somewhere around here at this time of—”

Thud

Twilight fell to the ground, dazed and confused. She shook her head and saw the source of those feelings; an equally dazed and confused Derpy, who was accompanied by Lyra, who for her part giggled at the sight.

“Oh, I'm so sorry, princess” Derpy said once she'd registered what happened.

“No, it's quite alright,” Twilight said. She helped Derpy up to her hooves and smiled. “In fact, we were looking for you.”

“Me?” Derpy asked, visibly surprised at the prospect of one of the rulers of Equestria and her former star pupil wanting to talk to someone such as herself. “Why? Did I do something wrong?”

“No,” Celestia said. “Rather, it's about yesterday. You gave Luna and I a package and we were wondering if you knew anything about the pony who gave it to you.”

“Oh, you mean Samara?” Derpy asked, to which Lyra's eyes shot open. “I'm not sure. She just walked up to me as I tried to help put out the fire with the other mailponies. I didn't see where she went.”

“Was there anything unusual about her?” Twilight asked.

Derpy shook her head. “She just handed it to me and walked away. She didn't even seem to notice the fire.”

Twilight and Celestia looked at each. “Well, did anyone else notice her?” Twilight asked.

Derpy tapped her chin. “Well, I did hear my boss, Post Master, say something about a strange mare who was near the post office,” she said. “He kept saying to himself that he wished he'd called the cops on her when I arrived this morning."

“Where is he now?” Celestia asked

“He should still be at the post office,” Derpy said. “He was looking at it this morning. He said it was therapeutic.”

“Right. Thank you,” Celestia said before she turned away and walked towards the remains of the post office.

Twilight followed closely behind. “Do you think that she caused the fire?”

Celestia looked at Twilight with a hint of surprise. “Anything's possible,” she said, “but I'm a bit doubtful. Though I myself am curious to see if there's any security footage left, we may know soon.”

After a short walk, the two mares arrived at the post office.

Or rather, what was once the post office.

“Oh…” Twilight stared in disbelief. Although she'd been told that it had caught fire, she imagined that there'd be something left. Instead, there was but a few charred pieces of wood and knickknacks that somehow survived.

“Yup,” a gruff voice said behind them. “That was once my pride and joy. Now it's nothing more than a bunch of burned wood, ashes, and debt now.” The stallion, a unicorn with a white coat and a piece of mail for a cutie mark, approached the two mares as they turned around. “Post Master, head of the Ponyville Post Office,” he said. “Well, what was once the Ponyville Post Office.

“So I see,” Twilight said. “Tell me, do you know what caused it?”

“Beats the crap outta me.”

“What do you think caused it then?” Twilight asked.

“My guess?” Post asked. “Rats probably chewed the wiring. Damn things are always causing trouble. Unless you two know who did it.”

“Well… not exactly,” Celestia said. “Rather, we wanted to see if there was any security footage left over.” She glanced over at the remnants of the post office. “Though I hadn’t anticipated the entire thing being gone…”

“Oh yeah, the place burned down fast,” Post said. “It was gone as fast as my first wife when I told her I wanted a divorce.”

Twilight and Celestia exchanged awkward glances. “Well… your employee, Derpy Hooves, said that you may know something about a pony we’re looking for,” Twilight said. “A pony by the name of Samara.”

“Never heard of her.”

“We believe she was seen near the post office before the fire,” Celestia replied.

Post’s eyes widened. “You mean you know who that creepy bitch who kept on appearing in the boiler room was?” he asked with a hint of glee.

“You… mean she’s been here before?” Twilight asked, surprised and visibly unnerved.

“Been her before?” Post let out a laugh. “The bitch has been trespassing here for the past week. It got to the point that I told a security guard to stay down by the door to the room so she'd stop snooping around it!”

“And did that work?” Celestia asked.

“You tell me.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes. “Yes, well… how'd she get inside?”

“Beats me,” Post said. “Security guard said she just appeared inside.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Honestly, that's how she was all the time. She just sort of popped up. I guess she knew some invisibility spells.”

“Any idea where she is now?” Twilight asked with a look of hope in her face. “Derpy said she didn't see where she went after she gave her a package.”

“Nope,” Post deadpanned. “Glad to know there was a reason old blondie flew off though. Figured she just gave up. Guess I don't have to fire her after all.”

“Yes well, thank you for your time,” Celestia said. “We will be sure to cover the costs for your building.”

“Take care, princess,” Post replied. “I'm gonna go get shitfaced and hopefully pass out so I can dream of bashing in that creepy bitch’s face with my ex-wife’s skull.”

“You too,” Celestia said with an unnerved look on her face. She turned around and walked away, Twilight following closely behind.

“That was… certainly something,” Twilight said. “But now what? It seems like nopony saw where she went or where she arrived from.” She looked up at Celestia. “And asking everypony if they saw her could take hours!”

“Don't you feel it'd be worth a shot though?” Celestia asked. “It seems that Samara does have some connection to the tape, despite the doubts I had. And it's still early in the day.”

“We only have six days left though,” Twilight said. “I've already had one nightmare about losing you to her. It feels… too risky to try and ask everypony in town.”

Celestia frowned and rested a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. “It's alright, Twilight. You're doing everything you can.” She lifted Twilight's head so she was looking at her, and smiled at her warmly. “If you'd like, I can ask around town myself. You can head back to the castle and get some rest.”

“You don't have to ask around town, princess.”

Before Twilight could reply, another voice interjected. The two princesses turned around to see Lyra standing behind them with a nervous look on her face. “You said you got a package from Samara?”

Celestia nodded. “Yes… why?”

Lyra let out a shaky sigh and shook her head. “Derpy convinced me to tell you two what I know,” she said as a tear rolled down her face. “Bon Bon’s father told her that he got a gift—a tape—from Samara.” Lyra sighed and looked at the ground. “He… he died. But we took it from his house and buried it in the Everfree last year!”

“How did you know the tape was what caused it?” Celestia asked, surprised and somewhat suspicious of Lyra's story.

“Bon Bon had once been sent the tape before we met,” Lyra said. “When she saw it, she freaked out. I'm surprised she didn't try to break it right then and there.” She let out a sigh cursed under her breath. “How in Tartarus did she know where it was?”

Twilight tapped her chin. “I think I know.” She turned and looked up at Celestia and smirked. “See, if Samara gave both Bon Bon and Derpy the tape, I believe that she holds some sort of power over the tape. If we can somehow find death records for those who came in contact with the tape, then perhaps we can trace it back to her family and figure out how to stop it!”

“Twilight,” Celestia said, visibly shocked, “there are countless death records. How in the world are we going to find what we want to? Let alone somehow trace it back to her family?”

“It's the best chance we have right now,” Twilight said. “If we can find even one record that mentions the tape, we have a chance of finding her or parents; if my hunch that they were the ones to have first given out the tape is correct.”

“I…” Celestia sighed, knowing full well that no matter what she would say, it wouldn't deter Twilight from doing what she had proposed. “Alright. We can begin when we arrive back at the castle.”

“Great!” Twilight chirped. “I'll be waiting back at the carriage!”

Celestia smiled and turned to face Lyra “I do greatly appreciate your assistance, Lyra.”

“You’re welcome,” Lyra replied. “I must ask though… are you really under the curse that her father was under?”

Celestia's eyes widened, but she quickly regained her composure. “Umm… no, it's one of our guards,” she said. “Sorry, we should've clarified. I must be going though. Do take care.” With that, Celestia ran off towards Twilight. Once she’d caught up to her, she spoke up.

“You know where the room is, right?”

Twilight nodded. “You showed me the day my grandfather passed away,” she said. “When I had to sign the paper confirming he was my relative.”

Celestia nodded. After a short walk, the two arrived back at the carriage and sat across from each other. Once it took off, Celestia once again spoke up.

“So, say you do find out where Samara's parents are. What exactly do you expect them to know or be capable of doing? Your plan to banish Sadako to Tartarus doesn't seem to rely on finding out who gave us the tape.”

“If I'm correct, then it isn't a coincidence that I saw a house in the tundra in the tape and that Samara lived in the Crystal Empire, amongst other things,” Twilight said. “I know it's flimsy, but I don't want to banish Sadako, only to have Samara take her spot on the tape. I want the thing gone for good. And I want to find out who in Tartarus Samara is. She seems to exert more influence over the actual tape than Sadako does!” Twilight buried her face into hooves and let out a shaky sigh. “I don't want to fail you, princess… I don't want to banish one demon, only to have another take its place and cause more chaos…”

Celestia leaned forward and lifted Twilight's head up. Her eyes were filled with tears, and a few had already run down her face. “Twilight, I promise you that you won't fail,” she said. “I will do everything in my power to make sure that your plan succeeds. No matter what the cost.”

Twilight gave a small smile. “T-thank you,” she said quietly. “I think I'll just rest for the remainder of the ride…”

Celestia nodded. “Understandable,” she replied. She turned her head looked out the window, admiring the view. Before she knew it though, she herself drifted off to sleep.

A short while later, the two arrived back at the castle. Celestia immediately turned her attention to Twilight once she was awoken by the opening if the carriage door.

“I'll be with you in a little while. I have something that I must attend to first.”

Twilight nodded groggily. “I'll be there if you need me.” With that, she walked off, arriving at the room a few moments later.

Stepping inside, Twilight was greeted to a room that dwarfed the archival room fivefold. Row after row, box after box, family after family. Not a single pony was without their own respective file on their death. At the center of it all was a single table, which had a small lamp on it, providing the only illumination in an otherwise pitch black room.

Oh sweet Celestia… Twilight gulped. I forgot how big this place was… She stepped forward and looked around her. The shelves stretched up to the ceiling, which in of itself was dozens of feet tall.

Maybe I was wrong… Twilight thought as she stared in disbelief at the sheer number of boxes that surrounded her. Maybe this is a bad idea…