Dark Souls: Story of the Blanks

Chapter Nine

A Quick Reprieve

“Alright girls. Something is causing trouble within the Everfree Forest. We must head in there and find the source of who or what hit Canterlot Castle.” Twilight said as she looked over at Applejack. “You know you don’t have to come with us Applejack...especially since...well.”

“You don’t have to sugarcoat it Twilight. I’m going in with y’all because it’s my duty as a friend to help y’all out.”

“Right, sorry...Um...back to what I was saying. Whatever is going on in the Everfree Forest, we need to find out what it is and stop it ASAP.”

“Shouldn’t we get Princess Luna to help us on this matter?” Rarity asked. “I mean, did you not see that beam that hit Canterlot?”

“Yes, hence why we can’t call on her yet. Seeing how the beam hit Canterlot, ponies are sure to be in a panic from the sudden attack. Which means, Princess Luna will be busy trying to do damage control.”

“What about Princess Celestia? Shouldn’t we ask her for help as well?” Rainbow Dash asked as the alicorn shook her head.

“Celestia hasn’t returned yet from her important meeting outside of Equestria. Which is another reason why we’re the ones who are going to handle this problem ourselves.” Twilight answered with confidence in her voice.

“So, what’s the game plan, Twilight?” Applejack asked. “Because I hope it isn’t we just walk right into the forest and just hope we run into whoever it is that’s causing the beams of magic?”

“I’m glad you asked AJ.” The alicorn’s horn glowed as a moveable blackboard appeared next to them with notes on it. Just when she was about to explain her plan, the group felt the castle beginning to shake along with the sound of magic heading towards the castle. The group of friends looked around to see where it was coming from, only for Starlight to notice the cracks in the crystal wall appearing behind Twilight as she quickly put up a barrier around them. Once it was up, the beam of magic blasted through the wall and hit the barrier that Starlight put up.

Twilight blinked in surprise as she along with the others stared in shock at how quickly Starlight was able to put up a shield and the magical beam they saw hit the castle and almost hit them. In a matter of seconds, the beam slowly began to dim, as something hard hit the barrier with a loud sicking thud. They looked to where the sound was heard as they flinched back in fear upon seeing a torn-up-looking creature slamming against the barrier before sliding down onto the ground. Fluttershy and Rarity were the first ones to let out screams of horror while the others were staring in shock at the now-dead creature.

“What the hay is that thing!?” Rainbow Dash asked, pointing a finger at the burnt creature.

“I...I don’t know.” Twilight said as she took a step towards the creature. Once she was close, she tried and reached towards it to touch it. Only for Starlight to pull her hand away with her magic.

“Are you crazy Twilight!? You don’t know if that thing is still alive or what it might have on it.” Starlight said before casting another barrier around the dead creature.

“Something weird is going on in the Everfree Forest,” Applejack said as she looked out the giant hole in the room they were in. “This is the second time that we saw that beam coming out of the forest, and now this creature came out along with that beam. We need to go in there and stop whatever or whoever is causing this.”

“You girls go on ahead. I’ll keep an eye on this creature and make sure there aren't more of these around town.” Starlight said as the group nodded in agreement.

“No time to wait everypony. Let’s go and find out what’s going on in the forest.” Twilight said as she and her friends began making their way into the Everfree Forest.

(Everfree Forest)

“This mare is surprisingly heavy. Even without the armor and gear she was wearing.” Celestia said as she along with Nightmare Moon and Mitta followed Apple Bloom through the Everfree Forest.

“Might want to be careful with what you say. Just because she’s passed out, doesn’t mean she can’t hear us...At least I hope she can’t hear us.” Nightmare Moon said as she kept her eyes on their surroundings.

“Hard to believe you let the forest get this out of hand Celestia.”

“That’s mainly because I don’t live in the Everfree Forest anymore. Things have changed over the past couple of years during your slumber.”

“Yeah, I kinda notice from what Apple Bloom told me. And I gotta say, I am very disappointed.”

“Care to explain?”

“You became a lazy fatass.” Nightmare Moon said bluntly which caused Mitta to snort a bit in laughter.

“Excuse me!? Who are you calling lazy?”

“Pretty much you. I mean from what Apple Bloom has told me about you, you’ve been doing nothing but sit in your little castle and doing paperwork and sun court. I mean really? Is that what you've been doing for the past one-thousand-nine years while I was away?”

“I don’t have to justify how I spent the past one-thousand-nine years. Especially to somepony that took over my sister’s body.”

“Oh like you’re the perfect saint? Do keep in mind what happened to the ponies of Sunnytown?”

“You know what-”

“Will you two shut up?” Mitta said as the two alicorns looked over at the undead earth pony. “Seriously, you two are acting like immature brats.”

“She started it,” Celestia said as Mitta glared daggers at her causing her to flinch.

“Well, I’m ending it. If any of you start to argue again, I will personally hit you upside the head with a frying pan. GOT IT!?” she yelled as the two alicorns nodded quickly.

“And Applejack said I act immature.” Apple Bloom added before noticing a light off in the distance. “There it is. That’s Zecora’s home.”

“....Creepy witch house much?” Nightmare Moon which got her a smack upside her head from Mitta. “What? I’m not the only one that finds this kinda creepy looking, right?”

“It’s rude to say something like that. Especially when we’re going to have to stay there for the night.” Mitta said before taking the lead toward Zecora’s hut.

“I’m just saying. It’s giving off a creepy vibe seeing how it’s in the Everfree Forest. Not saying that I won’t sleep in it, just giving my opinion on it.”

“Zecora’s not a bad pony. Nor is she a witch. She’s nice once you get to know her a bit...though it might be a bit awkward at first.”

“Mainly because we have two undead ponies, a foreign bat pony that can use magic, a former villain of Equestria, and the princess of Equestria who isn’t good at doing her job right,” Mitta said before noticing Celestia’s deadpan expression. “Like me being an undead pony isn’t your fault.”

“I said I was sorry, didn’t I? I was young and inexperienced when I was ruling over Equestria with my sister.”

“Yeah, I think your apology is about one-thousand-nine years too late to undo the damage.” Nightmare Moon said before noticing they were getting close to Zecora’s hut. “Okay, we’re here. Let’s try and act like adults for the time being until we leave this horrible place of a forest.”

“....Yeah, that’s not gonna happen given how we all are. Well, mainly the adults. Apple Bloom and Alma are at least decent and don’t let their emotions get the better of them.” Mitta said as she paid attention to Apple Bloom who was making her way over to the front door of Zecora’s hut and began to knock on the door. There was a moment of silence in the air before the light appeared from the window as the door to the hut opened.

“Yes, how can I-” Before she could finish, the zebra was taken by surprise by the group in front of her. “Apple Bloom…is that you?”

“Hey Zecora...it’s um...been a while, how’s it going.”

“Dear Celestia. What happened to you, my dear?” Zecora said as she quickly rushed over to the filly and examined her. “It’s like somepony used dark magic to bring you back to life.”

“That’s kinda what happened,” Celestia said as Zecora turned her attention towards the rest of the group that Apple Bloom was with. “Hello, Zecora. How are you doing tonight?” She said as Nightmare Moon and Mitta smiled and waved their hands at the Zebra. Zecora did the same if not awkwardly before turning her attention back to Celestia with a raised eyebrow. “I’ll explain, but for now can we come inside? We need a place to stay for tonight or at least until we can get to Ponyville.”

“....I’ll prepare some tea for you all,” she said before motioning them to come inside. Once inside, she quickly closed the door while reaching for a bag hanging from the side of the door, and poured a green powder-like substance in front of it and the windows. Once she was finished, she made her way over to what appeared to be a stove to prepare some homemade tea. “Care to explain why Apple Bloom’s soul is stuck in her own dead body, why Nightmare Moon exists yet again, and why there is an undead mare that looks like she’s in menopause?”

“Hey, buck you lady. You try living your life when the mare that caused it is right next to you.” Mitta said as Zecora looked over at Celestia.

“Long story short. I made a mistake in the past that involved a test to see if a town could survive in the Everfree Forest...but things went wrong and Mitta and Apple Bloom became the result of my mistake.”

“To make matters worse, we have a town full of undead ponies chasing after us that want to make us their “friends”. And by “friends”, I mean them wanting to turn us into them. Well, Celestia, Nightmare Moon, and Alma.” Mitta added as the zebra looked over at Nightmare Moon with a raised eyebrow.

“I got turned to stone for nine years after my defeat with the elements of harmony. You lose the will to try to take over Equestria when you’re stuck in stone...and possibly gone insane for the most part.” She said before levitating a cup over to herself as she drank the contents of it. “Huh, mint mixed with wild berries from the forest. Not a bad remedy for stomach problems.”

“Well, that answers a few of my questions. For the time being, but is there a reason why you couldn’t just fly away or teleport out of the Everfree Forest?”

“Apple Bloom and I are earth ponies, so we don’t have magic. Celestia and Nightmare Moon can’t use magic or fly all of us out of the forest. And Alma can’t fly due to not being taught how to fly due to past family drama or something.” Mitta answered as she pointed over to the bat pony who was being placed on a bed of some kind. What took the zebra by surprise was the sword she was holding as she walked over to examine it with interest.

“This is rather an interesting sword. I take it the weapon is from Princess Luna or Nightmare Moon?” She asked as Celestia shook her head.

“Neither I nor…Nightmare Moon have ever seen anything like this. Nor have we heard of a bat pony that can use magic.”

“This mare can use magic? But she isn’t a unicorn or an alicorn.”

“I know. We don’t know how she does it, but she can use magic.” Nightmare Moon answered. “Which makes me think she either has a curse on her that can make her use magic, or something else.”

“I would like to ask this bat pony some questions. But it would seem I will have to wait until she wakes up.” Zecora said as she walked back to the stove and poured the tea into four cups. Once she was done, Nightmare Moon levitated the cups towards herself, Mitta, Celestia, and Apple Bloom.

“I don’t think Mitta and I can drink this?” said Apple Bloom as she sniffed the tea that was given to her.

“What makes you say that?” Zecora asked before looking over at Mitta drinking the tea, only for the liquid to spill out from what used to be her stomach as she deadpans. “Ah, right...Forgot that the two of you are dead. But you seem to be still intact.”

“For the most part. But everything tastes awful besides animal meat and water. That’s pretty much what I’ve been eating for the past two years.”

“And yet you don’t look like you’re decaying or have pieces of your body breaking apart. Why is that?”

“Might be because of her age and the fact that they did a botch job at the time,” Mitta answered as she placed the cup to the side. “Grey Hoof has a spellbook that allows him to make ponies look like me. Only when he did it to Apple Bloom, he was only using half of the requirements to perform the ritual. And because of that, she’s pretty much a soul stuck in a corpse body. It’s kind of a double-edged sword in her case.”

“How is there a positive side to being a living corpse?” Celestia asked as Mitta rolled her eyes.

“Super strength, durability, and super speed. Downside, she’s weak against fire.” She answered as Nightmare Moon raised an eyebrow at her. "Gray Hoof tested it on animals first a long time ago just to see if it would work. It did, but the animal's body didn't last long, nor did an adult pony's body. Guess it works better on underdeveloped ponies."

“....I'm sorry, and you're saying I'm a monster for wanting to bring eternal night to Equestria?” Nightmare Moon asked while looking over at Celestia who rolled her eyes at her comment.

"Now's not the time for petty remarks. We can hide out here until morning comes.” Zecora said as she started to place more powder from before around the inside of the hut they were in. “The powder will protect us from any evil that might come our way. Be they physical or spiritual.”

“I’m evil so that stuff won’t work on me sweetie~” Nightmare Moon said in a teasing tone, only for the zebra to throw a small ball of the powder at her face, causing the dark alicorn to sneeze and glare at Zecora.

“To be fair, you should’ve seen it coming,” Celestia said, trying her best not to laugh.

“It only works on weaker evil spirits. And seeing how you’re not weak, it should work on those undead beings that are chasing you.” Zecora said before finishing up with placing the powder around the house. “For now, drink your tea and get some rest. You all are going to need it seeing how you’ll need the strength to make it to Ponyville.”

“Technically, Celestia and Nightmare Moon need the rest. Apple Bloom and I can’t sleep. What with us being undead ponies and all.” Mitta said before getting adjusted near the window as she looked out at the forest. “I’ll keep watch while the rest of you get your rest.”

“Oh, I’ll help too!” Apple Bloom said before moving to the other side of the hut to watch out of the window.

“Guess that takes care of the night watch.” Nightmare Moon said before finishing up her drink and started to drift into slumber. “I’m going to go to sleep. Might be a good one for once that doesn't involve me being trapped in stone...again.”

“Weren’t you asleep for the past one-thousand-nine years?” Celestia asked as Nightmare Moon glared at the princess.

“Being trapped on the moon for that long doesn’t mean we were asleep for that long idiot.” She said before noticing a sudden shocked expression on her face. “Now, good night.”

“....Yeah,” Celestia said before finishing up her tea as she got herself ready for sleep, futile it may be with the new knowledge she now has.