Mad World

Mad World

Awakening

   Twilight awoke to find herself alone, unaware of what had transpired. Examining the room, she took interest to the lack of a roof and the room being scorched at one time previously. The banners, charred and brittle, were of royalty and the throne belonging to that of Celestia herself, Twilight quickly figured out she was in the Royal Canterlot Palace throne hall.

   Trying to think back to the previous days, she attempted to put the pieces back together. But to no avail. Her mind couldn’t recall anything of the past few days or farther. Standing back on all fours, Twilight shook herself off and illuminated her horn in an attempt to brighten the room. The night sky was nice and all, but didn't provide the necessary brightness.

   "Hello?! Anypony here?!" The words rang through the building. Twilight waited a moment, but received no reply. It occurred to her that she could be the sole survivor of whatever catastrophe happened here. In a shiver, Twilight drove the thought of her friends and what may have befallen them from her mind.

   The doors to the hall were closed and barred from the inside. It appeared that the previous occupants had tried to stop the entry of something, but by the condition of the room, failed. Whatever had wanted in simply went through the roof instead of dealing with the door. Most likely due to a magical enchantment of some sorts.

   Though Twilight feared so, she tried to lift the bar locking the door with a levitation spell. It refused to budge, indicating someone with much stronger defensive magic than her own did this. She would have to lift it manually, despite her stature.

   Twilight thought for a moment on the dimensions of the bar and the best way to lift it. The bar sat horizontally across the set of doors, held in place by racks one in the center of each door.  It was apparent she wouldn’t be able to lift it on her own, but Twilight only needed to get it out of the way enough to open one side of the door.

   She decided lifting one side up high enough to slide it to the other end and standing it up would be her best bet. Upon lifting one side up high enough to slide, she did exactly that. The bar gained momentum and tumbled out of it's rack, sending it crashing into the parallel wall. The noise generated sung through the palace.

   "Well if anypony is still in here they surely heard that."

   Twilight opened the door to reveal a hall of horrors. The smell hit her first. Iron resonated through the air with a mix of charred remains. Her vision registered after. Throughout the hall lay deceased, rotting corpses of fallen ponies.

   Out of the dead, Twilight recognized that both Fancy Pants and his wife lay slain. Holding each other in hoof in a most dramatic of poses. They were muzzle to muzzle looking into each others cold, glass eyes. Twilight guessed they died at the same time, but it was hard to tell since she didn't want to get to close to their bodies for fear of what she'd find.

   A flashback began playing through her mind like an old film reel she was reliving. Her body fainted as her mind recapped some of the events of the night.

"Run!"

All the ponies raced down the hallway looking for a retreat from the death that had been trailing all of them, including Twilight. She and the others sped through the corridor. Some had fallen or tripped but no pony stopped to help another out. It was everypony for themselves. The screams from previous pathways could be heard ringing through the palace. They chilled the very soul of the others, knowing that the same will probably happen to them.

Even Twilight had turned to pure instinct and no longer cared for the survival of the others. Her friends were nowhere to be found and rightfully shouldn't be. They had all had other plans than to follow their friend to Canterlot for a celebration. She was thankful they wouldn't have to endure the same fate as her.

The path led to many turnoffs, which some ponies took in a thought of escaping the assailant by hiding out of the line of pursuit and who knew, maybe it did. Twilight didn't want to stop to check, she only wanted to advance to the throne room. Hopefully Shining Armor had set up some sort of defense. Her brother was able to hold out the changelings even when he was weakened by Queen Chrysalis, if anypony could hold out the evil it was him.

Twilight considered teleporting to the throne room but she wasn't familiar enough with her surroundings to guarantee she would hit her mark. She also considered that if Shining had put up a barrier, her spell would rebound, probably sending her back to her doom.

The screams became louder. One by one the fellow ponies around her succumbed to the fatigue of the trot. All the pegusus ponies had already flown away to Cloudsdale, abandoning the rest to deal with their own problem. A few stayed to help their friends or were too weak of flyers to get away. Most of those though suffered an unfortunate end.

Twilight did take notice that earlier a pony that looked like Spitfire crashed into a pillar and everypony ran past, not even Twilight stopped to check on the famous Wonderbolt. Apparently fame didn't give premise to concern in this scenario. Rainbow Dash would've probably stopped even if it cost her life. The loyal cyan pony wouldn't have thought twice about it, but Twilight wasn't Rainbow Dash now was she?

She couldn't just stop, Twilight had to make it to the throne room. It was her only chance at making it out of this. She headed down the last hallway to her destination. She had noted earlier that Fancy Pants and his wife had been running along with the group. His wife tripped a ways from the door. In the only show of care anypony had exerted, Fancy Pants turned back to help his wife. Apparently she wasn't as shallow as Twilight had presumed to be if he would stop for the likes of her.

The throne room doors were closing for the last time. Twilight had to hurry. She could see the royal guard preparing the bar to lock the door. If it closed she would surely die at the hands of her attacker.

"HEY, HOLD THE DOOR! WE’RE ALMOST THERE!" She screamed out as loudly as she could muster, while she was running. She heard her brothers voice, loud and aggressive, ordering them to hold off closing the door. He had recognized her voice. There was no way he would have held open that door any longer than possible if it wasn't for her.

The remaining ponies sped through the gap in the door. Fancy Pants and his wife, along with a few others, weren't so lucky. They pounded on the door in hopes of them opening it back up, but to no avail. Screams of the doomed thundered through the door into the throne room.

"You've killed us!"

"Why!?"

"It's coming!"

"Oh my..." The last scream was cut short. Whatever was out there didn't wait for final request. Twilight imagined the horror that awaited them on the other side of those doors. The room was sealed magically thanks to Shining Armor. He was the strongest defensive magic specialist in all of Equestria, rivaling Celestia herself.

"Twilight, are you okay? I heard you yell in the hallway and got them to delay closing the door. Not long enough to save everypony though." He looked saddened by the thought of it. His mane was distressed and he appeared to have been in a fight with another pony at some point today.

"I'm fine. How many ponies made it?"

"Not as many as I hoped. Also I'm not sure my magic can keep us safe. That thing out there is powerful beyond my comprehension." The doors bent and shook as whatever was out there tried aggressively to break through. The crashes beckoned a shred of worry from the group. Debris fell from the ceiling with each impending shock.

"Listen, I don't know how much time we have till it breaks through. I need you to know that if it does, try and get away. If you can survive it'll mean everything I've done was not in vain. Please just go if it comes to it. Don't worry about me, I'm your big brother. I'll be fine." He was fixated on his little sister.

"NO, I WON'T LEAVE YOU HERE TO DIE! I'll stay by your side till the end of this and we'll be fine." Her voice was shaky and had traces of grief. Fear was apparent on the face of the lavender pony. That combined with sadness as she knew what the likely ending to this event was. She began to cry. Tears streaming down her face, she hugged her brother.

"I'm sorry Twilight, but that's not going to happen. Please listen to me, go! Get out of here while you can. We can't all leave. Some of us have to stay and defend against *her*."

"Twilight, your brother is right. You need to go. Maybe you can get help and save as many as you can." Cadence walked up next to her husband. Her usually fine mane was in worse condition than when Chrysalis had trapped her. The alicorn's coat had tints of dark red, most likely from blood.

The pounding on the door had ceased. The ponies in the room had become a bit nervous as to why. Had she gone away? Was she gathering strength? Was it safe to open the door? These were some of the questions running through everypony’s mind. With the exception of Twilight, Shining, and Cadence. They were too focused on their conversation.

"But... I... c... cou... couldn't li... live with myself if... if..." Twilight had broken down into straight out bawling. She could barely manage to speak and what she could say was only unintelligible cries. Shining gave his little sister a loving embrace.

After thirty seconds or so he released her and held her shoulders with his hooves. Staring straight into Twilight's eyes, "Go. Now, before it's too late. Make your big brother proud."

"K, I'll go." Wiping tears away from her eyes, she nodded in agreement. She had started to trot over to the window as to use a teleportation spell, but she required a direct line of sight to her target. The room began to shake before she could get to the window.

"THE CEILING! SHE'S REMOVING THE CEILING!" The ponies were screaming in fear as their impending death dealer swooped into the room. Twilight turned to get a look at the assailant, but her memory wouldn't let her see the villain. She only saw a black silhouette of a tall alicorn.

"Go! Twilight go now!" She turned to see the silhouette throw Shining against the door behind her. Cadence tried to run to his aid, but was stopped by the figure. The shadow lifted Cadence by the throat and intended to finish her here and now.

"NO! I WON'T LET YOU HURT THEM!" With all the strength she could muster, Twilight teleported every pony in the room to who knows where. As long as it wasn't in the presence of that beast anymore. After using that much energy Twilight collapsed to the ground. Her eyes fixated on the figure. She was barely holding consciousness. The silhouette began her approach to the defenseless unicorn. She stopped just short and rose her head in a proud manner.

"Hahaha! How trivial of you Twilight. You really think I was even after them. Just call them collateral damage. My real intent was to drive you here. Away from your friends and allies. The real game will begin, but all in good time. For now I will see how long it takes to get your friends to crack." The voice was familiar, but demonic nonetheless. It had a double tone to it. A high pitched, normal pony voice with an underlying deep, dark tone.

"Haha!" The figure took flight and left just as Twilight lost consciousness. Her last sight was that of the night sky and the black silhouette ascending towards it.

   Re-awaking, Twilight noticed that it was still night out. She had no way of telling how long she had been asleep or how long it had been since the events of her flashback.

   The flashback. It scared her. "What was all that? Were did I send Shining and the others? Who was the alicorn that did all of that?" These questions began to plague her mind. She wanted to know the last above all things. Her mind was oblivious to her surroundings. The thoughts were consuming her subconscious. It was impossible for her to concentrate on anything outside of what the answers could be.

   "Aaaaahhhhh!" The scream broke Twilight out of her trance. Who in Equestria could still be alive? Twilight stood up, staring down the hallway from which the voice came. A sickening crack rang through the halls. The sound resembled that of breaking bones followed by a loud thud. It had gone back to being silent. Who ever had screamed was surely dead at this point.

   The walls began to shimmer from a light source that was moving towards the throne room. The light was a vibrant red and became brighter the closer it came. She was running out of time. Twilight searched the room for a hiding place. She noted a bookshelf that was knocked down. Levitating it as carefully as she could, Twilight slid into one of the gaps in the shelves and replaced the shelf.

   There was a gap at the base of the floor. Twilight could only see the floor, but that was enough to see the hooves of the pony that would enter the room any minute now.

   The figure trotted into the room, pacing itself with elegant strolls. Twilight seen the hooves of the figure. They were stained with blood and had slight traces of different coats of other ponies. There was no doubt in Twilight's mind that this was the murderer that did all of this. Near the higher part of the hooves there were small portions of uncovered coat. It was a glimmering white color. The white reminded Twilight of Celestia, but there was no way she could have done all of this, right?

   The mare stopped directly in front of the bookcase. Turning so it was facing the bookshelves, Twilight could hear the breathing. It was less than a foot away. She had only one chance. Focusing her energy on concealing the glow of her horn, Twilight levitated a book near the back of the room and sent it flying out the window into the streets below. A resounding thud soon followed, grabbing the attention of the mare.

   The figure turned around with cat-like reflexes and flew out the window in pursuit of the noise. Twilight let out a sigh of relief. That was too close. Whatever was out there was powerful beyond comprehension. It had recognized her hiding place almost instantly upon entering the room. She was lucky that the book decoy had worked.

   After about ten minutes or so of waiting to see if the mare returned, Twilight deemed it to be clear enough to come out. She had started to lift the bookcase when a voice startled her and made her return to her hiding hole.

   "Psst...hey you under there, can you hear me?" Wait a minute, that sounded like... no it couldn't be, but it did sound like her.

   "Trixie?" Twilight whispered to the pony across the room. There was no way that could be her. She must be imagining things.

   "Hold on a minute, is that... Twilight? Oh crap, I'm outta here." A sound of fear ran through Trixie's voice.

   "Wait! What's going on?" Twilight was whispering as loudly as she could. Even though this is the first breathing pony she had met since she woke up, she still feared the return of whatever was out there.

   "What? You don't remember what went down here the last couple days?" Trixie seemed a bit confused, but nonetheless concerned.

   "No, I don't. And I would really appreciate it if you could tell me why I'm surrounded by dead ponies I once knew!"

   "Aaauuuggghhh! Fine, hurry up. And keep your voice down. We have to leave before that thing comes back and we don't want to draw her attention now would we." Trixie may have been a cold hearted boaster when she was in Ponyville, but she was Twilight's best chance at figuring out what happened over the course of the last couple days. At least without relying on sporadic flashbacks.

   Twilight lifted the shelf off of her and placed it back in the same position as before after getting out. Looking over at Trixie, Twilight noted that her appearance had changed drastically. She no longer donned the cape and hat of a magical wizard and simply appeared as all other ponies in Equestria, clothesless. Her coat and mane was unkempt and had traces of ash and rubble. Small glimmers of blood and other things were also apparent in the blue mare's coat and mane.

   "What are you staring at?" A quizzical look came over the former magic show performer. Twilight hadn't realized she had been staring at Trixie.

   "N... nothing, I was just looking at your coat. What's been going on here?" Twilight tried to change the subject away from Trixie's appearance. She felt kinda foolish for letting herself look like an idiot to her former rival.

   "I'll tell you, but first we have to get to a safer place. We don't have time to discuss things like that while she's around. We better get moving before it comes back." Trixie had turned around and headed for the exit. Twilight trotted up next to her, careful not to be too loud.

   "Why don't we just teleport out of here? It would be safer and much quicker." Twilight was afraid of the blue ponies response. She feared Trixie would say something like there is a teleportation blocking spell or something like that over the city.

   "Too risky, if you use any form of advanced magic that requires a lot of energy she'll pick up the energy and trace it to where you went and *slice* that's it." Trixie made a cutting motion with her hoof over her throat to further indicate it was a bad idea. Twilight pondered how it didn't notice her energy when she was concealing the glow of her horn and when she threw the book out the window. Also how had she not noticed all the other things Twilight did?

   Wait, does that mean that she followed Twilight's magic and went to where the ponies she teleported were and killed them? Oh no, what if she did. What if Twilight had inadvertently killed her brother and the others. Twilight drove those thoughts from her mind. She needed to focus on the task at hand.

   "Oh, I see. So do you have a place where we can go to? Like a hideout or someplace safe."

   "No, I was just going to track her like I was doing before." Trixie replied without turning to face her companion. Her eyes were fixed on her surroundings.

   "Wait, hold on here. You were tracking that thing. Why?" Twilight was dumbfounded by her response. Was she really that smart as to follow it without being noticed?

   "Yeah, I was. I want it to be ahead of me at all times to know what it does and when it leaves. She won't think to look behind her. She's all powerful, so who would follow her, right?" It actually made sense. Twilight grasped the concept rather easily actually. Stalking the stalker was easier than avoiding being stalked.

   "So how do you plan to follow it if it flies away? I mean you don't exactly have wings and a tracking spell would be to hard and to risky to do."

   "Simple, I don't. I merely watch the direction she goes and keep an eye out for her."

   "You said we were going to someplace safe. Where exactly?" Twilight knew Trixie wasn't in pursuit of it anymore and figured she planned on going to a hiding place 'till she was back on the trail.

   "The old library. Even though it was abandoned before any this happened, it is even more so now." Twilight noticed Trixie was surprisingly calm in comparison to when she had come face to face with the Ursa Minor back in Ponyville. What changed about her? What happened to make her this... good. Trixie knew exactly what she was doing and had as much control of the situation as she could. That's probably why she's still alive and not one of the unfortunate.

   They headed down the hallways, littered with the dead and burnt. This once beautiful place had been completely destroyed by that thing. The walls were desecrated, windows were shattered, textiles splattered by blood. The entire feel of the building made Twilight cringe.

   After sometime they came to the entrance of the building on the base floor. The doors were wide open like every other part of the building. Apparently Shining didn't use any magic on other rooms, just the throne room. The night sky shone brightly through the gaping doors.

   A flash of bright light in the night sky went by. Trixie dragged Twilight off to the side in a hurry. The overall shock of what just happened got the better of Twilight and she lost her composure. A face of bewilderment came over her as she began analyzing the situation.

   "What was that? It looked like a shooting star, but was far to close to be one. Was it a pony? No way, that was way too fast to be a pony. Not even Rainbow Dash could move at such speeds." Twilight had begun to talk aloud to herself. Trixie stuck a hoof in her mouth indicating to be quiet, and she knew Trixie was right. Trixie made a zipping motion to Twilight and she nodded that she understood.

   The duo waited for about ten or more minutes on the edge of the doorway, eyes and ears peeled. They determined it was okay to proceed and headed out the palace. They didn't talk again till they reached the library.

   The city was burnt to the ground with very few buildings still structurally sound. Flames still burned in some places and the streets were littered with the dead. The cause of the their deaths appeared to vary widely. Some were burned alive, while others appeared to have been beaten to death. Others didn't look like they suffered any physical damage and were probably choked or killed with magic.

   They traversed the streets, turning down different pathways. Trixie lead the way, making sure to keep Twilight close and to stay out of the open as best she could. It was apparent her instincts were better than the average ponies. Twilight deemed it was probably from years of running out of towns, being chased by mobs. Trixie had probably learned what to do when your being chased to get out of the situation many times over.

   After an hour of trotting through the destroyed remains of Canterlot, the pair ended up outside an old broken down building Twilight recognized as the old library she went to when she was still a filly. The city didn't tear it down over the years nor had they attempted to repair it. They were probably going to leave it up as a landmark for the rest of its days.

   Trixie took one last glance around to see if they had been followed and headed inside. Twilight headed in after her, making sure to avoid knocking anything down. She didn't want to draw any attention to their location. They had no idea how far away she is.

   The interior of the library hadn't been destroyed like many of the other buildings they crossed to get here. The same couldn’t be said about the outside. It had been torched and shattered like the rest of the buildings in the area, but that was more from collateral damage than anything.

   The east side wall of the entrance had suffered minor fire damage. Some holes letting in moonlight were apparent too, which meant the duo wouldn't have to risk using magic for a light source. Heating was another thing. How were they going to stay warm overnight if they couldn't light a fire without it risking bringing attention to themselves?

   Trixie had begun searching the rest of the library for supplies, while Twilight's old habits got the better of her. She began taking books off the shelves and scanning them for any hint of a prediction or myth leading up to the events of this or if this was something sporadic. The process took quite a long time though, due to the lack of magic.

   Twilight's search had produced no results. The only books left in the library were children's tales and other non essential novels. Anything of worth was taken to the new library which had burnt down along with the rest of Canterlot. Nonetheless, Twilight still searched on. She didn't want to think there was no prediction or things of that matter that might tell her what to do to correct this. It was simply her nature to do so.

   Trixie returned with a few blankets and pillows for them to use, but chances are they wouldn't sleep for quite a while. Twilight had too many things to ask Trixie to go to sleep. They set up on the floor across from each other, but no where near a window or door.

   "So... what has been going on?" Twilight whispered over to Trixie.

   "... I don't really know for sure. All I can say is that she went berserk and hasn't stopped trying to kill everypony yet."

   "How did you avoid being killed? I mean, you aren't the greatest magic user in the world and you didn't seem to be the brightest pony when you were in Ponyville." Twilight tried to avoid sounding rude, but it was hard.

   "What's that supposed to mean? You think  you’re so great when in reality I saved your life!" Trixie was annoyed at how Twilight stated her last question.

   "Nothing, I just wanted to know how you survived while so many others perished. I didn't mean any offense. Sorry." Trixie calmed herself a bit.

   "Well it started out I was performing a show here, and next thing you know ponies were screaming and running around. I don't get it though. Do you really not remember anything? Anything at all?"

   "When I awoke I couldn't remember anything. I had just gotten outside the throne room when..." Twilight got cut off.

   "Wait, hold on. You were inside the throne room when you awoke? The last place she was before she left for a couple hours. How'd she not kill you?"

   "Wait a minute and I'll tell you."

   "Kay, sorry." Trixie was a bit sheepish after interrupting Twilight's story.

   "As I was saying, I had just gotten outside the throne room when I passed out and had a flashback. It didn't show everything. Just what happened about ten minutes before I passed out in the throne room. She chased us through the building, killing any stragglers. I had gotten to the room and me and Shining Armor had been talking when she lifted the roof off." Twilight got cut off again.

   "She tore the roof off?! That's crazy." Trixie was becoming less careful about her voice as the conversation continued.

   "Yeah, Shining placed a defensive spell on the doors and windows, but didn't realize she'd just go over and remove the roof. We were all really surprised." Twilight had also become more comfortable talking with her former rival. It was easier now since Trixie wasn't all boastful.

   "So how many of them were there? And how do you know Shining Armor, is he like your distant boyfriend or something."

   "No, oh gosh no. He's my BBBFF."

   "...Huh?"

   "Big Brother Best Friend Forever."

   "Okay that makes more sense. I didn't rea-" They were interrupted by yelling outside the library.

   "You bitch, let's do this! Come on, let's go!" The duo quickly headed over to separate gaps in the building. There was a single white pegasus staring down a pony who was out of Twilight's view. She searched around for a view to see who it was, but when she moved, the pony made her move and tackled the pegasus. The fight had proceeded and they could hear hits coming from either side.

   After sometime of going back and forth, they heard a sickening snap and the pegasus’ body came flying into the open of the street. The assailant took off over the night sky, but to Twilight's dismay she didn't get a look at her. It appeared that the white pegasus didn't stand a chance and he was once one of the royal guard. Those ponies are trained thoroughly to beat any normal pony in a fight in order to protect their princesses. How strong is she?

   The white pegasus appeared to still be breathing, but neither of them were planning to go and help him. It was too risky. They watched the lone pony die slowly in the middle of the street. The blood dripping from his unconscious skull, forming a pool.

   Ten minutes had passed and they still watched. Waiting for his chest to stop and indicate his perish. Out of the shadows, two ponies approached the dying guard. Twilight recognized one of them as Minuette, a pony who Twilight knew from her years in Canterlot.

   "Should we go help them?" Twilight thought it might be a good idea to get as many ponies as she could together to form a group to hopefully fight her off if it came to that.

   "No, terrible idea. She never leaves survivors." Trixie's eyes were fixated on the duo attempting to help the guard. Twilight's mind went back to how she had left her alive. Why?

   Just like every other pony she had seen, Minuette was injured, bloody, and her face was fear stricken. Twilight couldn't tell who her colleague was. Minuette began removing his armor. The other stood watch, keeping his eyes pinned to the direction the attacker left to. She got the guard out of his armor and called her friend over. They began to pick up the guard.

Twilight looked over to her fellow unicorn. Trixie’s eyes showed study, something Twilight could easily spot. She knew what she was looking for. Triggers. Anything that could alert the attacker to their presence.

Minuette’s acquaintance turned and yelled at the sight of the returning attacker.

   Twilight turned her attention back to the group only to catch a glimpse of the killer. She ensued to throw the injured guard into the library they were hiding in, crumpling the building and closing the lines of sight. They only heard a distant scream and a thud as she killed Minuette. A few seconds later, a sickening snap and closure. They were dead.

   Twilight heard her elegant strides closing in on their building. The assailant trotted over to the somehow still breathing guard. Even though they couldn't see what was going on outside, Twilight and Trixie still had ears. They heard the next conversation from less that five feet away.

   "Wh...why,... why would yo... you do this?" The raspy, blood stricken voice of the guard was faint. He was going to die regardless of what he did. He wasn't even honored with a reply. They heard her begin suffocating him. His struggles for any air he could get grew weak till eventually... it stopped. He too died at her hooves.

   "Because... I need to free you all before it's too late." Her voice was soft, nothing like what Twilight remembered in the throne room. It reminded her of Celestia. No. Twilight refused to believe her princess would... could do something like this to her subjects. She had to confirm it with her own eyes first.

   The figure stood there in silence for some time before finally leaving. The fading steps and following flight were enough to tell the two she was gone. Frozen like stone, neither of the two dared to move. The fear stuck in their minds. How could anypony, any...thing be so powerful? It wasn't natural. Wouldn't she need time for rest?

   Twilight and Trixie waited in complete silence for almost an hour. By this time they had deduced that the sun wasn't coming back up. The duo spent the next day approximately in the library taking turns sleeping and watching. They didn't say a word to each other, but they concluded they needed food. They set out to find food. Preferably preserved such as cans or frozen.

All The fires had burnt out at this point and the moon was the only form of light. It was difficult to travel in the darkness. They had to be careful to avoid staying out of the open while also not bumping into anything that could draw attention to their location. She could still be around somewhere. Regardless, they needed food.

   They traversed the remains of Canterlot. Twilight led the way due to her years growing up here. She knew her way to the stores and markets that had been established. One by one though, they had been destroyed, burned down, and/or collapsed. The city was dead.

   Trixie was beginning to grow distant to her companion. They didn't speak at all through their trip and Trixie avoided any form of contact with Twilight. She didn't wait for Twilight to catch up or help her through an obstacle. She no longer guided Twilight like she did when they started off. The blank stare, the methodical trot, the unresponsive reactions. Trixie had become absent.

   Entering the remains of what was once Canterlot’s largest grocery store, Twilight noticed the entrance had been forced open. When? She had no idea. It was far too dark inside the building then what allowed them to see. Anything could be in there.

   The warm air of the building was refreshing. It was nice not to be freezing. Why was it still warm in here though? There wasn't a fire in view of the building and Twilight didn't think anypony was in there. Well, alive in there at least.

   "What's the plan?" Twilight turned to the unicorn by her side. Trixie just kept walking in. She didn't look back at Twilight or give a reply. She merely just kept walking. Walking. Walking forward into the darkness, the unknown. They had no warning of any danger, yet she delved into the abyss.

   "Wait. We can't get split up or we may never find each other." Twilight said while trying to rush back up to Trixie. The former show mare had disappeared into the dark. Twilight couldn't see her. She had to follow the sound of her hoofsteps and where she last seen her go.

   Twilight chased her companion through the darkened aisles of the supermarket. Trixie's sounds were growing fainter and the structure of the building wasn't helping. She was clearing ground on Twilight. Why was she doing this? Did she want to be free of her traveling companion? Had her mind finally succumbed to the horrors of this chaos?

   The echos of her trot bounced around the store. The acoustics of the building caused Twilight's mind to go into confusion. She no longer had any idea where either she or Trixie were. She simply listened for any signs she could use to find Trixie.

   "Ahhhh!...*snap*" It sounded like Trixie. Twilight rushed to the origin of the sound. Dodging down the aisles, she came upon her friend laying in the middle of the isle. A figure stood above her, wings erect. This wasn't the killer from earlier though. This pony was much to small. Even though she knew it was risky, Twilight had to know who this was.

   Twilight lit up the aisle with a glow of her horn. She dropped to her knees almost instantly. What she just saw, it shocked her more than anything than she could imagine. The pony that stood there, the pony that just murdered her rescuer, was one her friends. A pony she had known for some time. One she helped with many problems back in Ponyville.

   The pony stood there in a stance of glory with a crazed smile. Her magenta eyes were constricted to the size of pin dots. Her cyan feathers matted down with blood. The rainbow had a larger dose of red than usual. Her face, her wonderful face, was twisted from the apparent psychosis she was suffering from.

   "Dash?!"