The Mare in Whiteby RockstarRaccoonChaptersAct 1Act 2Act 3Epilogue (revised)Epilogue (original)PrologueAct 1A warm ocean breeze blew across her face, lifting her hair as she stepped from the traincar and into the calm autumn air of the seaside town’s edge. A road led from the station to the market, unpaved, and she could see the divots where the wheels of the town’s single delivery cart would be pulled back once they were done unloading the cargo from that section of the train. “Come on Spike,” she gave a nod, glancing back to where he was carefully stepping over the gap and onto the platform, “The inn isn’t far from here...” They walked down from the simple platform, and began down that road, alone. They’d been the only passengers coming out this far, and had spent the last stretch alone. This station was new, and the track to it had only been laid a few years back. The route had been established with the idea that, eventually, this area could be a shortcut to the Griffon lands, now that trade was expected to pick up. Behind them, the train gave a chugging hiss, and began to pull backwards, down towards the rest of civilization, not to return for a few days. This was the end of the line, a relatively remote region of Equestria, and the next train wouldn't be in for several days. The nearest major city was Manhattan, and the train ride from there had lasted several hours. “You think the inn will have lunch?” Spike piped up from beside her, “It’s getting close to noon, and we didn’t eat a good breakfast.” Twilight shook her head, “I don’t know. When I checked, it was the only inn in town, and didn’t seem to have too many rooms. They don’t always have food service in towns like this: it’s not exactly a tourist destination. The ocean view is lovely, but the cliffs make swimming impossible, and they’re pretty far from being hooked up to any sort of utilities. You have to remember, there’s nothing but logging for miles out here, Serenity Falls is just the largest town in the area that happened to be near the planned route...” “About that,” Spike shifted the straps of his backpack, “why do they call it ‘Serenity Falls’ anyway? I checked the map, and there isn't even a river going through here, and it’s not low enough compared to the Inland areas that there ever could have been...” “I think it's more abstract, like, ‘Serenity Falls on the town’. You're right though, it is a bit odd. You'd think they'd name it something like ‘Serenity Peaks’ or ‘Serenity Woods’.” “Or maybe there was a pony who fell off the cliff a long time ago.” he offered, “Serenity isn’t that strange for a pony name...” Twilight furrowed her brow, then shook her head, “I don’t think so. Towns are named after the area they’re in, the ponies who found them, or some major event. I can’t think of any town named after a tragedy like that... You might be right about that second part though. This place is so old, I doubt they have a record, but who knows? Maybe we’ll find out while we’re poking around...” The owner of the Ocean Lookout Inn was a head shorter than Twilight, but made up for it with his portly stature. She wondered if that had to do with the limp in his hindleg, which seemed a bit twisted above his wooden hoof. The building itself only had a few rooms, and a large window in the back looked out through the buildings towards the sea. From the second floor balcony, one could see the entire cliffside... “The ah, letter didn’t mention that the guest we were to expect would be a princess...” “I didn’t feel it was necessary.” she tried to sound friendly, “Whatever accomodations you’ve prepared should be enough.” “Ah, yes, well, even our best room wasn’t really intended for, ah, royalty, your highness. I ah, do hope you find it comfortable...” She gave him a smile, “Don’t worry. I may have grown up in Canterlot, but I’m used to some pretty mundane spaces.” she reached out to take the key. The innkeep held it up, but glanced past her, looking at Spike, who was looking out the window at the ocean in the distance. “And will your, ah, pet be staying in the room as well?” Twilight’s brow furrowed slightly, “He’s not my pet.” The innkeep seemed a bit confused, “Ah... Servant?” “No.” she withheld the annoyance from her voice, “He’s my assistant, and a very close friend. Really, he’s like family to me.” “I... see...?” the pony offered weakly, giving a forced smile, not wanting to offend a princess. Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes. This sort of thing was common in these backwoods parts of Equestria. The most they’d ever seen or heard of other creatures tended to be stories from afar, mostly fictional, mostly depicting ponies as civilized heroes and other creatures as brutes and villains. She felt a bit guilty to be spending so much time on such a personal project when speciesism and xenophobia were still so prevalent. She’d have to look into doing something about that once she was finished with this. She took the key and pushed a few bits forward, “Thank you for the room, sir. Might I be able to have some lunch sent up while we settle in?” “Ah,” he hesitated for a moment, “Yes. I do believe I could have something made, ah, Princess. I must warn you though, we ah, don’t have much more than oat soup prepared at the moment...” “That’s fine, we’re not picky eaters. It’s just been a long morning, and we could really use a warm meal before we head back out...” she tilted her head, “Say, you wouldn’t happen to know about any... strange occurrences in this town, would you?” “Ah... Strange how?” “I came here to investigate reports of some sort of... supernatural apparition?” His injured hind leg twitched at the notion, “You're, ah... Looking for the mare?” “Yes.” her smile widened, “I’m here to investigate the Mare in White.” He stepped back from the counter ever so slightly at the mention of her name, his voice lowering to a hush “You aren't likely to find her... She only shows herself to ponies when she wants to.” “Have you seen her?” “...once... when I was young, and foolish... And I don't ever want to see her again.” The rest of the day was uneventful. They’d seen the sights of the town, what few there were. In a town of well under a thousand ponies, they was only one place to buy most things, and certainly not much in the way of entertainment. This town wasn't a tourist destination, and even though, as she'd said, the railroad was supposed to cause an expansion, that wasn't happening here. It was as if the town had been frozen at its current size. A surprising few were interested in telling her about the Mare in White, and even then, they only spoke frightfully, as if even speaking of her might bring some wrath upon them. Some of them had outright told her she should stop looking. Spike had rolled his eyes at the notion, “Twilight? Stop? Yeah, as if that would ever happen.” Twilight became increasingly frustrated as the afternoon dragged on. She couldn't fathom this: everypony in town seemed to agree that the Mare was real, but none of them seemed the least bit curious about who she was, or where she'd come from. A few had mentioned that she was some sort of ancient demon or “witch”. She’d pieced together that local folklore spoke of her dragging off foals in the night to feast upon them in her lair, or something like that. Even the town records hadn't been any use: only four mentions of the Mare in them, all off-hoot, the earliest one dating back to the beginning of the recording, a little over two hundred years ago. The town had existed for quite some time before that: ponies had been settling this region since before the princesses first came to power. They had returned to the hotel, empty hooved, and eaten their dinner in quiet before retiring to their room. Twilight might’ve otherwise gone back out, but after a day without any excited stories or grandiose claims or even ponies trying to sell her a “ghost tour”, she didn’t feel up to more disappointment. “I don't get it Spike, in every other town, there were ponies rushing to capitalize on the ‘tourists’ looking for the ‘spoooky ghost’, but here, it's like they don't want anything to do with it.” “Maybe it's a group of criminals, trying to hide some sort of smuggling ring, and they don't want them bringing ponies around to look at where they work.” “But that doesn't make any sense! A supposed haunting is bound to bring somepony around to look at it, and even then, what could possibly be out here? We're too far from anything else for it to be on any smuggling routes, and any infrastructure out here would stick out like a sore hoof...” She stepped over to the window, her hooves clacking against the faded wooden floor of their room. This town didn't even have a nice hotel, it seemed nopony even cared about this supposed “ghost”, despite multiple ponies claiming to have seen it. It was as if she was the only pony who cared to look into the so-called “Mare in White”. She sighed as she placed her hooves against the window and looked out over the treeline, wondering if being here was even worth it, or if she should just give up on it and enjoy the seaside... And that's when she saw Her. There, amid the trunks of the great pine trees, a white figure, glowing pale in the night, as if made of moonbeam, white rags swirling around her, staring at her with empty white eyes... Twilight scrambled with her hooves on the latch, jumping forward and bursting out the window, flapping her wings hard as Spike gave a yelp behind her. She dove downward to pick up momentum and rushed for the woods, flying as fast as she could, but the figure seemed to retreat just as fast, gliding gently backwards between the pines. “H-Hey!!” Twilight called over the rush of air, “Hey!! Get back here!” But the Mare was silent, staring back at her with those empty eyes, shining like pale lanterns through the trees, rags rippling in the wind. “Please!” Twilight called out, “I just want to talk to you! Please come back!!” The Mare either didn’t hear her, or didn’t care, sliding backwards, stiff, as if she were some sort of weightless corpse being pulled by an invisible wire. Just ahead, she suddenly dropped out of view... Twilight burst through the treeline, coming out on an empty cliff. “...What?” she scoffed, glancing around... She couldn’t see for the life of her where the pony had gone. She walked to the edge of the cliff, glancing down. Far below her, the waves crashed loud against jagged rocks. Nothing. Turning and glancing up and down at the treeline, she saw the ruin of what looked like an old building of some sort, perhaps once a lighthouse or a guard post, only a single wall remaining, the windows long since turned to powder, and the lunar symbols engraved on the tidal chart were long since faded. There wasn’t a place for a pony to hide there, only rubble. She’d lost the trail. “Damnit!” she stomped a hoof. Then, with an angry toss of her head, she spread her wings, flying back towards the inn. Within minutes, she slipped back in through the still-open window, setting down on the wooden floor with a huff of annoyance. “What the hay was that all about?” Spike asked. “Nothing, apparently.” she scowled, “Just... saw something weird.” “Was it her?” his eyes widened, “Was it The Mare in White?” Twilight rolled her eyes, “It was probably a group of locals trying to spook us.” She glanced over at the cozy looking bed the inkeep had set up for her, “Come on, let’s just get some sleep. We have a bit more investigation to do tomorrow...” Act 2The next morning saw Twilight putting a more solid plan into place. Sure, she didn’t have the general knowledge that she was hoping to go into this with, but she had a list of ponies to ask for details, and once she’d bought a recent and accurate map of the area, she was ready to begin her intensive study. She asked pony after pony about their experiences with the Mare in White, numbering each location on the map as Spike made notes as to the time and circumstances of every one of them. To say getting these details was an uphill process might’ve been an understatement: she’d had to use her leverage as princess just to get some of the townsponies to talk. Obviously, there’d been one or two who’d looked into her at some point, but they’d burned any notes they had, and were just as hesitant to speak about it. Supposedly the few the ponies who she hadn’t terrified enough had vanished on their excursions and been found washed up on the rocks, or crushed under a fallen tree. Even talking about her was enough, in the mind of the town, to bring about her ire. Twilight wasn’t about to be scared away by a few accidents attributed to an urban legend, but all throughout town, she was met with ponies telling her to turn back... “Princess, with all due respect, this really isn’t something you want to look into...” “Princess, please, just... take my word, you don’t want to follow this path...” “Don’t worry about Her. We do well enough leaving her alone.” “Stop asking about Her, it’s not safe.” “Stop looking. Go home.” Go home... Of course she wouldn’t go home! This was science! Science was her life! Besides, the Mare in White wasn’t real, the whole idea was preposterous: just an old mare’s take from sometime in the town’s history. Even if it was a spell by some ancient “Night Witch”, a spell like that couldn’t possibly last hundreds of years without its caster. Back at the Inn, Twilight spread her map out on the wall with a grin. Just as she’d predicted, all of the marks she’d made created a definite heat map. It was almost a perfect circle, which got more intense towards the center: the cliff from the night before. “I told you, Spike! All it needed was a little bit of research, and there it is: this is where the stories are coming from!” “I dunno Twilight,” Spike munched a potato he’d brought up from dinner with a furrowed brow, “didn’t you say there wasn’t anything there?” “I said there was a cliff and a ruin, and that I didn’t see anything worth looking into. That doesn’t mean I didn’t miss anything!” Spike shrugged, “Right, well, I guess you’re headed back there?” Twilight nodded, “Yep, and I’ve got just enough time before sundown.” she pointed a hoof at the list, “All of the encounters with her happened at night. If I leave now, I’ve got just enough time to watch the sunset from there.” She grinned, walking over to the window. She glanced back at Spike, “You coming?” she gestured to the empty spot on her back. “I’d rather not.” he said, then yawned as if on command, “iiiit’s been a long day, and to be honest, I’m getting a little creeped out by it all... would it be ok if I just stayed back here?” Twilight shrugged, “Sure, it’s probably nothing I can’t handle alone. Besides, almost all of those encounters with her were by ponies who were alone, so it might even help. I’ll try to be back around midnight if I don’t find anything.” She thought for a moment, “You know what though? Just to be safe, if I’m not back by sunraise, send a letter to Princess Celestia and have her send some guards, and see if you can get the townsfolk to come looking, alright?” She reached up to unlatch the window, pushing it open. “Uh... yeah...” Spike played with his claws nervously, “You’re sure it’s safe though?” “Yeah, I’ll be fine! Like I said, just in case, right?” The shadows of the pine trees crept like a wall of spears over the grassy cliffside, their dark points reaching towards the ocean, driving the last bits of light over the edge. Far below, another set of spears, these made of stone, reached out of the crashing waves. The grass rippled in the salted breeze as she touched down, the ground still warm from the afternoon sun beneath her hooves. She glanced at the treetops. The last rays of the sun were still breaking through from the mountaintop, but out at sea, the sky was starting to turn. She didn’t have long to wait. She knew there had to be something here. This was the epicenter, the place where the stories of the Mare in White were coming from, on top of being the place where the apparition had disappeared the previous night. And tonight, she would get an answer: if the ponies in town were correct, the Mare would appear again, beckoned forth by her inquiry, and she’d be here when that happened. She glanced around at the area while she still had light. The lush treeline loomed as it had over the town, though she wasn’t sure why it hadn’t grown into this one area. At first it occurred to her that something might have been done to keep it from overtaking the building, but she quickly dismissed the idea: the building had been abandoned centuries ago, and all upkeep along with it. That meant something had been keeping the brush back recently, who was cutting it back was something she hoped to discover. In the light, she could see that the old post was a bit larger than it had seemed. She could make out a circular mound of stone where the lighthouse must’ve collapsed in on itself, and the outline of a larger structure around the remaining stone foundation. She flipped through her memory, and vaguely recalled that this region had been of strategic importance in a war, but that conflict had been well over a thousand years ago: it was remarkable to think that anything at all might’ve survived that long, but then again, it was apparent where the wind and rain had taken its toll on the primitive masonry. The only walls that remained of the fort were those of this ruined bunker... This outcropping was beautiful though, perhaps even romantic. The grass was green, and shimmered in the pleasant breeze, which made its way to the lush, evergreen treeline. She turned and walked out towards the edge, and wondered if any of the soldiers at this post had taken the time to appreciate it. The sea looked beautiful from here, and as the light drained from the sky, it was as if the horizon was blurring away. It was the perfect view of the ocean, with the sound of waves crashing beneath her, almost making a music of their own. She looked over the edge of the cliff, studying it as the last rays of the sun lifted themselves from the errant clouds in the sky. Those jagged rocks still looked deadly, but were smooth polished, just like the cliff they’d fallen from, and the water made a glistening foam as it worked against them. In the fading light she could just make out an indentation. A dark area near the water’s surface, towering above the high-tide mark. A cave? She had been craning her head forward to see a bit better when up from the rocks she felt a cold wind rush over her, and she had to close her eyes as it chilled her to the very marrow of her bones, as if, for a few moments, she had been plunged into that black ocean. She shuddered, stepping back. It wasn't that cold a night: the ocean breeze had been pleasantly warm up to this point, and it still was, but somehow, that chill had taken hold, and was now stubborn to leave. She turned around, considering flying down to where the cave was, when something entirely new caught her eye. Where, when she'd last checked, there had been nothing but rubble, now, it was as if a structure had been conjured on the ancient foundation. A soft glow shown through the windows of the forgotten guard post, the light flickering a sickly blue, and a strange whistling of wind, reminiscent of music, could be heard wafting from within. “What in the world?” Twilight breathed, taken aback by the sudden sight. She hadn't felt an illusion being cast, but she couldn't think of any other way such a structure could simply appear in the brief time since she'd last looked. “Hello?” She called out, the slightest waver in her voice as she stepped towards it. “Is anypony there?” Only the ocean breeze responded. Curious, with calm, yet cautious hoofsteps, she approached the wide door. From beyond, she could make out an eerie shuffling noise, almost like that of hooves on dusty ground. Carefully, she planted her hooves on the steps, quietly climbing towards that door, reaching out with a trembling, yet determined hoof, towards the handle. “I'm coming in!” She called, though it felt as if she was speaking into the mouth of an empty cave, the feeling almost as if she should hear an echo. There was none, only the a natural sounds from within, crashing of the waves far below. Hoof on the handle now, she steeled herself. Something deep within her gut, perhaps an ancient instinct, told her she should go no further, that she should return to the inn, spend the rest of the night beneath the covers, and leave the next morning. Something told her to stop, but her insatiable need for answers bid her continue. She reached down within herself, to that core of logic: there was no such thing as ghosts, and they certainly didn’t make buildings appear out of thin air. Whatever was happening was only an illusion. She pressed her hoof down on the cold metal of the handle, feeling it slowly give, too perfectly, as if it were sliding on oil, the latch muffled as it came away. Silently, the door swung slowly open, the light of the Moon creeping across the floor. She felt a waft of air on her face, and it carried with it the smell of ice and ozone, like the calm hours after a thunderous blizzard. Around the room, strange ponylike figures danced and mingled, silhouettes of partygoers like shadows on the walls of reality. Around the room, ghostly blue flames hovered above the melted remains of black candles. Desiccated lavender bouquets hung around the small gathering room of the guard station. At the back of the room, on a raised dais, stood two figures in front of a marble statue of Celestia... One was tall and slender, perhaps a stallion, dressed in dark, ceremonial military garb, of which she barely recognized the style as being from a long bygone era. The other was a thin Mare, dressed In the Whitest, softest gown she had ever seen, like powdery snow that had just alighted on the ground. Twilight approached the couple, but above the sound of her hooves on the stone, she heard the wind make a sound which was almost deliberate, as if it were whispering a word... “...no...” Twilight continued forward, ears twitching. She wasn’t sure if she’d heard a word or not, but she could see that only one pony in this room looked like it was actually breathing, and that was the bride. “Not you... Not here...” Twilight glanced around as she continued on, her breath hanging like fog in the wintery air. She noticed, oddly, that the shadows weren’t coming from the candles, but from the bride, who seemed to glow, almost as if she was a beam of moonlight casting itself upon the room. “Get... Out...” The sound was like bones grating against the rock. Twilight's step slowed, and she noticed that the shadowy figures had come to a halt and were now staring at her, watching as she climbed the dias. Hesitantly, she took another step, closer, closer, closer to the couple, “I... I'm sorry to intrude, I'm just trying to understand...” “Get... Out...” The bride was heaving in her dress - Twilight could hear the wet hissing of her breath - her shoulders shuddering upwards and downwards like a branch shaking in the surf. “Please,” Twilight's voice was creaking, her hoof shaking in the air as it neared that gossamer gown, which she could now see was decaying, fraying around the edges into nothing, “I... I just want to know... I have to know...” The moment her hoof made contact, she felt a bitter cold, as of death, shoot up her leg, biting into her like a thousand needles before she lost all feeling in it. She gasped as she yanked it back, only to have it nearly torn from the socket as the dark bride grabbed it, her veil exploding in tatters as she turned swiftly on Twilight, who was momentarily frozen as she beheld the full sight of a face, pale white, rotting skin pulled over the bone like rags, seaweed and brine oozing from the empty sockets of her eyes which penetrated twilight as if her very soul was naked in the frigid wind, rotten seawater gushing from her carnivorous mouth as she let out a shriek like a thousand pieces of glass shredding through Twilight's body like it was made of paper. GET OUT !!! Twilight didn't even have time to think. Before she even realized her wings were pounding she was bursting through the door, which exploded in a white mist, like seafoam, as she barreled across half the length of the outcropping. She rolled against the ground, scrambling with flailing hooves as she tried to right herself. The pale bride yanked herself through the doorway as the whole structure collapsed like a wave along the rocks. Twilight could hear her gasping with rage, like tides rushing through the crags, her entire body lurching from side to side as her hooves dashed themselves against the ground. “Couldst not leave well alone, foolish child princess! Why dost thou perform this trespass?” Her voice boomed like thunder, brackish water spitting from between her wicked, thornlike teeth with every loathing word. Twilight shook on her hooves like a leaf in the howling wind. She took another step back, her hind Hoof slipping a little, the ground threatening to give way. She looked back, seeing of the sheer drop off of the cliff, through the darkness, down to the churning waves and thorny rocks below. She had no room left to retreat. “Please!” She called to the apparition, “I have to understand you!” “Pleases she can understand. Understand I? No. Never will you understand.” The Night Witch mocked, shambling ever closer, closer to Twilight’s fleeting zone of safety. “Please! I have to try!” Twilight cried, tears building in her eyes as she clutched against the perilous ground. “Try? She must try?? NO. SHE MUST DIE!!!” Twilight only had time to toss her hooves in front of her face as the Mare surged forward, slamming into her body, filling it with the cold of a deep-sea death and soaking her flesh in frigid salt water. Twilight was swept away, falling straight over the edge of the cliff. She shrieked as they tumbled through the rushing air, the Mare in White howling in her face as her ragged dress whipped around her, driving Twilight, down, down, through the darkness and despair, down to the vicious rocks below, down to where she knew her body would be speared straight through, her insides spewed into the ocean like the cargo of an exploded skiff. At the last moment, Twilight managed to break away, flapping her wings mightily, propelling herself away from the cliff, barely managing to miss the rocks as her attacker smashed against them, exploding into more seafoam. She felt droplets of seawater lash against her hide as she spun out above the churning see, struggling to right herself before she hit the turbulent water. The crests of the waves bit into her hide as they threatened to pull her under and make themselves her grave. Her every muscle burned and shivered, but she managed to pull herself away, circling back to a nearby cliff. She slammed into the edge, skidding to a halt against the treacherous ground, which threatened to let go again, abandoning her to slide back into those horrible waves. Desperately, she clawed her way up the cliff, fighting with the last of her strength until she finally found that safe haven. She fell upon the solid ground, the grass shoved up against her mouth as she panted, thirsty and starving for oxygen. She shook violently as her dripping body struggled to regain some semblance of normal temperature. She thought she might vomit, pass out, or perhaps simply die here, splayed upon the ground. One thought gave her comfort, one sliver of light within her, a moment of triumph that gave her the will to burn away the cold... SHE was REAL. Twilight had SEEN Her, and SHE WAS REAL. The Mare in White was REAL. Act 3“It's the find of the century!” Twilight trilled, “No, the millennium!!” “Yes, Twilight, I know, you've been saying that since you got back, now could you please get some rest? You know how you get when you don't sleep...” he looked fearfully down at her hooves which clopped loudly against the wooden floor as she paced back and forth in excitement. He hoped the innkeep’s family wasn't sleeping below them. “How can I sleep at a time like this?! Spike, do you know what this could mean?” “Uh... Is it that you should lie down and catch your breath?” “I already took a nap, after I got away.” “Yeah, you were kinda vague about that. Did you say she threw you off a cliff? Because that sounds kinda like she's trying to kill you.” “We don't know that for certain!” Twilight reached, “I mean, I do have wings after all. She could have just been trying to scare me off, or it could just be part some programmed behavior she has to follow! We're treading on some entirely new ground here Spike, there's no way to know exactly why she does anything.” She grinned, prancing a little in place. Spike frowned at her, “Maybe because she wants to be left alone?” “Or maybe because she's lonely, but she's afraid that nopony wants to be her friend.” “You want to befriend a violent ghost.” he deadpanned. “Why not? I am the princess of friendship, if anypony can make a friend with a ghost, it's gonna be me!” “Oohhohoho boy,” Spike clutched his temple, “This has gone way off the deep end.” “Don't worry Spike, I just need to go back and look at that Cliff again." “You mean the haunted cliff you just investigated. Twice.” “Yeah, but see, there's this cave, right beneath the cliff. I didn't have time to investigate it last night, but both times I saw her, she disappeared right by that cave. I think there might be something down there...” “Um, you mean you’re going into a cave with some crazy ghost pony who will probably try to kill you again?” “Not if I go in the next few minutes. Remember how she only appears at night? I'm going to go investigate it in the morning, when the sun's shining directly on it.” Spike groaned, “Alright, but I'm coming with you.” “I thought you were scared?” “I am scared. For you. Twilight, this is off the deep end. Somepony needs to make sure you don't do something stupid." he pointed a claw at her, then turned away a little, grumbling, "Well, stupider than what you're already doing...” Twilight rolled her eyes, but smirked, “That's my Spike, always looking out for me. Now come on, the sky's already getting light!” They watched the sun rise over the distant ocean, severing the world of water from the world of sky like a shining axe as Twilight flew along the cliffside, back to where the ruins of that forgotten lookout stood. This time, she didn't land in the grass. Instead, she circled around, dipping down below the cliff, rounding back towards the cave far below. Spike gritted his teeth, holding on tight and trying not to look down as the waves rushed up to meet them, and Twilight slipped between the points of the tallest crags. The rock wall loomed over them as they entered the eroded opening beneath it, slowing as they entered the cave, which, from the angle they could see it at now, looked like a great and terrible mouth, swallowing them as they passed its jagged teeth. They flew over the darkening water as it rose and fell, deep into the depths of the maw. Her hooves clacked against stone as she set down on the elevated area in the back. Behind them, the yellow light of the morning sun shined in, reflecting against the water. Twilight looked around in the cave with wide eyes and lowered jaw. “Woow... Spike, do you see the size of this place? This had to have been started by geology, there's no way it could've been made by erosion alone!” Spike glanced at the piles of torn seaweed and driftwood splinters which littered the ground around them, “uh... Yeah, that's the takeaway I have here.” “Come on Spike! Let's see what’s over this ridge. There might be an underground tidal pool in here...” Spike gulped as he followed her up the slope, walking to the crest of it, the ground still damp beneath his feet from the seawater which flooded this place at high tide. At the top, Twilight gasped, walking forward, down into the cave. But when Spike saw what had excited her, he nearly stopped dead in his tracks. Deeper in the cave was the body of water Twilight had expected, dark with the debris that had made it past the rise. In the center was an arrangement of tall, spearlike rocks, just like the ones outside. The bones of a pony, broken and eroded, as if dashed upon the rocks and left to rot centuries ago, were skewered atop the highest one, hung there with her jaw opened eternally in a lifeless moan of despair. Around her neck hung a simple pendant, the ancient chain somehow still holding on. It had probably been some kind of silver, from the look of it, but had long since turned black, and it was a wonder that the dark crescent that hung from it in the dim light was still fully intact. Twilight's eyes sparkled with wonder as she descended into the cold water, ignoring the clouds of dust which swirled around her legs as she waded in, transfixed on the macabre scene before her. “This...” Twilight said quietly, “This must be Her...” Spike walked closer to the water, staring beneath its surface with a furrowed brow, trying to make out what was down beneath the murk. Twilight didn’t notice, walking ever closer to the Mare’s remains, “Sweet Celestia... This has to be centuries old...” Spike’s leaned in closer as he began to make out the shape beneath the water, his eyes widening as he began to recognize it. “Uh... Twilight?” She was enraptured, “I’d have to run some tests to really date it, but it looks like a wave knocked it up there and preserved it for all these years...” “Twilight,” he looked up, horror dawning on his face, “You need to get out of that water.” “Just a minute Spike!” she called back, leaning in closer, “This is an incredible find!” “TWILIGHT!!” Spike shouted, stomping his foot, “LOOK AT WHAT YOU'RE STANDING IN!” Angrily, he reached down beneath the surface, barely managing to keep his head above the murky water as he grabbed the thing he'd seen beneath it, yanking it out and holding it in the air for Twilight to see. There, in his hand, was the withered skull of a pony, darkened and worn from centuries in the tidal pool. Twilight froze where she stood, the cold water licking against her barrel as she stared. She slowly turned her gaze downwards, suddenly becoming very aware of the strange texture of the ground beneath her hooves. She lit her horn, weaving a very simple spell, and a light grew from it, surrounding her and entering the water, pushing back the swirling clouds of dust in the water, revealing to her the awful floor she stood on. There had to have been dozens of bodies here, all mangled and crushed, their mouths hung open in despair. Some of them still had their flesh, clinging gently to them like torn cloth, others were little more than a pile of darkened bones. A thousand years of death... ...A thousand years of corpses. “Ohh... Aah... I need to get out of this water...” she whimpered, realizing just what all this brown dust, which smelled a bit of copper and brine, must actually be. She started moving slow, but quickened her pace, splashing a little as she tried not to retch on the way out. Something caught her leg. She let out a shriek as she fell forward, her whole body coming crashing down into the vile water of the tidal pool. She felt something wrap around her neck, trying to hold her under, and shoved upwards with all of her might against it. She felt a sickening crunch beneath her hoof as her head broke the surface and she gasped for breath, now scrambling in a near panic to get the out of the pit. She threw herself forward, brown muck dribbling from her fur as she ran from the water, stopping to look back only when she’d made it back to the top of the mound, shivering from cold and shuddering from the ooze which clung to her body. Behind her, she saw a few rotting hooves slide weakly back beneath the surface, the pool now rippling and bubbling as she felt a tremor move through the floor, as if they were standing upon a the chest of a giant whose breathing had become labored. All around them, they were hearing the echoing sound of cracking, like the bow of a ship being torn apart. A heavy gust rushed into the cave, blasting all semblance of warmth from them and robbing them of breath, as if winter’s chill had already come and was now baring down upon them like a tidal wave. “T-Twilight! We’ve gotta get outta here!” Spike was on all fours now, scrambling about on the ground in a blind panic as the entire cave began to shudder and tremble around them. Twilight didn’t need to be told the first time, “Right! This wa-” Anything else they might’ve said was cut off as the cave ceiling gave way, a heap of stone crashing down upon them... . . . . . . ...Twilight gasped, eyes darting about. She knew it couldn't've been that long, because sunlight was still flowing through the mouth of the cave. She felt something hard digging into her hindquarters, and her whole body felt like it had been through a blender. She groaned as she reached around her, pushing with all her might to lift the rock from her legs, slipping out and scrambling out of the way before it came back down. She fell to her chest again, letting out a few yelps of pain, her legs too broken to hold her. She looked back at her hindlegs: one of them was twisted and bloody, the hoof split open. It reminded her of the inkeep’s leg. He'd told her not to come out here, he'd told her not to follow the Mare’s tale into the woods, and yet here she was, in a dark cave, crippled and alone. But she wasn't alone. “Spike!” She called out, her voice ragged. She rolled her body a little, trying to move without disturbing the bag of shattered bones her flesh had become. There, pinned between two giant rocks, she saw the top half of Spike's body hanging limply from the debris where his lower half had been pinned. “SPIKE!” she screamed, scrambling to get over to him. She cried out in agony as useless sparks oozed from the bleeding cracks in her horn, every movement causing her wings to twitch, the shattered bones scraping loosely against each other. Exhaustion fighting her every time she lifted her hooves, she dragged her way across the rock, bringing herself to his side, pressing her hoof against his neck. He had a weak pulse and only the shallowest of breathing, a good sign... ...Except she was lying in something wet and sticky. She lifted her trembling hoof, looking down to see it painted red. Beneath her was a puddle of blood and seawater, a cloud of dark red radiating out from between the rocks. That pulse wasn't going to last much longer. “No... Noo... Spike, I’m so sorry,” she began to whimper, leaning her head against his, “This is all my fault... I should’ve never brought you here... I should’ve just left this whole damn place alone!” She closed her eyes, openly weeping at the end before her. From the back of the cave, she heard a mocking cackle, like the crunching of bones in the rolling surf. “She cries, she cries, but nopony can hear.” Twilight’s eyes widened, and she let out another sob as she felt a weight of stone bear down in the pit of her stomach. She let out, not a wail, but a whimper of despair as, from the pool, the Mare in White rose to approach her. “Weep not Child Princess. You looked, you found, and now you will share my grave.” “Please... Please...” she tried to beg through the tremors. “Please, please, sniveling child, what would you please of I?” “Please... Don’t hurt him..” The Mare was silent. “I don’t care what you do to me, just, please, at least let me save him...” The Mare spoke again, no longer in anger, but in a sputter of confusion, “Why? Why should I spare your little pet? Why would you beg me for his life and no not your own?” “Because I love him!” The Mare paused, staring down at her. “I know it’s not normal, I know ponies aren’t supposed to care for dragons, but I love him! He’s the brightest light in my life, I just... He’s like a child to me, and I can’t think of how I’d go on living if I lost him...” she sniveled and whimpered, burying her face in her hooves as the end came near, “I know you probably don’t understand, but...” She stopped, a hoof laid gently on her chin. She opened her eyes, as her gaze was lifted. Above her stood, not the terrifying banshee she wished she’d never found, but a normal pony, a pale, snow white mare, wearing what looked like a wedding gown, softly glowing, as if illuminated only by moonlight, transparent, as if she was half-faded from the world. Those eyes, empty of life, stared sorrowfully down at her, and she spoke in a voice like a gentle breeze, far from the crunching screech she’d had earlier. “Child... I understand far more than you could ever imagine...” A deep and soothing cold slid gently through Twilight’s bones as she felt her consciousness slipping away. The last thing her eyes made out was the glowing visage of the Mare in White... Author's Note And now, my dear reader, we reach the end of our grim tale. Before I reveal to you the final details of the epilogue, I have one question, a puzzle for you to answer in the comments... Who was The Mare in White? Epilogue (revised)A soft light shone through the thin white curtains, the ocean breeze and the sound of the Manehattan traffic wafting gently in. A vase of lavenders rested on a table beside it, a get-well-soon card from Canterlot signed by six ponies back in Ponyville attached. The calendar told her it was the next day... Twilight groaned, turning in the hospital bed. Her wings felt like a sack of rocks inside the casts, and her entire body was more than sore otherwise. She heard a stirring next to her, and carefully turned her bandaged head to look. An alabaster mare with a shimmering mane had been sitting on a pillow nearby. She set her book aside, her broad wings shuffling at her sides as she stood, the sun glinting off the golden crown which sat behind her horn. “Twilight...” Princess Celestia said, a small half-smile forming on her face, “You gave us all quite the scare back there.” she set her hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Princess Celestia...” She squirmed a bit, grunting against the pain, “Spike! Where’s Spike! Is he ok?” “Spike’s fine.” Celestia gently pushed her back down, “He’s resting in the other room... The two of you will be coming back to Canterlot with me on the next train.” “The Mare in White... I saw her... She was real...” Celestia nodded sadly, “I had suspected as much. You see, I’d never been able to find her. I knew her madness was dangerous, but I thought that, perhaps, you might draw her out. That was why I didn’t tell you about her. I wanted you to investigate with an open mind.” She sighed, sitting down on her haunches next to the bed, laying a hoof over the foreleg of her former student, “Obviously, despite my age, my judgement can still be poor, and I am sorry for that.” Twilight looked away, not sure how to respond. Finally, she asked the question which pressed most on her mind, “Who was she? When she was alive, I mean?” Princess Celestia sighed, a deep pain, centuries old, weighing down on her as she closed her eyes. “She was... She is... One of my greatest regrets.” Strong hooves touched down softly against the grass, a cloaked figure tucking its wings, glancing over the edge, taking a moment to look out over the ocean view. The moon sparkled against the ocean like a second set of stars, as if there was no horizon, and heaven and earth had become one. Slowly, the tall and slender pony turned away, stepping towards the ruin of a familiar place. It had once been a major guard post, flaunted as an essential tactical asset during some now-irrelevant war, fought by ponies even she couldn’t quite remember, and had become completely disused over centuries, lying now as little more than rubble, a fraction of what it used to be. A hoof came up to push the hood back as the pony surveyed the ruin. One might have thought her a stallion, from her muscled build and the near hulking sway of her shoulders, if not for the soft features of her face, impervious to time, hardened only by loss. Tenderly, she climbed the steps, treating the pile of rubble with the reverence of a sacred shrine to something long forgotten, placing a hoof against the stone where a grand door once stood. Now, even the metal of it had rusted away to dust and been lost to that calm, ocean breeze. Her nostrils flared as she took in a breath, allowing the smell of salt and sand churning far below to wash through her as she stood lost in ancient memories. Behind her, she felt a stirring. She turned and saw Her... The Mare in White. She looked at her without fear, without anger, or even wonder, and when she spoke, the only tremor in her voice was the ache of melancholy... “I... heardst thou might be here.” “I never left.” “This I can see.” “I waited for you.” The visitor paused, closing her eyes. “...I know.” “I was expelled from the guard as soon as you were gone.” “I know.” “They called me ‘The Night Witch’. They accused me of murdering foals and consuming their flesh.” “I... Read the stories.” “They tried to kill me... but, as you said, you know.” The living mare stood silently, looking down at the echo of the one who was gone. “When I ran, they chased me. Everywhere I tried to hide, I was soon found out. They made me live as if I were a ghost, with no place I could truly live, no shelter for my so called sins.” ... The Mare put her icy hoof against the worn stone. “This was the last place I came to, the only safe place I could think of. Our old secret...” “Our secret...” the visitor smiled bitterly, “A funny way to describe your former post... Then again, you were the only caretaker to truly appreciate its beauty.” “But, in time, the loneliness became too great for me to bare. After all, we were the only ponies to come here, in the end, weren’t we, Princess?” “I suppose so.“ “It gave me time to brood, just... angry... hating... wallowing in my despair...” she stated, “but other times, I imagined what could’ve been. What would’ve been in a world where our love wasn’t looked down upon, a world where I could have you, a world where you were still here.” The living mare closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, finding the air cold and crisp, like that of a calm winter’s day. “I remembered our secret liaison here, when we were wed. The lavenders you hung were beautiful under the light of your moon, as were the candles I lit. You were wearing that uniform you were so proud in, I was wearing a beautiful white dress. We spoke our vows with the sea at our backs, the lonely guard house our only witness. You held me, and I held you, and in that kiss, I thought we shared a love that would never be broken.” The Princess opened her eyes, looking down at her with woe, reaching out to touch her face with a stilled hoof. The Mare turned away before she could, stepping slowly down the stairs, heading towards the cliff, “And when the memory was not enough, I imagined what it would have been like if our love hadn’t been so taboo. If you were not a princess, and I were not your guard, if ponies like us... If the love between mares was not looked down upon as it was. I imagined your sister was there in pony,” her voice cracked ever so slightly, a final pang of bitterness, “As if she could ever approve of what we had. I imagined my whole family was there, not in shame for their wayward daughter, but in joy for our matrimony.” The Princess only stared, having stopped a few paces short of her, following her gaze out to the ocean. “And when I couldn’t take it anymore, couldn’t live with it...” the Mare stared coldly over the edge, giving a gentle shrug of defeat, “I just wanted that view, our view, to be the last thing I ever saw, and that memory of that ending which never was, to be the last I ever remembered...” “I’m sorry...” The Princess grit her teeth, holding back tears, “I’m so sorry, my dear sweet Serenity...” “What’s done is done.” the echo of Serenity stated solemnly, “I stood for something that could never be, and this is where I Fell.” The princess stepped beside her, staring out over the jagged rocks below. “After that... I was but a force of nature.” she finished, “A lingering rage, left to wander these woods in agony, haunted by my own despair until the day one who was pure heart could lay me to rest.” Her lover draped a wing over her withers, as if unsure what she might do to make up for so much time lost with the shadow of her former love. They stood there for a moment, but there was no warmth, for all warmth had left the Mare far too long ago to ever be regained. “The sun will be rising soon.” She finally said, “I think I should like to watch it with you... One last time.” “...I... Suppose it was wishful thinking, to believe I might be able to bring some part of you back...” The Mare shook her head, “Who I was died long ago. My anger, my loss, my heartache... Pain was all that remained of what I was.” she glanced upwards, “And now that the pain is gone, all that’s left is a fading memory.” “It is... A bittersweet one.” the princess responded. The Mare nodded, “It is one that, I’m sure, you will keep forever. In truth, I was never really Serenity, only the wave left behind by her grief, simply overtaking whatever tried to swim in front of me, without care or even consciousness of what they were, until, finally I found a shore soft enough to break upon.” she glanced up at the Princess, “That mare, the one with the dragon... what was her name?” “Twilight Sparkle.” the Princess responded. “I see...” the Mare said thoughtfully. “Her heart is quite pure.” “Indeed.” she nodded, “This is by no means the first time she has helped me, and it will likely not be the last.” “...Do you have feelings for her?” The princess hesitated, “Perhaps... Though, most of them lie in the awful things she has delivered me from...” she closed her eyes, “Her soul is the more beautiful than any I have ever known. As old as I am, I know not what I should do...” “You should cherish her.” the Mare quietly advised, “Let my fate be a reminder that, no matter how you choose to act, you should cherish her for the wonder that she is.” They gazed out at the moonlit sea, the stars shimmering, as if they were eyes and tears were forming within them. They hung like the condemned, so far above the endless expanse of dark waves that none could touch them, stretching beyond that horizon where the worlds of water and sky were melded into one. In their imaginations, they searched for a place, far beyond there, where they would ever find the happiness they had once had when their bodies had intertwined and their hearts had been one. None could be found. There were only the fleeting moments of the now... Soon, the top sliver of the sun appeared, shimmering overtop the clear blue horizon, splitting sky and sea. Serenity took a deep breath as her pale form shimmered in the sunlight, and for a brief moment, the blue color of her coat seemed to return, her eyes sparkling a green as deep as the forest behind them, as if, for an instant she were alive once more. Her lover looked down at her, staring deep, knowing this moment would be the last she ever saw of her. She leaned forward, murmuring the words her ancient heart lent her, “Thou art more beautiful than life itself, my love.” The Mare looked up into her eyes, her own sparkling like gems as they were lost in each other, “Thou art an angel, a miracle of beauty in the darkness of night.” Their lips met, the warmth of life pressing against the cold of death, as they shared their final kiss, in a moment that tried in vain to make up for a millennia of separation... A thousand years of death... ...A thousand years of loneliness. The Princess let go, eyes still closed, uttering forth a promise in barely a whisper, “For as long as I live, should it be an eternity, I swear, I shall never forget you.” She opened her eyes, and found herself alone, standing in the first warmth of the morning sun, the only sound in the silence that calming rushing of the waves against the rocks below. Serenity was at rest. Her long lost love was finally departed. Luna laid her head down on that grassy ground... ...and she wept. THE END Author's Note Revised 5th of May, 2019, because Zach was doing his reading, and I wasn't happy with the original. Epilogue (original)Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.PrologueDear Princess Celestia I hope this letter finds you well. Spike and I are currently on the train from Manehattan, and will soon arrive in the remote seaside town of Serenity Falls. This will be my final destination in my ongoing study of so called “hauntings”, which, so far, has uncovered no evidence that any are real. Once this is over, I will have recorded fifty four of the Equestria's supposed “hauntings”, each of them has been proven to be myth or deception. My report will detail my various investigations of each supposed incidence of the supernatural, as well as the methods which I have developed to debunk these cases. My Hope Is that others will be able to use this, along with logic and reason, in further inquiries into the subject, and perhaps someday, we can prove, once and for all, that there is no such thing as ghosts. Oddly enough, I find this last leg of my journey to be a bit melancholy, despite what I'm seeing out this train’s window. The seaside of Northeast Equestria is truly a beautiful place to watch the seasons turn. However, I cannot seem to put down the fact that, once I am done here, my travels will be over, and I will have found nothing. Part of me wishes I would find something, just this once, just to keep the mystery alive... In any case, the train will be arriving soon. Expect another letter in 3 days, when I plan to depart and head back to Ponyville. With love, Princess Twilight Sparkle My Dearest Twilight Sparkle, Be very, very, careful what you wish for. Remember: those who stare into the abyss will inevitably find it staring back... With love, Princess Celestia.
Act 1A warm ocean breeze blew across her face, lifting her hair as she stepped from the traincar and into the calm autumn air of the seaside town’s edge. A road led from the station to the market, unpaved, and she could see the divots where the wheels of the town’s single delivery cart would be pulled back once they were done unloading the cargo from that section of the train. “Come on Spike,” she gave a nod, glancing back to where he was carefully stepping over the gap and onto the platform, “The inn isn’t far from here...” They walked down from the simple platform, and began down that road, alone. They’d been the only passengers coming out this far, and had spent the last stretch alone. This station was new, and the track to it had only been laid a few years back. The route had been established with the idea that, eventually, this area could be a shortcut to the Griffon lands, now that trade was expected to pick up. Behind them, the train gave a chugging hiss, and began to pull backwards, down towards the rest of civilization, not to return for a few days. This was the end of the line, a relatively remote region of Equestria, and the next train wouldn't be in for several days. The nearest major city was Manhattan, and the train ride from there had lasted several hours. “You think the inn will have lunch?” Spike piped up from beside her, “It’s getting close to noon, and we didn’t eat a good breakfast.” Twilight shook her head, “I don’t know. When I checked, it was the only inn in town, and didn’t seem to have too many rooms. They don’t always have food service in towns like this: it’s not exactly a tourist destination. The ocean view is lovely, but the cliffs make swimming impossible, and they’re pretty far from being hooked up to any sort of utilities. You have to remember, there’s nothing but logging for miles out here, Serenity Falls is just the largest town in the area that happened to be near the planned route...” “About that,” Spike shifted the straps of his backpack, “why do they call it ‘Serenity Falls’ anyway? I checked the map, and there isn't even a river going through here, and it’s not low enough compared to the Inland areas that there ever could have been...” “I think it's more abstract, like, ‘Serenity Falls on the town’. You're right though, it is a bit odd. You'd think they'd name it something like ‘Serenity Peaks’ or ‘Serenity Woods’.” “Or maybe there was a pony who fell off the cliff a long time ago.” he offered, “Serenity isn’t that strange for a pony name...” Twilight furrowed her brow, then shook her head, “I don’t think so. Towns are named after the area they’re in, the ponies who found them, or some major event. I can’t think of any town named after a tragedy like that... You might be right about that second part though. This place is so old, I doubt they have a record, but who knows? Maybe we’ll find out while we’re poking around...” The owner of the Ocean Lookout Inn was a head shorter than Twilight, but made up for it with his portly stature. She wondered if that had to do with the limp in his hindleg, which seemed a bit twisted above his wooden hoof. The building itself only had a few rooms, and a large window in the back looked out through the buildings towards the sea. From the second floor balcony, one could see the entire cliffside... “The ah, letter didn’t mention that the guest we were to expect would be a princess...” “I didn’t feel it was necessary.” she tried to sound friendly, “Whatever accomodations you’ve prepared should be enough.” “Ah, yes, well, even our best room wasn’t really intended for, ah, royalty, your highness. I ah, do hope you find it comfortable...” She gave him a smile, “Don’t worry. I may have grown up in Canterlot, but I’m used to some pretty mundane spaces.” she reached out to take the key. The innkeep held it up, but glanced past her, looking at Spike, who was looking out the window at the ocean in the distance. “And will your, ah, pet be staying in the room as well?” Twilight’s brow furrowed slightly, “He’s not my pet.” The innkeep seemed a bit confused, “Ah... Servant?” “No.” she withheld the annoyance from her voice, “He’s my assistant, and a very close friend. Really, he’s like family to me.” “I... see...?” the pony offered weakly, giving a forced smile, not wanting to offend a princess. Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes. This sort of thing was common in these backwoods parts of Equestria. The most they’d ever seen or heard of other creatures tended to be stories from afar, mostly fictional, mostly depicting ponies as civilized heroes and other creatures as brutes and villains. She felt a bit guilty to be spending so much time on such a personal project when speciesism and xenophobia were still so prevalent. She’d have to look into doing something about that once she was finished with this. She took the key and pushed a few bits forward, “Thank you for the room, sir. Might I be able to have some lunch sent up while we settle in?” “Ah,” he hesitated for a moment, “Yes. I do believe I could have something made, ah, Princess. I must warn you though, we ah, don’t have much more than oat soup prepared at the moment...” “That’s fine, we’re not picky eaters. It’s just been a long morning, and we could really use a warm meal before we head back out...” she tilted her head, “Say, you wouldn’t happen to know about any... strange occurrences in this town, would you?” “Ah... Strange how?” “I came here to investigate reports of some sort of... supernatural apparition?” His injured hind leg twitched at the notion, “You're, ah... Looking for the mare?” “Yes.” her smile widened, “I’m here to investigate the Mare in White.” He stepped back from the counter ever so slightly at the mention of her name, his voice lowering to a hush “You aren't likely to find her... She only shows herself to ponies when she wants to.” “Have you seen her?” “...once... when I was young, and foolish... And I don't ever want to see her again.” The rest of the day was uneventful. They’d seen the sights of the town, what few there were. In a town of well under a thousand ponies, they was only one place to buy most things, and certainly not much in the way of entertainment. This town wasn't a tourist destination, and even though, as she'd said, the railroad was supposed to cause an expansion, that wasn't happening here. It was as if the town had been frozen at its current size. A surprising few were interested in telling her about the Mare in White, and even then, they only spoke frightfully, as if even speaking of her might bring some wrath upon them. Some of them had outright told her she should stop looking. Spike had rolled his eyes at the notion, “Twilight? Stop? Yeah, as if that would ever happen.” Twilight became increasingly frustrated as the afternoon dragged on. She couldn't fathom this: everypony in town seemed to agree that the Mare was real, but none of them seemed the least bit curious about who she was, or where she'd come from. A few had mentioned that she was some sort of ancient demon or “witch”. She’d pieced together that local folklore spoke of her dragging off foals in the night to feast upon them in her lair, or something like that. Even the town records hadn't been any use: only four mentions of the Mare in them, all off-hoot, the earliest one dating back to the beginning of the recording, a little over two hundred years ago. The town had existed for quite some time before that: ponies had been settling this region since before the princesses first came to power. They had returned to the hotel, empty hooved, and eaten their dinner in quiet before retiring to their room. Twilight might’ve otherwise gone back out, but after a day without any excited stories or grandiose claims or even ponies trying to sell her a “ghost tour”, she didn’t feel up to more disappointment. “I don't get it Spike, in every other town, there were ponies rushing to capitalize on the ‘tourists’ looking for the ‘spoooky ghost’, but here, it's like they don't want anything to do with it.” “Maybe it's a group of criminals, trying to hide some sort of smuggling ring, and they don't want them bringing ponies around to look at where they work.” “But that doesn't make any sense! A supposed haunting is bound to bring somepony around to look at it, and even then, what could possibly be out here? We're too far from anything else for it to be on any smuggling routes, and any infrastructure out here would stick out like a sore hoof...” She stepped over to the window, her hooves clacking against the faded wooden floor of their room. This town didn't even have a nice hotel, it seemed nopony even cared about this supposed “ghost”, despite multiple ponies claiming to have seen it. It was as if she was the only pony who cared to look into the so-called “Mare in White”. She sighed as she placed her hooves against the window and looked out over the treeline, wondering if being here was even worth it, or if she should just give up on it and enjoy the seaside... And that's when she saw Her. There, amid the trunks of the great pine trees, a white figure, glowing pale in the night, as if made of moonbeam, white rags swirling around her, staring at her with empty white eyes... Twilight scrambled with her hooves on the latch, jumping forward and bursting out the window, flapping her wings hard as Spike gave a yelp behind her. She dove downward to pick up momentum and rushed for the woods, flying as fast as she could, but the figure seemed to retreat just as fast, gliding gently backwards between the pines. “H-Hey!!” Twilight called over the rush of air, “Hey!! Get back here!” But the Mare was silent, staring back at her with those empty eyes, shining like pale lanterns through the trees, rags rippling in the wind. “Please!” Twilight called out, “I just want to talk to you! Please come back!!” The Mare either didn’t hear her, or didn’t care, sliding backwards, stiff, as if she were some sort of weightless corpse being pulled by an invisible wire. Just ahead, she suddenly dropped out of view... Twilight burst through the treeline, coming out on an empty cliff. “...What?” she scoffed, glancing around... She couldn’t see for the life of her where the pony had gone. She walked to the edge of the cliff, glancing down. Far below her, the waves crashed loud against jagged rocks. Nothing. Turning and glancing up and down at the treeline, she saw the ruin of what looked like an old building of some sort, perhaps once a lighthouse or a guard post, only a single wall remaining, the windows long since turned to powder, and the lunar symbols engraved on the tidal chart were long since faded. There wasn’t a place for a pony to hide there, only rubble. She’d lost the trail. “Damnit!” she stomped a hoof. Then, with an angry toss of her head, she spread her wings, flying back towards the inn. Within minutes, she slipped back in through the still-open window, setting down on the wooden floor with a huff of annoyance. “What the hay was that all about?” Spike asked. “Nothing, apparently.” she scowled, “Just... saw something weird.” “Was it her?” his eyes widened, “Was it The Mare in White?” Twilight rolled her eyes, “It was probably a group of locals trying to spook us.” She glanced over at the cozy looking bed the inkeep had set up for her, “Come on, let’s just get some sleep. We have a bit more investigation to do tomorrow...”
Act 2The next morning saw Twilight putting a more solid plan into place. Sure, she didn’t have the general knowledge that she was hoping to go into this with, but she had a list of ponies to ask for details, and once she’d bought a recent and accurate map of the area, she was ready to begin her intensive study. She asked pony after pony about their experiences with the Mare in White, numbering each location on the map as Spike made notes as to the time and circumstances of every one of them. To say getting these details was an uphill process might’ve been an understatement: she’d had to use her leverage as princess just to get some of the townsponies to talk. Obviously, there’d been one or two who’d looked into her at some point, but they’d burned any notes they had, and were just as hesitant to speak about it. Supposedly the few the ponies who she hadn’t terrified enough had vanished on their excursions and been found washed up on the rocks, or crushed under a fallen tree. Even talking about her was enough, in the mind of the town, to bring about her ire. Twilight wasn’t about to be scared away by a few accidents attributed to an urban legend, but all throughout town, she was met with ponies telling her to turn back... “Princess, with all due respect, this really isn’t something you want to look into...” “Princess, please, just... take my word, you don’t want to follow this path...” “Don’t worry about Her. We do well enough leaving her alone.” “Stop asking about Her, it’s not safe.” “Stop looking. Go home.” Go home... Of course she wouldn’t go home! This was science! Science was her life! Besides, the Mare in White wasn’t real, the whole idea was preposterous: just an old mare’s take from sometime in the town’s history. Even if it was a spell by some ancient “Night Witch”, a spell like that couldn’t possibly last hundreds of years without its caster. Back at the Inn, Twilight spread her map out on the wall with a grin. Just as she’d predicted, all of the marks she’d made created a definite heat map. It was almost a perfect circle, which got more intense towards the center: the cliff from the night before. “I told you, Spike! All it needed was a little bit of research, and there it is: this is where the stories are coming from!” “I dunno Twilight,” Spike munched a potato he’d brought up from dinner with a furrowed brow, “didn’t you say there wasn’t anything there?” “I said there was a cliff and a ruin, and that I didn’t see anything worth looking into. That doesn’t mean I didn’t miss anything!” Spike shrugged, “Right, well, I guess you’re headed back there?” Twilight nodded, “Yep, and I’ve got just enough time before sundown.” she pointed a hoof at the list, “All of the encounters with her happened at night. If I leave now, I’ve got just enough time to watch the sunset from there.” She grinned, walking over to the window. She glanced back at Spike, “You coming?” she gestured to the empty spot on her back. “I’d rather not.” he said, then yawned as if on command, “iiiit’s been a long day, and to be honest, I’m getting a little creeped out by it all... would it be ok if I just stayed back here?” Twilight shrugged, “Sure, it’s probably nothing I can’t handle alone. Besides, almost all of those encounters with her were by ponies who were alone, so it might even help. I’ll try to be back around midnight if I don’t find anything.” She thought for a moment, “You know what though? Just to be safe, if I’m not back by sunraise, send a letter to Princess Celestia and have her send some guards, and see if you can get the townsfolk to come looking, alright?” She reached up to unlatch the window, pushing it open. “Uh... yeah...” Spike played with his claws nervously, “You’re sure it’s safe though?” “Yeah, I’ll be fine! Like I said, just in case, right?” The shadows of the pine trees crept like a wall of spears over the grassy cliffside, their dark points reaching towards the ocean, driving the last bits of light over the edge. Far below, another set of spears, these made of stone, reached out of the crashing waves. The grass rippled in the salted breeze as she touched down, the ground still warm from the afternoon sun beneath her hooves. She glanced at the treetops. The last rays of the sun were still breaking through from the mountaintop, but out at sea, the sky was starting to turn. She didn’t have long to wait. She knew there had to be something here. This was the epicenter, the place where the stories of the Mare in White were coming from, on top of being the place where the apparition had disappeared the previous night. And tonight, she would get an answer: if the ponies in town were correct, the Mare would appear again, beckoned forth by her inquiry, and she’d be here when that happened. She glanced around at the area while she still had light. The lush treeline loomed as it had over the town, though she wasn’t sure why it hadn’t grown into this one area. At first it occurred to her that something might have been done to keep it from overtaking the building, but she quickly dismissed the idea: the building had been abandoned centuries ago, and all upkeep along with it. That meant something had been keeping the brush back recently, who was cutting it back was something she hoped to discover. In the light, she could see that the old post was a bit larger than it had seemed. She could make out a circular mound of stone where the lighthouse must’ve collapsed in on itself, and the outline of a larger structure around the remaining stone foundation. She flipped through her memory, and vaguely recalled that this region had been of strategic importance in a war, but that conflict had been well over a thousand years ago: it was remarkable to think that anything at all might’ve survived that long, but then again, it was apparent where the wind and rain had taken its toll on the primitive masonry. The only walls that remained of the fort were those of this ruined bunker... This outcropping was beautiful though, perhaps even romantic. The grass was green, and shimmered in the pleasant breeze, which made its way to the lush, evergreen treeline. She turned and walked out towards the edge, and wondered if any of the soldiers at this post had taken the time to appreciate it. The sea looked beautiful from here, and as the light drained from the sky, it was as if the horizon was blurring away. It was the perfect view of the ocean, with the sound of waves crashing beneath her, almost making a music of their own. She looked over the edge of the cliff, studying it as the last rays of the sun lifted themselves from the errant clouds in the sky. Those jagged rocks still looked deadly, but were smooth polished, just like the cliff they’d fallen from, and the water made a glistening foam as it worked against them. In the fading light she could just make out an indentation. A dark area near the water’s surface, towering above the high-tide mark. A cave? She had been craning her head forward to see a bit better when up from the rocks she felt a cold wind rush over her, and she had to close her eyes as it chilled her to the very marrow of her bones, as if, for a few moments, she had been plunged into that black ocean. She shuddered, stepping back. It wasn't that cold a night: the ocean breeze had been pleasantly warm up to this point, and it still was, but somehow, that chill had taken hold, and was now stubborn to leave. She turned around, considering flying down to where the cave was, when something entirely new caught her eye. Where, when she'd last checked, there had been nothing but rubble, now, it was as if a structure had been conjured on the ancient foundation. A soft glow shown through the windows of the forgotten guard post, the light flickering a sickly blue, and a strange whistling of wind, reminiscent of music, could be heard wafting from within. “What in the world?” Twilight breathed, taken aback by the sudden sight. She hadn't felt an illusion being cast, but she couldn't think of any other way such a structure could simply appear in the brief time since she'd last looked. “Hello?” She called out, the slightest waver in her voice as she stepped towards it. “Is anypony there?” Only the ocean breeze responded. Curious, with calm, yet cautious hoofsteps, she approached the wide door. From beyond, she could make out an eerie shuffling noise, almost like that of hooves on dusty ground. Carefully, she planted her hooves on the steps, quietly climbing towards that door, reaching out with a trembling, yet determined hoof, towards the handle. “I'm coming in!” She called, though it felt as if she was speaking into the mouth of an empty cave, the feeling almost as if she should hear an echo. There was none, only the a natural sounds from within, crashing of the waves far below. Hoof on the handle now, she steeled herself. Something deep within her gut, perhaps an ancient instinct, told her she should go no further, that she should return to the inn, spend the rest of the night beneath the covers, and leave the next morning. Something told her to stop, but her insatiable need for answers bid her continue. She reached down within herself, to that core of logic: there was no such thing as ghosts, and they certainly didn’t make buildings appear out of thin air. Whatever was happening was only an illusion. She pressed her hoof down on the cold metal of the handle, feeling it slowly give, too perfectly, as if it were sliding on oil, the latch muffled as it came away. Silently, the door swung slowly open, the light of the Moon creeping across the floor. She felt a waft of air on her face, and it carried with it the smell of ice and ozone, like the calm hours after a thunderous blizzard. Around the room, strange ponylike figures danced and mingled, silhouettes of partygoers like shadows on the walls of reality. Around the room, ghostly blue flames hovered above the melted remains of black candles. Desiccated lavender bouquets hung around the small gathering room of the guard station. At the back of the room, on a raised dais, stood two figures in front of a marble statue of Celestia... One was tall and slender, perhaps a stallion, dressed in dark, ceremonial military garb, of which she barely recognized the style as being from a long bygone era. The other was a thin Mare, dressed In the Whitest, softest gown she had ever seen, like powdery snow that had just alighted on the ground. Twilight approached the couple, but above the sound of her hooves on the stone, she heard the wind make a sound which was almost deliberate, as if it were whispering a word... “...no...” Twilight continued forward, ears twitching. She wasn’t sure if she’d heard a word or not, but she could see that only one pony in this room looked like it was actually breathing, and that was the bride. “Not you... Not here...” Twilight glanced around as she continued on, her breath hanging like fog in the wintery air. She noticed, oddly, that the shadows weren’t coming from the candles, but from the bride, who seemed to glow, almost as if she was a beam of moonlight casting itself upon the room. “Get... Out...” The sound was like bones grating against the rock. Twilight's step slowed, and she noticed that the shadowy figures had come to a halt and were now staring at her, watching as she climbed the dias. Hesitantly, she took another step, closer, closer, closer to the couple, “I... I'm sorry to intrude, I'm just trying to understand...” “Get... Out...” The bride was heaving in her dress - Twilight could hear the wet hissing of her breath - her shoulders shuddering upwards and downwards like a branch shaking in the surf. “Please,” Twilight's voice was creaking, her hoof shaking in the air as it neared that gossamer gown, which she could now see was decaying, fraying around the edges into nothing, “I... I just want to know... I have to know...” The moment her hoof made contact, she felt a bitter cold, as of death, shoot up her leg, biting into her like a thousand needles before she lost all feeling in it. She gasped as she yanked it back, only to have it nearly torn from the socket as the dark bride grabbed it, her veil exploding in tatters as she turned swiftly on Twilight, who was momentarily frozen as she beheld the full sight of a face, pale white, rotting skin pulled over the bone like rags, seaweed and brine oozing from the empty sockets of her eyes which penetrated twilight as if her very soul was naked in the frigid wind, rotten seawater gushing from her carnivorous mouth as she let out a shriek like a thousand pieces of glass shredding through Twilight's body like it was made of paper. GET OUT !!! Twilight didn't even have time to think. Before she even realized her wings were pounding she was bursting through the door, which exploded in a white mist, like seafoam, as she barreled across half the length of the outcropping. She rolled against the ground, scrambling with flailing hooves as she tried to right herself. The pale bride yanked herself through the doorway as the whole structure collapsed like a wave along the rocks. Twilight could hear her gasping with rage, like tides rushing through the crags, her entire body lurching from side to side as her hooves dashed themselves against the ground. “Couldst not leave well alone, foolish child princess! Why dost thou perform this trespass?” Her voice boomed like thunder, brackish water spitting from between her wicked, thornlike teeth with every loathing word. Twilight shook on her hooves like a leaf in the howling wind. She took another step back, her hind Hoof slipping a little, the ground threatening to give way. She looked back, seeing of the sheer drop off of the cliff, through the darkness, down to the churning waves and thorny rocks below. She had no room left to retreat. “Please!” She called to the apparition, “I have to understand you!” “Pleases she can understand. Understand I? No. Never will you understand.” The Night Witch mocked, shambling ever closer, closer to Twilight’s fleeting zone of safety. “Please! I have to try!” Twilight cried, tears building in her eyes as she clutched against the perilous ground. “Try? She must try?? NO. SHE MUST DIE!!!” Twilight only had time to toss her hooves in front of her face as the Mare surged forward, slamming into her body, filling it with the cold of a deep-sea death and soaking her flesh in frigid salt water. Twilight was swept away, falling straight over the edge of the cliff. She shrieked as they tumbled through the rushing air, the Mare in White howling in her face as her ragged dress whipped around her, driving Twilight, down, down, through the darkness and despair, down to the vicious rocks below, down to where she knew her body would be speared straight through, her insides spewed into the ocean like the cargo of an exploded skiff. At the last moment, Twilight managed to break away, flapping her wings mightily, propelling herself away from the cliff, barely managing to miss the rocks as her attacker smashed against them, exploding into more seafoam. She felt droplets of seawater lash against her hide as she spun out above the churning see, struggling to right herself before she hit the turbulent water. The crests of the waves bit into her hide as they threatened to pull her under and make themselves her grave. Her every muscle burned and shivered, but she managed to pull herself away, circling back to a nearby cliff. She slammed into the edge, skidding to a halt against the treacherous ground, which threatened to let go again, abandoning her to slide back into those horrible waves. Desperately, she clawed her way up the cliff, fighting with the last of her strength until she finally found that safe haven. She fell upon the solid ground, the grass shoved up against her mouth as she panted, thirsty and starving for oxygen. She shook violently as her dripping body struggled to regain some semblance of normal temperature. She thought she might vomit, pass out, or perhaps simply die here, splayed upon the ground. One thought gave her comfort, one sliver of light within her, a moment of triumph that gave her the will to burn away the cold... SHE was REAL. Twilight had SEEN Her, and SHE WAS REAL. The Mare in White was REAL.
Act 3“It's the find of the century!” Twilight trilled, “No, the millennium!!” “Yes, Twilight, I know, you've been saying that since you got back, now could you please get some rest? You know how you get when you don't sleep...” he looked fearfully down at her hooves which clopped loudly against the wooden floor as she paced back and forth in excitement. He hoped the innkeep’s family wasn't sleeping below them. “How can I sleep at a time like this?! Spike, do you know what this could mean?” “Uh... Is it that you should lie down and catch your breath?” “I already took a nap, after I got away.” “Yeah, you were kinda vague about that. Did you say she threw you off a cliff? Because that sounds kinda like she's trying to kill you.” “We don't know that for certain!” Twilight reached, “I mean, I do have wings after all. She could have just been trying to scare me off, or it could just be part some programmed behavior she has to follow! We're treading on some entirely new ground here Spike, there's no way to know exactly why she does anything.” She grinned, prancing a little in place. Spike frowned at her, “Maybe because she wants to be left alone?” “Or maybe because she's lonely, but she's afraid that nopony wants to be her friend.” “You want to befriend a violent ghost.” he deadpanned. “Why not? I am the princess of friendship, if anypony can make a friend with a ghost, it's gonna be me!” “Oohhohoho boy,” Spike clutched his temple, “This has gone way off the deep end.” “Don't worry Spike, I just need to go back and look at that Cliff again." “You mean the haunted cliff you just investigated. Twice.” “Yeah, but see, there's this cave, right beneath the cliff. I didn't have time to investigate it last night, but both times I saw her, she disappeared right by that cave. I think there might be something down there...” “Um, you mean you’re going into a cave with some crazy ghost pony who will probably try to kill you again?” “Not if I go in the next few minutes. Remember how she only appears at night? I'm going to go investigate it in the morning, when the sun's shining directly on it.” Spike groaned, “Alright, but I'm coming with you.” “I thought you were scared?” “I am scared. For you. Twilight, this is off the deep end. Somepony needs to make sure you don't do something stupid." he pointed a claw at her, then turned away a little, grumbling, "Well, stupider than what you're already doing...” Twilight rolled her eyes, but smirked, “That's my Spike, always looking out for me. Now come on, the sky's already getting light!” They watched the sun rise over the distant ocean, severing the world of water from the world of sky like a shining axe as Twilight flew along the cliffside, back to where the ruins of that forgotten lookout stood. This time, she didn't land in the grass. Instead, she circled around, dipping down below the cliff, rounding back towards the cave far below. Spike gritted his teeth, holding on tight and trying not to look down as the waves rushed up to meet them, and Twilight slipped between the points of the tallest crags. The rock wall loomed over them as they entered the eroded opening beneath it, slowing as they entered the cave, which, from the angle they could see it at now, looked like a great and terrible mouth, swallowing them as they passed its jagged teeth. They flew over the darkening water as it rose and fell, deep into the depths of the maw. Her hooves clacked against stone as she set down on the elevated area in the back. Behind them, the yellow light of the morning sun shined in, reflecting against the water. Twilight looked around in the cave with wide eyes and lowered jaw. “Woow... Spike, do you see the size of this place? This had to have been started by geology, there's no way it could've been made by erosion alone!” Spike glanced at the piles of torn seaweed and driftwood splinters which littered the ground around them, “uh... Yeah, that's the takeaway I have here.” “Come on Spike! Let's see what’s over this ridge. There might be an underground tidal pool in here...” Spike gulped as he followed her up the slope, walking to the crest of it, the ground still damp beneath his feet from the seawater which flooded this place at high tide. At the top, Twilight gasped, walking forward, down into the cave. But when Spike saw what had excited her, he nearly stopped dead in his tracks. Deeper in the cave was the body of water Twilight had expected, dark with the debris that had made it past the rise. In the center was an arrangement of tall, spearlike rocks, just like the ones outside. The bones of a pony, broken and eroded, as if dashed upon the rocks and left to rot centuries ago, were skewered atop the highest one, hung there with her jaw opened eternally in a lifeless moan of despair. Around her neck hung a simple pendant, the ancient chain somehow still holding on. It had probably been some kind of silver, from the look of it, but had long since turned black, and it was a wonder that the dark crescent that hung from it in the dim light was still fully intact. Twilight's eyes sparkled with wonder as she descended into the cold water, ignoring the clouds of dust which swirled around her legs as she waded in, transfixed on the macabre scene before her. “This...” Twilight said quietly, “This must be Her...” Spike walked closer to the water, staring beneath its surface with a furrowed brow, trying to make out what was down beneath the murk. Twilight didn’t notice, walking ever closer to the Mare’s remains, “Sweet Celestia... This has to be centuries old...” Spike’s leaned in closer as he began to make out the shape beneath the water, his eyes widening as he began to recognize it. “Uh... Twilight?” She was enraptured, “I’d have to run some tests to really date it, but it looks like a wave knocked it up there and preserved it for all these years...” “Twilight,” he looked up, horror dawning on his face, “You need to get out of that water.” “Just a minute Spike!” she called back, leaning in closer, “This is an incredible find!” “TWILIGHT!!” Spike shouted, stomping his foot, “LOOK AT WHAT YOU'RE STANDING IN!” Angrily, he reached down beneath the surface, barely managing to keep his head above the murky water as he grabbed the thing he'd seen beneath it, yanking it out and holding it in the air for Twilight to see. There, in his hand, was the withered skull of a pony, darkened and worn from centuries in the tidal pool. Twilight froze where she stood, the cold water licking against her barrel as she stared. She slowly turned her gaze downwards, suddenly becoming very aware of the strange texture of the ground beneath her hooves. She lit her horn, weaving a very simple spell, and a light grew from it, surrounding her and entering the water, pushing back the swirling clouds of dust in the water, revealing to her the awful floor she stood on. There had to have been dozens of bodies here, all mangled and crushed, their mouths hung open in despair. Some of them still had their flesh, clinging gently to them like torn cloth, others were little more than a pile of darkened bones. A thousand years of death... ...A thousand years of corpses. “Ohh... Aah... I need to get out of this water...” she whimpered, realizing just what all this brown dust, which smelled a bit of copper and brine, must actually be. She started moving slow, but quickened her pace, splashing a little as she tried not to retch on the way out. Something caught her leg. She let out a shriek as she fell forward, her whole body coming crashing down into the vile water of the tidal pool. She felt something wrap around her neck, trying to hold her under, and shoved upwards with all of her might against it. She felt a sickening crunch beneath her hoof as her head broke the surface and she gasped for breath, now scrambling in a near panic to get the out of the pit. She threw herself forward, brown muck dribbling from her fur as she ran from the water, stopping to look back only when she’d made it back to the top of the mound, shivering from cold and shuddering from the ooze which clung to her body. Behind her, she saw a few rotting hooves slide weakly back beneath the surface, the pool now rippling and bubbling as she felt a tremor move through the floor, as if they were standing upon a the chest of a giant whose breathing had become labored. All around them, they were hearing the echoing sound of cracking, like the bow of a ship being torn apart. A heavy gust rushed into the cave, blasting all semblance of warmth from them and robbing them of breath, as if winter’s chill had already come and was now baring down upon them like a tidal wave. “T-Twilight! We’ve gotta get outta here!” Spike was on all fours now, scrambling about on the ground in a blind panic as the entire cave began to shudder and tremble around them. Twilight didn’t need to be told the first time, “Right! This wa-” Anything else they might’ve said was cut off as the cave ceiling gave way, a heap of stone crashing down upon them... . . . . . . ...Twilight gasped, eyes darting about. She knew it couldn't've been that long, because sunlight was still flowing through the mouth of the cave. She felt something hard digging into her hindquarters, and her whole body felt like it had been through a blender. She groaned as she reached around her, pushing with all her might to lift the rock from her legs, slipping out and scrambling out of the way before it came back down. She fell to her chest again, letting out a few yelps of pain, her legs too broken to hold her. She looked back at her hindlegs: one of them was twisted and bloody, the hoof split open. It reminded her of the inkeep’s leg. He'd told her not to come out here, he'd told her not to follow the Mare’s tale into the woods, and yet here she was, in a dark cave, crippled and alone. But she wasn't alone. “Spike!” She called out, her voice ragged. She rolled her body a little, trying to move without disturbing the bag of shattered bones her flesh had become. There, pinned between two giant rocks, she saw the top half of Spike's body hanging limply from the debris where his lower half had been pinned. “SPIKE!” she screamed, scrambling to get over to him. She cried out in agony as useless sparks oozed from the bleeding cracks in her horn, every movement causing her wings to twitch, the shattered bones scraping loosely against each other. Exhaustion fighting her every time she lifted her hooves, she dragged her way across the rock, bringing herself to his side, pressing her hoof against his neck. He had a weak pulse and only the shallowest of breathing, a good sign... ...Except she was lying in something wet and sticky. She lifted her trembling hoof, looking down to see it painted red. Beneath her was a puddle of blood and seawater, a cloud of dark red radiating out from between the rocks. That pulse wasn't going to last much longer. “No... Noo... Spike, I’m so sorry,” she began to whimper, leaning her head against his, “This is all my fault... I should’ve never brought you here... I should’ve just left this whole damn place alone!” She closed her eyes, openly weeping at the end before her. From the back of the cave, she heard a mocking cackle, like the crunching of bones in the rolling surf. “She cries, she cries, but nopony can hear.” Twilight’s eyes widened, and she let out another sob as she felt a weight of stone bear down in the pit of her stomach. She let out, not a wail, but a whimper of despair as, from the pool, the Mare in White rose to approach her. “Weep not Child Princess. You looked, you found, and now you will share my grave.” “Please... Please...” she tried to beg through the tremors. “Please, please, sniveling child, what would you please of I?” “Please... Don’t hurt him..” The Mare was silent. “I don’t care what you do to me, just, please, at least let me save him...” The Mare spoke again, no longer in anger, but in a sputter of confusion, “Why? Why should I spare your little pet? Why would you beg me for his life and no not your own?” “Because I love him!” The Mare paused, staring down at her. “I know it’s not normal, I know ponies aren’t supposed to care for dragons, but I love him! He’s the brightest light in my life, I just... He’s like a child to me, and I can’t think of how I’d go on living if I lost him...” she sniveled and whimpered, burying her face in her hooves as the end came near, “I know you probably don’t understand, but...” She stopped, a hoof laid gently on her chin. She opened her eyes, as her gaze was lifted. Above her stood, not the terrifying banshee she wished she’d never found, but a normal pony, a pale, snow white mare, wearing what looked like a wedding gown, softly glowing, as if illuminated only by moonlight, transparent, as if she was half-faded from the world. Those eyes, empty of life, stared sorrowfully down at her, and she spoke in a voice like a gentle breeze, far from the crunching screech she’d had earlier. “Child... I understand far more than you could ever imagine...” A deep and soothing cold slid gently through Twilight’s bones as she felt her consciousness slipping away. The last thing her eyes made out was the glowing visage of the Mare in White... Author's Note And now, my dear reader, we reach the end of our grim tale. Before I reveal to you the final details of the epilogue, I have one question, a puzzle for you to answer in the comments... Who was The Mare in White?
Epilogue (revised)A soft light shone through the thin white curtains, the ocean breeze and the sound of the Manehattan traffic wafting gently in. A vase of lavenders rested on a table beside it, a get-well-soon card from Canterlot signed by six ponies back in Ponyville attached. The calendar told her it was the next day... Twilight groaned, turning in the hospital bed. Her wings felt like a sack of rocks inside the casts, and her entire body was more than sore otherwise. She heard a stirring next to her, and carefully turned her bandaged head to look. An alabaster mare with a shimmering mane had been sitting on a pillow nearby. She set her book aside, her broad wings shuffling at her sides as she stood, the sun glinting off the golden crown which sat behind her horn. “Twilight...” Princess Celestia said, a small half-smile forming on her face, “You gave us all quite the scare back there.” she set her hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Princess Celestia...” She squirmed a bit, grunting against the pain, “Spike! Where’s Spike! Is he ok?” “Spike’s fine.” Celestia gently pushed her back down, “He’s resting in the other room... The two of you will be coming back to Canterlot with me on the next train.” “The Mare in White... I saw her... She was real...” Celestia nodded sadly, “I had suspected as much. You see, I’d never been able to find her. I knew her madness was dangerous, but I thought that, perhaps, you might draw her out. That was why I didn’t tell you about her. I wanted you to investigate with an open mind.” She sighed, sitting down on her haunches next to the bed, laying a hoof over the foreleg of her former student, “Obviously, despite my age, my judgement can still be poor, and I am sorry for that.” Twilight looked away, not sure how to respond. Finally, she asked the question which pressed most on her mind, “Who was she? When she was alive, I mean?” Princess Celestia sighed, a deep pain, centuries old, weighing down on her as she closed her eyes. “She was... She is... One of my greatest regrets.” Strong hooves touched down softly against the grass, a cloaked figure tucking its wings, glancing over the edge, taking a moment to look out over the ocean view. The moon sparkled against the ocean like a second set of stars, as if there was no horizon, and heaven and earth had become one. Slowly, the tall and slender pony turned away, stepping towards the ruin of a familiar place. It had once been a major guard post, flaunted as an essential tactical asset during some now-irrelevant war, fought by ponies even she couldn’t quite remember, and had become completely disused over centuries, lying now as little more than rubble, a fraction of what it used to be. A hoof came up to push the hood back as the pony surveyed the ruin. One might have thought her a stallion, from her muscled build and the near hulking sway of her shoulders, if not for the soft features of her face, impervious to time, hardened only by loss. Tenderly, she climbed the steps, treating the pile of rubble with the reverence of a sacred shrine to something long forgotten, placing a hoof against the stone where a grand door once stood. Now, even the metal of it had rusted away to dust and been lost to that calm, ocean breeze. Her nostrils flared as she took in a breath, allowing the smell of salt and sand churning far below to wash through her as she stood lost in ancient memories. Behind her, she felt a stirring. She turned and saw Her... The Mare in White. She looked at her without fear, without anger, or even wonder, and when she spoke, the only tremor in her voice was the ache of melancholy... “I... heardst thou might be here.” “I never left.” “This I can see.” “I waited for you.” The visitor paused, closing her eyes. “...I know.” “I was expelled from the guard as soon as you were gone.” “I know.” “They called me ‘The Night Witch’. They accused me of murdering foals and consuming their flesh.” “I... Read the stories.” “They tried to kill me... but, as you said, you know.” The living mare stood silently, looking down at the echo of the one who was gone. “When I ran, they chased me. Everywhere I tried to hide, I was soon found out. They made me live as if I were a ghost, with no place I could truly live, no shelter for my so called sins.” ... The Mare put her icy hoof against the worn stone. “This was the last place I came to, the only safe place I could think of. Our old secret...” “Our secret...” the visitor smiled bitterly, “A funny way to describe your former post... Then again, you were the only caretaker to truly appreciate its beauty.” “But, in time, the loneliness became too great for me to bare. After all, we were the only ponies to come here, in the end, weren’t we, Princess?” “I suppose so.“ “It gave me time to brood, just... angry... hating... wallowing in my despair...” she stated, “but other times, I imagined what could’ve been. What would’ve been in a world where our love wasn’t looked down upon, a world where I could have you, a world where you were still here.” The living mare closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, finding the air cold and crisp, like that of a calm winter’s day. “I remembered our secret liaison here, when we were wed. The lavenders you hung were beautiful under the light of your moon, as were the candles I lit. You were wearing that uniform you were so proud in, I was wearing a beautiful white dress. We spoke our vows with the sea at our backs, the lonely guard house our only witness. You held me, and I held you, and in that kiss, I thought we shared a love that would never be broken.” The Princess opened her eyes, looking down at her with woe, reaching out to touch her face with a stilled hoof. The Mare turned away before she could, stepping slowly down the stairs, heading towards the cliff, “And when the memory was not enough, I imagined what it would have been like if our love hadn’t been so taboo. If you were not a princess, and I were not your guard, if ponies like us... If the love between mares was not looked down upon as it was. I imagined your sister was there in pony,” her voice cracked ever so slightly, a final pang of bitterness, “As if she could ever approve of what we had. I imagined my whole family was there, not in shame for their wayward daughter, but in joy for our matrimony.” The Princess only stared, having stopped a few paces short of her, following her gaze out to the ocean. “And when I couldn’t take it anymore, couldn’t live with it...” the Mare stared coldly over the edge, giving a gentle shrug of defeat, “I just wanted that view, our view, to be the last thing I ever saw, and that memory of that ending which never was, to be the last I ever remembered...” “I’m sorry...” The Princess grit her teeth, holding back tears, “I’m so sorry, my dear sweet Serenity...” “What’s done is done.” the echo of Serenity stated solemnly, “I stood for something that could never be, and this is where I Fell.” The princess stepped beside her, staring out over the jagged rocks below. “After that... I was but a force of nature.” she finished, “A lingering rage, left to wander these woods in agony, haunted by my own despair until the day one who was pure heart could lay me to rest.” Her lover draped a wing over her withers, as if unsure what she might do to make up for so much time lost with the shadow of her former love. They stood there for a moment, but there was no warmth, for all warmth had left the Mare far too long ago to ever be regained. “The sun will be rising soon.” She finally said, “I think I should like to watch it with you... One last time.” “...I... Suppose it was wishful thinking, to believe I might be able to bring some part of you back...” The Mare shook her head, “Who I was died long ago. My anger, my loss, my heartache... Pain was all that remained of what I was.” she glanced upwards, “And now that the pain is gone, all that’s left is a fading memory.” “It is... A bittersweet one.” the princess responded. The Mare nodded, “It is one that, I’m sure, you will keep forever. In truth, I was never really Serenity, only the wave left behind by her grief, simply overtaking whatever tried to swim in front of me, without care or even consciousness of what they were, until, finally I found a shore soft enough to break upon.” she glanced up at the Princess, “That mare, the one with the dragon... what was her name?” “Twilight Sparkle.” the Princess responded. “I see...” the Mare said thoughtfully. “Her heart is quite pure.” “Indeed.” she nodded, “This is by no means the first time she has helped me, and it will likely not be the last.” “...Do you have feelings for her?” The princess hesitated, “Perhaps... Though, most of them lie in the awful things she has delivered me from...” she closed her eyes, “Her soul is the more beautiful than any I have ever known. As old as I am, I know not what I should do...” “You should cherish her.” the Mare quietly advised, “Let my fate be a reminder that, no matter how you choose to act, you should cherish her for the wonder that she is.” They gazed out at the moonlit sea, the stars shimmering, as if they were eyes and tears were forming within them. They hung like the condemned, so far above the endless expanse of dark waves that none could touch them, stretching beyond that horizon where the worlds of water and sky were melded into one. In their imaginations, they searched for a place, far beyond there, where they would ever find the happiness they had once had when their bodies had intertwined and their hearts had been one. None could be found. There were only the fleeting moments of the now... Soon, the top sliver of the sun appeared, shimmering overtop the clear blue horizon, splitting sky and sea. Serenity took a deep breath as her pale form shimmered in the sunlight, and for a brief moment, the blue color of her coat seemed to return, her eyes sparkling a green as deep as the forest behind them, as if, for an instant she were alive once more. Her lover looked down at her, staring deep, knowing this moment would be the last she ever saw of her. She leaned forward, murmuring the words her ancient heart lent her, “Thou art more beautiful than life itself, my love.” The Mare looked up into her eyes, her own sparkling like gems as they were lost in each other, “Thou art an angel, a miracle of beauty in the darkness of night.” Their lips met, the warmth of life pressing against the cold of death, as they shared their final kiss, in a moment that tried in vain to make up for a millennia of separation... A thousand years of death... ...A thousand years of loneliness. The Princess let go, eyes still closed, uttering forth a promise in barely a whisper, “For as long as I live, should it be an eternity, I swear, I shall never forget you.” She opened her eyes, and found herself alone, standing in the first warmth of the morning sun, the only sound in the silence that calming rushing of the waves against the rocks below. Serenity was at rest. Her long lost love was finally departed. Luna laid her head down on that grassy ground... ...and she wept. THE END Author's Note Revised 5th of May, 2019, because Zach was doing his reading, and I wasn't happy with the original.
PrologueDear Princess Celestia I hope this letter finds you well. Spike and I are currently on the train from Manehattan, and will soon arrive in the remote seaside town of Serenity Falls. This will be my final destination in my ongoing study of so called “hauntings”, which, so far, has uncovered no evidence that any are real. Once this is over, I will have recorded fifty four of the Equestria's supposed “hauntings”, each of them has been proven to be myth or deception. My report will detail my various investigations of each supposed incidence of the supernatural, as well as the methods which I have developed to debunk these cases. My Hope Is that others will be able to use this, along with logic and reason, in further inquiries into the subject, and perhaps someday, we can prove, once and for all, that there is no such thing as ghosts. Oddly enough, I find this last leg of my journey to be a bit melancholy, despite what I'm seeing out this train’s window. The seaside of Northeast Equestria is truly a beautiful place to watch the seasons turn. However, I cannot seem to put down the fact that, once I am done here, my travels will be over, and I will have found nothing. Part of me wishes I would find something, just this once, just to keep the mystery alive... In any case, the train will be arriving soon. Expect another letter in 3 days, when I plan to depart and head back to Ponyville. With love, Princess Twilight Sparkle My Dearest Twilight Sparkle, Be very, very, careful what you wish for. Remember: those who stare into the abyss will inevitably find it staring back... With love, Princess Celestia.
