An Aluring Twilight

"... And I've been living here in the Everfree Forest ever since," Willow finished, as her eyes came back to reality from her memories with a sad sigh.

Twilight blinked. That was not what she had been expecting to hear. She couldn't even make sense of it all. What kind of creature could do something like that? And were there more of them out there? Was this something she needed to worry about as well? This was the same spot after all.

One question though lept to the front of her mind. "When did all of this happen? I don't ever remember seeing you in Ponyville? Or anypony talking about you either. Not even my friend Pinkie Pie, and she knows everypony.

Willow tapped her chin as she finally thought about it.. "You know? I have no idea how long it's been. My friends and family must have thought something ate me, or something had happened to me. I did hear some ponies looking for me, once or twice. But I couldn't go to them. Not like this."

Twilight couldn't really argue with that. While the creature hadn't made any move towards her, it still seemed to eye her as something worth chewing on if it had the chance. A chance Twilight wasn't going to give it.

Willow rolled her eyes as she saw Twilight's look. "I have met Zecora a few times. I'll never understand why she speaks as she does."

Twilight giggled. "You and me both. She told me once that it's a Zebra Shaman tradition. But she could have made that up. Zecora's the only zebra I've ever met."

They both giggled at that. For a time after that, neither said anything. Twilight was still trying to wrap her head around everything that Willow seemed to be. It went against everything she knew. But who really knew what lurked in the Everfree Forest.

Willow, meanwhile, was trying to think about how to give voice to all of the questions she had. It had been too long since she had met a pony that she could talk to. Zecora could only do so much.

And Twilight herself. Only one other pony that Willow knew of looked like Twilight did. What did it mean, then, that Twilight seemed to be the same type of pony that Princess Celestia was?

Twilight finally seemed to catch what Willow was thinking, for she smiled. "You're not going to ask what you might have missed in the wider Equestria, or why I,m all the way out here?"

Willow blushed. "Is it that obvious?"

Twilight nodded. "I may not know everything there is to know. But I know enough. You deserve to know what you've missed. For however long you've been in here."

Willow settled herself down onto her companion's back. "Well. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious. So, enlighten me, Twilight."

Twilight rolled her eyes. "It all started..."

***

"... And that's when I met you," Twilight finished, finally allowing herself to breathe again. She'd kinda sorta forgotten how much she and her friends had done since she and Spike had first moved to Ponyville.

Willow blinked, finally able to think about something other than the stories Twilight was telling her. She really had missed a lot since she had come to live in the forest it seemed. Who knew. But one thing stood out for her. "Princess Celestia has a sister?"

Twilight nodded, her ears folding. "Yeah. All of Equestria had the same reaction when news got out after that Summer Sun Celebration. Princess Luna was not happy to have been purposefully erased from the history books. I only learned after that first Nightmare Night that Princess Celestia had in fact erased her sister from most of history, only in a story few actually believed in."

Willow and her companion shared a look. That wasn't fair to Princess Luna at all, and they didn't even know her. "But why would Princess Celestia do that? To her own sister? That wasn't very nice."

Twilight rubbed her snout in irritation. "I don't know. I asked Princess Celestia the very same thing once. She refused to answer the question, and when I asked Luna, she said she didn't know either. Apparently, nopony knows why history was changed like it was, to where Nightmare Moon has her own holiday, while Luna was forgotten."

And why was she so angry about this all of a sudden? It was something that had never made her happy ever since she had first learned about it, true. But it had never made her this mad before. But why?

Willow looked up at the sky, seemingly lost in thought. "That explains why the moon changed as it did at least. And why the Everfree was so tense that night, now that I think about it."

Twilight nodded, but that brought another question to her mind. "But if you've been in the forest for so long, why didn't we see that first night? Did you know what was going on?"

Willow and her companion shook their heads. "No. We didn't know what was going. And the Everfree Forest is a big place, Twilight. It's no wonder why we didn't meet that night. We were on another side of the forest from you. I'm surprised we met as we have. Though I'm not complaining. It's too lonely in here."

Twilight smiled slightly at that. She couldn't blame Willow for feeling like that. With what had happened to her, there was no way that she could go back to Equestria and not be seen as a monster. "Is there any way for you to be normal again?"

Willow shrugged. "I don't know. Even if there was, what do I have to go back to? My friends and family are long dead by now. You're the only one, aside from Zecora, who knows about me. I'd like to keep it that way if it's all the same to you."

Twilight sighed. That was the answer she had been expecting if she was being honest, but she'd had to know for sure. She looked around the clearing, remembering where she had been going before all of this had happened. "Not that I haven't enjoyed all of this, but do you know where the old Castle of the Two Sisters is? Am I on the right path?"

Willow nodded, smiling as she pointed towards the furthest wall of trees. "You're on the right path. Just keep going the way you were, and you'll be there in no time. I can take you there if you want? It's been too long since I could talk to somepony like this."

Twilight chuckled, as she stood and stretched. "Sure. The more the merrier. And I still have a lot of questions."

Willow giggled as she turned herself in the direction of the old castle, her companion grumbling at having to put up with Twilight some more. But Willow paid him no mind. She would pay him back later. She owed him that much after all of this.

Even if she did find Twilight rather cute. Not that she would ever tell the alicorn that of course. Oh no. Willow was lonely, but she wasn't that lonely. Was she?

***

"So, you do have to eat meat?" Twilight asked, trying to keep pace with Willow. Who knew something so big could move so fast? "Ponies shouldn't be able to eat meat. Not like that anyway."

Willow nodded, bobbing and weaving around the branches in her way. "I don't get it either. But there's not much about me that doesn't make a lot of sense, and I can't exactly ask somepony like me about it."

Twilight nodded, not really able to argue with that. "And all the jewelry you were?"

Willow played with the rings around her hooves and the one threaded through her mane. "I found them in a cave some time back. I have no idea where they came from. They just looked like they had been left there by somepony for no reason. I kinda like them honestly, so I wear them."

Twilight giggled. "You and Rarity would get along great. She has the same reaction sometimes."

They both giggled at that, even as they finally came to a break in the trees. Across a familiar ravine, Twilight saw that they had come to the Castle of the Two Sisters. Looking over to the old bridge, Twilight saw that it was intact since she had last seen it.

Willow, though, seemed surprised as she looked at the bridge. "It's fixed?"

Twilight nodded. "It was the only way we could get across the ravine. I didn't know how to properly teleport at the time. I've gotten better at that spell since then." Her expression turned worried after a moment though. "Do you still want to explore the castle?"

Willow nodded. "It was the whole reason I came into the Everfree Forest in the first place." She and her companion shared a worried look though. "But that bridge won't hold our weight. I know it won't. And I'd rather not go splat if it's all the same to you, Twilight."

Twilight nodded, a knowing smile coming to her face. Trotting over, she placed a hoof on the creature's side. It gave her a confused look as she ignited her horn. "Hold on. It can be weird the first time."

Before Willow could ask what she meant, the three of them vanished in a burst of light.

Only to reappear on the other side of the ravine, at the foot of the steps leading into the castle in fact.

Willow tried to keep her lunch where it belonged, as her eyes spun wildly, even as her companion shook its head in irritation, trying to shake off the feeling of wooziness. "Warn me next you do that," Willow said after a moment.

Twilight chuckled. "Sorry. But we're across, aren't we? I'll give you a better warning next time though."

Willow nodded, still not trusting herself not to puke all over the place. She finally looked up at the castle. "So, where do we even start? Do you have a map of this place?"

Twilight shook her head, pushing open the rotting wood door with a burst of her magic. "No. But it's more fun that way I feel. My friends and I only saw a little bit of the castle during the Summer Sun Celebration. I'm curious to see what else is here. I know there's a library around here somewhere."

Willow looked around. There was no library in sight. Just ruined grandeur of a different time and era. The roof had long fallen away, exposing the hall to the sky, all the windows were busted, and various plants snuck through the holes left behind. Various doors lead off into other parts of the castle, but who knew where they lead? "So do we just pick a door?"

Twilight shrugged hopelessly, looking around. "I guess so. I don't know where to start."

With no place else in mind, Twilight and Willow chose a left-hand door, the sound of their hoofsteps quickly fading away into the distance, leaving the Great Hall silent and empty, as it had been for over a thousand years.

Off to the side, one of the plants began to flower and bloom, its rose-red petals opening, even as every other plant in the hall did the same.

Deep below the castle, the Tree of Harmony awoke from its long slumber. But it was no longer the tree Celestia and Luna had first come to, and found the Elements of Harmony, for it had found new life and purpose.

All around it, the Plundervines awoke from their long slumber, a long-dormant plan beginning to be set in motion. But now it was no longer the plan Discord has once given them. Oh no. This was something far smarter than the so-called Lord of Chaos could ever think up.