The Twilight Shadow (Part 1)
The Twilight Shadow
An MLP: FiM / Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Crossover Story
By Whitefox
*****
The darkness cleared from her vision and she slowly stood up, her head spinning.
“Twilight...”
She was in a dark stone corridor. The only light came from a few torches on the walls and from a solitary window that stretched to the ceiling. Lightning flickered against the fogged glass. Thunder crashed from outside, and the unicorn jumped in fright before catching herself. Why was she so scared? She couldn’t even remember how she got here. She thought back as far as she could. She remembered walking down a set of steps, then down a corridor, and finally into the hallway she had woken up in. Before that, there was nothing.
Figuring there must be at least somepony else in this building, she decided to explore. Twilight slowly walked down the corridor following the curve of the passageway. It soon opened up to reveal two armored knights, standing at attention on opposite sides of the hall. She instantly shot back around the corner, only to peek back out at the imposing guards. The figures looked just like any heavily armored war ponies, except they were posed in a regal manner, weapons secured in their hooves. Realizing that the two knights weren’t actually alive, Twilight continued past them, watching their empty helmets warily as she passed.
Twilight took a quick glance around and saw the only other passageway was a small corridor to her left. Reddish orange torchlight poured out of it. Somepony had to have lit those torches! She trotted forward, determined to find out where she was. She passed the threshold of the room. A door to her right suddenly flew open, crashing against the stone wall. Twilight screamed in pure terror, tearing her throat raw in the process. She bolted into a corner, eyes glued to the doorway to behold the nightmare that would surely come creeping out of it.
Minutes passed, and nothing happened. The unicorn’s eyes began to dry with the effort of keeping them locked on the dark doorway. She blinked. Her back was aching from being pressed against the rough stone of the wall. Her heart was still beating swiftly, each pulse echoing in her ears. Eventually, Twilight realized that nothing was going to step out of the darkness. She stood up and slowly crept towards it, ears perked forward, determined to catch any sign of what had opened the door. Moving in front of the opening, she saw a small set of steps leading up to another well lit room.
Still scared half to death, she moved forward, knees shaking. As she reached the new room, she took in her surroundings. It appeared to be a small office of some sort. A plain desk sat against one wall, a few scattered papers laid haphazardly on its surface. A bookshelf stood at another wall, dusty tomes stacked on the shelves. A candle shimmered brightly from the top of the desk, wax oozing down it slowly. Twilight looked at a few of the papers on the desk. One note that had been hastily scrawled and laid on top of the pile caught her attention.
You have the gift of magic. Use it to light the dark places, but be warned! Your power is not limitless! Concentrate on making fire, light that which has been smothered. Do it quickly! Before it comes!
Ink had been spilled across the page, making the text barely legible. Twilight gulped. What had the note said was coming? Was it the darkness again? She didn’t like the darkness. It was going to get her. It was coming right now.
It was coming for her.
It’s coming for her.
It’s coming.
It’s coming.
IT’S COMING!
IT’S COMING!
“Twilight...”
Her vision blurred as her forelegs gave out, making her fall to her knees. Had the lights just gone out? She tried to remember, but her mind was filled with thoughts of the unspeakable darkness and the horrors that awaited within. Wait! The note! A glimmer of hope lit the black void of her mind. She remembered, memories pouring back into her skull like a floodgate had been opened.
A library. She glanced out the window. It was pitch black outside. She looked at the candle sitting on a table next to her. A shimmer of energy flowed through her mind and she produced a small spark. The candle lit almost instantaneously, driving back a small area of darkness.
Twilight shivered. A chill breeze blew through the room, scattering the papers on the desk and turning the pages of an opened book. The candle on the desk had gone out, a small wisp of smoke rising from the blackened wick. Twilight looked at the candle, trying to reproduce what her memory had just shown her. Her horn glowed, and the candle sparked and flickered to life, lighting the room once more. The breeze subsided, along with Twilight’s headache.
She was sweating, but her body was cold. She moved towards the candle, holding her shaking hooves towards it for the little warmth that it offered. Frowning, she looked towards the doorway. The torch in the hall hadn’t gone out with the breeze. Examining the room one last time, Twilight left, walking back into the hallway she had come from. To her left laid the room with the knights, but to her right was unexplored territory. She glanced at the ground. A faint trail of red droplets led towards the right passageway and around the corner.
That settled her mind. Suddenly interested, Twilight took the right path. She moved up a flight of stairs, took another turn, and wound up in another hallway. This passage had wooden floors, a sharp contrast to the stone of her previous location. A red carpet was laid out along the center of the hall, and two doors could be made out on either side of the barely lit walls. Towards the end of the hallway, the corridor curved to the right, out of sight. The red droplets led away from Twilight and rounded the corner. Twilight moved forward and tried to push open to door to her left, but it wouldn’t budge. She tried the door on the right, only to have the same thing happen.
Annoyed, Twilight looked around quickly. The only other option was straight ahead. She rounded the curve, following the droplets, and the corridor soon led her into a small room. A thin table sat towards the far end, a few items scattered across the floor next to it. Several cupboards were pushed against the wall to Twilight's left, and a few wooden boxes had been scattered throughout the room. She approached the table, grateful for the light of the candle that was placed on top of it. Crunch. She looked down - her hoof had crushed a piece of balled up paper.
Twilight’s horn glowed dimly, simultaneously floating the paper up to her eyes and straightening it out. The messy script matched that of the other note she had read.
You can do more than you think. You are a mistress of light; a star at the tip of your horn. Use it only in dire need.
Again, her head swam as memories came pouring back to her.
The library again. She was tired, but she supposed reading for hours on end did that to a pony. It was dark, and she could feel the tendrils of sleep slowly stealing her away. She smothered the candle on the desk, not wanting to take the risk of any of her precious books catching on fire. She concentrated once again, holding the energy and focusing it at the tip of her horn. A star of shimmering white light appeared, beating back the darkness once more.
Twilight's headache came back in full force, and her eyes closed as she grimaced from the pain. As she slowly opened them again, she saw another door off to her left. She looked towards it, not being able to come to grips with just how dark the new passageway was. She recalled her most recent memory, remembering exactly how she had concentrated in it, and pushed the energy up towards her horn.
A white glow illuminated the surrounding walls, penetrating the darkness of the corridor. Smiling, she moved forward. This darkness was nothing, now that she had her own light! The passage led straight ahead, past a few bookcases and into another dimly lit room. She cautiously walked inside and looked around. A desk was again placed against the far wall, but it appeared that wine racks took up much of the other available space. A candle sat burning at the desk, so Twilight let her spell slip from her grasp. The white glow faded, and everything became much darker.
Twilight walked towards the desk, she noted the small amount of fatigue that had settled over her after she cast the light spell. She would have to use that very sparingly, in the future. She moved forward, taking care not to step on the shattered glass next to the desk. A small red puddle spread outwards from where the glass had fallen to the floor, matching the liquid trail she had followed here. Twilight found a single paper lying on the desk. Analyzing it, she found that the writer was clearly the person who had left the other two notes. In this note, however, it appeared that the writer wasn’t in such a rush. Instead of being written at a frightened pace, this text flowed gracefully and lazily.
Twilight,
I wish I could ask you how much you remember. I don’t know if there will be anything left after I
consume this drink.
Don’t be afraid, Twilight. I can’t tell you why, but know this - I choose to forget. Try to find
strength and comfort in that fact. There is a purpose. You are my final effort to put things right.
Celestia willing, the name Alexander of Brennenbuck still invokes bitter anger in you. If not, this
will sound horrible.
Go to the Inner Sanctum, find Alexander, and kill him. His body is old and weak, and his magic is
failing. But you, Twilight, are still able to summon immense power. He will be no match for you.
One last thing. A shadow is following you. It’s a living nightmare, breaking down reality. I have
tried everything, and there is no way to fight back.
What was that noise?
You need to escape it as long as you can
Were those hoofsteps?
Redeem us both Twilight. Descend into the darkness where Alexander waits and murder him
What was behind her?
Your former self,
Twilight Sparkle
A nightmarish roar ripped through the room behind her. The candle lighting the desk was put out by an ethereal wind. Twilight began to hyperventilate, gasping for any amount of breath she could take in. Her stomach spun. Her heart raced. Her knees buckled, and she collapsed onto the floor. Sweat poured off of her body, even though her teeth chattered. She couldn’t imagine the dark entity that was surely standing right behind her.
The darkness returned to her mind. She blacked out.
“Twilight...:”
*****
I wrote this BEFORE I realized there were already Amnesia/MLP crossovers...Ah well! Mine shall join the fray! I hope you guys enjoyed this! Please leave comments, critique and ratings! I may write more parts if I get a good enough response!!!
