Unbound

by Sojourner

Rating: everyone
Tags: Adventure, Dark, Sad
Length: 9051

It's all about decisions... and the truth behind them.

Even with their immense magical power, ponies do not understand everything about their world. Occasionally, those strange and wild things show themselves, sometimes with good intent, and other times with wickedness their ultimate goal. These Dark Magicks eventually find their way into the hearts and souls of the unwitting, forever changing them in ways they could never have expected. And now, two ponies are soon to find out that these things are not always what they seem… And sometimes, the only course of action is to learn to understand.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2013-01-15 12:50:18 UTC

Discovery

Unbound

By Sojourner

“A Thousand Eyes

Wear Whispering Wings

As Darkness Stirs

Curiosity Rings.”

There were always choices to be made. Whether it was to help her friend Applejack understand when she needed help, or when she became obsessed with discovering the source of Pinkie's 'Pinkie Sense', Twilight had always been surrounded with choices. It was these differences in choice that made each and everypony unique; the way they dealt with problems, the way they felt about them, the way they would react when things happened in a way they had not expected. By itself, a choice would never  tell you everything about somepony, but it was the only way you could learn about who they were.

It was in one of these choices Twilight reveled this night: the choice to read, to learn, and understand things that others didn't, couldn't.

Or wouldn't.

The dark hand of the new moon threatened to envelop the room and steal away her sight, but its reach was staved off by a lonely flicker of  flame. Sitting atop a wax candle, this fire was the only light in her bedroom. By its rays, books could be seen scattered across the wooden floorboards, forlorn and forgotten, the occasional word visible on an open page or book cover.  It was by this light that Twilight read, her purple eyes dancing lightly over the pages. Behind the bed where the flickering candlelight did not reach, Spike slept, snuggled in his basket. Only the tip of his head scale managed to catch the light as his head bobbed up and down in tandem with his breath.

Twilight had been reading the book since the morning prior, weighing each word as it was read, determining its worth before moving on. The words flowed into pages, then into chapters.  Everything else melted away until only she and book existed. This shrinking of the world was of some comfort to her; nothing else mattered except finishing the next sentence, and unlocking the secrets woven into the letters by the author.

"Ah! I think I've got it!" A series of rapid thumps marked Twilight's exuberance as she looked up from the book, her eyes glowing in excitement. "Let's see..." She cast her gaze from left to right across her desk, searching. There was a quill, her notepad, the book, and then a piece of parchment. The air was cut by a crackling sound as she concentrated, levitating the piece of paper in front of her.

It seemed nothing more than an insignificant piece of paper. Its wrinkles and bends lent more age to it then it actually had, but as far as it mattered to Twilight, this sheet was everything. Soon, it would be proof of her ability, proof that her learning was paying off. The purple aura surrounding the page quivered. Then, the page began folding. Each angle she made was precise, perfect, a testimony to her dedication and meticulous nature. It took shape slowly, the square parchment transforming into something more beautiful than it could ever have hoped to manage by itself. It became a flower, a rose in fact, smaller in size than it had been before, and yet greater in what it symbolized. Twilight gasped and, trying to suppress a grin from plastering itself on her face, jumped over the bed and landed next to Spike's basket. "Spike! Spike, wake up!"

Spike blearily opened his eyes, finding himself floating alongside Twilight on her trip back to the desk. He yawned loudly as she set him on his feet, and he stretched his arms out over his head.

"It can't be morning yet, can it?" he asked, looking out the window to find it still dark. "Have you been up all night again?" He looked at Twilight with a resigned look etched across his face.

"Well, yes. But it was worth it!" Twilight replied, her chipper mood contrasting Spike's sullenness at being woken up so early. "I've just finished reading part of this new book we got!  Wu-Jen: Secrets of Eastern Magic! I've been practicing something out of the book, too; paper folding, or Origami as they know it out East." Spike looked down at the paper flower, picking it up to examine it closer.

"Folding paper, huh?" Spike said sarcastically,  "Well, that's certainly useful."

"Oh, you're just a little cranky," Twilight said, giggling slightly. "It's more than just paper folding. It's something else entirely, a different way of using magic I've never seen before! Just attempting to channel my magic the way the unicorns in the East do was difficult."

"Uh-huh," Spike said, yawning again as he looked up at Twilight. "Any chance you might be able to explain this later? Like when the sun is up?" Twilight, however, barely heard his words as she began her lecture.

"I always thought that magic only came from inside you, that it was something you were born with. But, the way these unicorns do it is different. They tap into something they call ley lines, or power from the earth, basically. Its almost as if the entire planet is a living creature that lends them its energy." She stopped only when she heard the soft snoring of her dragon companion. She reached out with a hoof and shook him slightly. "Come on, Spike! I'm a-almost-" a yawn punctuated her sentence- "done explaining." Spike looked up at her.

"You're just as tired as I am. Can it just wait until after we get some sleep?"

"Okay, your right, Spike," Twilight conceded. "Just, let me show you what it does before we get some shut eye? please?"

"Oh, alright," Spike huffed, knowing full well it was faster to give in to Twilight's persistence rather than continue to argue with her.

She levitated another piece of paper over to them, placing it between herself and Spike, suppressing another yawn.

"Okay, so it begins like this..." Twilight began her first fold. "I start with this corner, and then I... I..." Her words began to slur together. "and then I just..." She began snoring. Spike chuckled a little, before realizing that something strange was happening. The piece of paper floated down, no longer supported by Twilight.

"Uh, Twilight?"

The room disappeared in a flash of purple electricity.

Twilight woke with a start. "Wha-? How? What happened?" She saw Spike and gasped. "Spike?"

"Twilight... I'm assuming you were supposed to fold the paper, right?"

Twilight could only look, her mouth agape, at what had happened. Spike looked like a giant purple pretzel, his arms and legs tied at ridiculous angles, his head where his torso had been. Twilight dashed to her book, skimming through the pages in a panic.

"Oh no! no, no no no no! Oh, Spike, are you okay? I'm so sorry!"

Spike looked around at himself, his eyes wise in surprise.

"Well, this is new..." He scratched himself on the back of his head. "Well, one good thing I guess. I've never been able to reach that spot!"

Twilight tossed the book aside and grunted in frustration. "There's nothing in here about how to reverse this!" Frantically, she searched every book she could get her hooves on, tossing each aside in turn as she found nothing useful. "Elderhoof's Guide to Economics... no... Aloe and the Forest of Fear... that's fiction... Alchemic Solutions... gah! None of these have anything useful!"

Twilight looked sorrowfully over to Spike. "Even if I do find something that could help, I don't know very much about Eastern magic. That might complicate this."

"Well, I don't want to stay like this forever, you know," Spike replied.

"I know," Twilight said, a small note of despair in her tone. "Hold on, let me try something."

Twilight's horn sputtered to life, a soft cone of light emanating from it. She took the cone and hovered it over Spike, concentrating hard on the information her spell was feeding her.

"Well, the magic has dissipated. That means it's not what's holding you in the shape your in. You're actually, well, tied up that way," Twilight giggled.

"Har de har har," Spike replied, the sarcastic tone in his voice obvious enough that even Twilight would notice it.

"Maybe I can just untie you. Hold on."

The cone of magic disappeared, instead reforming around spike. She gently tugged on different parts of Spike, trying to find where the knot he was in was loosest.

"Th-that tickles!" Spike said, laughing. As Twilight's tugs became more forceful, Spike began grunting in pain. One particularly hard jerk caused him to squeal. "Hey! Watch it!" Spike admonished.

"Sorry Spike," Twilight returned, "but I just-" she pulled, "can't-" she strained, "seem-to-get-you-loose!" Another yelp of pain from Spike made Twilight quit at her attempts to untighten him. "You are well tied together," she said, panting.

"So, you can tie a knot, but you can't undo one, huh?" Spike said reproachfully.

Twilight glared at him for a moment, before allowing her expression to soften. He deserved to be angry at the moment, and she couldn't blame him for his words.  She sighed.

"I'm sorry Spike. Hold on, let me go look downstairs. there are some books down there I've never gotten around to looking at. Maybe one of them can help."

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Twilight worked her way down the stairs to the main room. Despite the lack of light, Twilight easily made it to the basement door. She knew the library so well at this point, she doubted she could be lost in it, even if her ears were stuffed with cotton and her eyes blindfolded. a flick of her horn opened the door, and she carefully made her way down into the basement.

Another small spark of magic later and the lights on the walls crackled away merrily, lending a hazy luminescence to the subterranean room. The machines she kept down here were cold and inert, unused since Pinkie Pie had last been strapped into them. Twilight sighed again; even if she could take Pinkie's strange sense on faith, it still didn't change the fact she wanted to know why. It was just something about herself she knew. She had to know things. And not just know things, but understand them. That was why she read so much, now that she really thought about it.

Back behind the largest machine, a small bookcase was tucked away, hidden from the view of any casual observer. This bookshelf didn't contain anything crazy, forbidden or even anything of interest. It just happened to be where Twilight would put books she felt she could overlook, whether they were subjects she had no interest in or that were so boringly written they even put her to sleep. But with the way things were, maybe one of them would have something she could use.

A Sequence of Unfortunate Circumstance... No, that wouldn't help, it was another fiction book. Summoning, Short and Sweet. Unless she could summon a de-pretzelfying device, that wasn't going to help either. The Height of Society... Become a Better You... Insight of the Deep Mind...

“None of these has anything to do with this!” Twilight shouted, throwing the last book she had picked up at the wall. Instead of a thump, though, she heard something unexpected. A crack of splintering wood.

Glancing around the bookshelf, she saw a large hole where the wall, having been assaulted by her projectile, had collapsed.

“Wait a minute...” She mused. This was the basement. Underground. In a tree, for that matter. None of the walls should have been made of wood. Not the kind that would splinter like this, anyway.

The wall was old, and had been close to crumbling on it's own without help. Splinters of it now lay on the floor, and Twilight deftly swept up the pieces with a push of wind, ensuring none of the woodchips would end up lodged in her hooves.  The wood itself was spruce plywood, completely at odds with the oak of the library. It was unusual that she hadn't notice this section of wall before. although, this small bit of wall had never looked any different than the rest of the room.

  The book she threw had landed in a nook behind the plywood. She summoned light from her horn and set off breaking open the panel large enough that she could fit through.

Twilight was determined to find out what was up with this little bit of space. She manage to pry enough away to squeeze herself in. Unfortunately, the hollow area turned out to be smaller than expected, and she only fit herself in halfway. Undaunted, Twilight wiggled herself through the hole, and opened her eyes to look around.

Underneath the book she had thrown sat a small, unadorned chest. It was rectangular, its edges rounded. She could see her reflection in its polished metal sheen, her own eyes staring back at her quizzically. A small silver lock was all that held the small chest shut. The lock was elaborately shaped. Despite it size, the detail was unusually precise, Its design reminiscent of a heart. A small diamond shaped keyhole was the only indent on its surface. Surrounding this heart was a dizzying array of tree branches, each on almost a perfect replica of what they emulated. These branches wrapped around the entirety of the lock, entwining on the back in an asymmetric pattern.

Twilight was intrigued. Carefully, she crawled forward as far as she could, and  attempted to bring the box closer with her telekinesis. The box was surrounded by the aura for only a moment before she felt her magic weaken, and slide off it.

The box had resisted her magic.

Whatever this box was,  something of significance must have been inside. She managed, barely, to wrap her hooves around it and pull it toward her.

A sudden click caused her to jump. The padlock had come undone. It fell from the box, giving a loud clank as it landed roughly on the floor.

Slightly disturbed by the boxes behavior, Twilight's curiosity overpowered her fear. She needed to know what was in this box, to understand why it was acting in such a strange manner.

The hinges made no sound as the lid hit the floor.

The leather-bound tome she found within was held shut by a gold clasp. On it's cover was the same design the lock had carried, that of intertwining tree branches. Silver laced the spine of the book, spiraling over the edge where it entangled with golden branches on the cover. A circular portrait was centered over the branches, a symmetric bronze flower seemingly blooming out of the front. If she hadn't known better, she would have sworn it was swaying in a breeze.

She pulled the book from the confines of the chest and carefully opened it. The book made no sound as it opened.

The works of magic that are wrought

From the East hold power not

Despite the sense of strength you feel

A stronger power breaks the seal

A dash of salts, a circle of stone,

A drop of blood, and a tap of bone,

The spell once woven will wither away,

Never to see another day.

Something clicked back into place in Twilight's mind. She had to fix what she had done to her poor dragon assistant. Despite the book having no name on its cover, this was the first reference she had managed to find about undoing the effects of magic from the Eastern realms. She decided to take it back upstairs and continue to read through it. Perhaps something written in it would be able to help her determine a way to free Spike from the prison of his own limbs.

A choice of wit is what you make,

The reigns of life are yours to take.

Whether right, whether wrong, the end is hidden in the maze,

True black, true white, guarded from sight in a ghostly haze.

Twilight shook her head and looked at the page again. It read exactly the same as earlier.

I could have sworn...

Holding it aloft with her magic, she hurried back up the stairs.

Inquiry

Unbound

By Sojourner

“It lies in-between,

Neither dark, neither light-

The twilight beckons

To those of milky white sight.”

The pent up rage of the sea was unleashed.

Waves crashed against timber, and rain pounded an angry beat against the deck. The ships frame creaked and groaned, barely holding together against the storms tirade. Luna tried to steer clear of the larger waves, pressing her weight against the ships wheel. The whirling waters grudgingly gave way inch by inch, and the ship turned, cresting the corner of a particularly large wave. Then the sky grew bright, and a  crack resounded across the sky. Lightning streaked through the bowels of the boat, which shook as the mast finally broke. It plummeted into the ocean, making barely a ripple as the ocean devoured it.

Luna was now a prisoner to the whims of the waves. Her wings were drenched, and flight was impossible due to the wind and the lightning coursing across the sky. She was alone, with nothing more than her impending doom for company. She wouldn't have anyone to share it with, anyone to whisper her last teary farewell to.

Another rumble echoed from the depths of the ship's belly, this time bringing with it the roar of a monster. The deck's doors burst open, and long green limbs stretched out against the sky. Each one was wriggling with barely contained energy, and each one was covered in scales and barbed spikes. Luna's magic only seemed to agitate the tentacles as she fired at them.The storm grew stronger as the appendages began slithering across the deck toward Luna, feverishly grasping at her as she slipped out of their reach. Luna sprang away from the wheel, slipping and crashing against the wood. She scrabbled away from the tentacles, trying her hardest to keep away as she worked herself toward the aft of the ship. There, she came face to face with the beast. its neck poked out of the water and arced over the back railing, where it, she, Nightmare Moon stared at her. Long fangs jutted from the roof of Nightmare's mouth, and she smiled, revealing rows of dagger like teeth.

"I'm your only hope now," Nightmare whispered, the seductive tone of her voice adding another note of fear to Luna's already panic addled brain. "I'm your only hope now. Trust me. I'm the only one who cares!"  Nightmare tensed, coiling like a snake, ready to strike. Luna closed her eyes.

Nightmare struck.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Twilight paid little attention to her surroundings as she worked her way up from the basement. The book, written in constant couplets, definitely spoke of a spell that could undo the damage she had done.

"Did you find anything?" Spike asked as Twilight finished her trek up the stairs onto the platform that served as her room. Her reply was a sigh and a short silence.

"I may have," She eventually drawled, though confidence didn't shine through her tone.

"Let me guess.... It's going to be painful?" Spike added, already resigned to the fact.

"No, that's not the problem," Twilight said. "The entire process is described in great detail, if a little haphazardly-"

"Hapa-wha?"

Twilight sighed. "In a weird way. But the spell, well, ritual actually, is time affecting. Basically, all I have to do in conjunction with it is specify a time I want you to be moved back to. So, if I send you back to the point before I, well, tied you up," Twilight explained, laughing half-heartedly, "then we should be good to go! The problem is that rituals like this require a lot of power, and can usually only be done by multiple unicorns working in concert. It said it's doable by only one, though, so I'm not sure."  Grabbing a piece of chalk, Twilight began drawing the circle the ritual had called for on the floor. First a circle, four circles inside that, a triangle, a square, six pointed star, and the requisite words. The circle began glowing a soft blue, bringing a perplexed look to the unicorn's face.

"What?" Spike asked.

"The circle shouldn't have started glowing until I put power into it." A small cone of light emanated from her horn, and she swept it across the lines. "Where is it getting this from?" She wondered aloud. She floated the last component over; an hourglass. "Now all I do is spin this, and say the right phrase, and whala!"

"Could you hurry up? I kinda need to use the little dragon's room," Spike pleaded. Twilight coughed to clear her throat. She twirled the hourglass to start the sand dropping, closed her eyes, and recited:

"We hold in high the moon and sun,

The cycles they fortell are what we call to.

The power of the end, the power of the true,

For once it comes, we in all are none."

Twilight opened her eyes and looked around. The dust that had been floating in the air had stopped. Spike's mouth was frozen, just beginning to form a word. There was no sound, save the sound of her own heart, now fluttering and skipping faster and faster as her confusion grew.

"Wha- What-?" The sun was not moving. Out the window, the trees were halted in mid-sway, the falling leaves hanging in midair. Spike wasn't breathing, or blinking, or speaking... "What's going on?" Twilight began panicking. "This shouldn't have happened! I-I don't have this kind of ability! I can't stop the sun!"

Then, everything backpedaled.

The sun began edging back to the East - the opposite of the direction it was supposed to. The leaves floated up, and even the dust began to move backward. Faster, faster, faster.... everything began moving backwards so fast. Twilight could barely believe her eyes. It was day, then night, then day again. The trees grew smaller. The ponies changed- no one was there she could recognize when she looked out the window. The clock spun wildly, the ticking distorted. Then she heard a deep, resounding clang.

Everything disappeared.

There was nothing but black, save the circle, which continued to glow its soft hue of blue. Shaking, Twilight turned away from where the window had been toward the circle, and screamed.

Floating above the circle was a strange creature. A ghostly apparition of sorts, Twilight couldn't help but feel terrified at it's presence. A tattered cloak floated around it, its vaguely equine form elongated unnaturally. Its neck was stretched out longer than Twilight entire body, and atop that neck was a normally proportioned head. Bright white light was etched across the black face, that same light pouring from its eyes like smoke as they opened blearily, as though from sleep. The brighter white pupils then focused on Twilight.

What is this?

Everything told her she needed to run, to move, to get away from the monstrosity, but she couldn't move. Her muscles felt as if they had seized up, and her heart seemed to have stopped beating. Its faced suddenly changed, the look of surprise quickly transforming into rage.

What is this!

It reappeared beside her instantly, but Twilight still found herself rooted to the spot, unable to move. Its eyes bored into hers, and she felt as though it could see into her soul, that it knew everything about her. Nothing was secret anymore.

You can see me... I am awake.

Its legs wrapped around her.

This is unacceptable.

It hurled her into the circle where she landed roughly, skidding across the lines she had drawn. Finding she could move again, she stood up hastily. The monster had disappeared. Twilight looked around wildly, her pupils nothing more than pinpricks.

"Where am I? What's going on?" Twilight said, her voice cracking. The creature suddenly wrapped itself around her from above, far too intimately. She found herself frozen again, her body reacting against her will.

I could ask you the same thing, Twilight Sparkle.

Its eyes again looked into hers, its face upside-down as it bent its neck over, its features now a mask of puzzled glee.

You've already taken from me. The work you look for is done. But now it must be repaid.

It made a motion as though sighing, but no breath slipped from its tongue. Its cloak billowed in a nonexistent breeze.

"Just tell me what's going on," Twilight sobbed. "What are you? How do you know who I am?"

No... No, that is not something for you to know. In fact, you already know too much from just this little incident.

Its jarring speech rattled around inside her head, making her woozy. It moved its head closer to her, their noses only inches from contact.

I think I know just the payment.

Its body squeezed against her tighter, its torso and neck resting right up against her. It opened its maw wide, and a purple light began issuing from Twilight. She tried to look around , but her gaze was locked firmly on the light trickling down the monster's throat.

You ponies don't know, and shall never know of us. I will make sure of that.

Everything went black again. Her heart jump started, and she could move. She could breathe. But still she held still. She felt a warmth on her cheek, and heard the rustling of sheets before a voice blearily called out.

"It can't be morning yet, can it?" This was followed by a yawn, before the sound of small footsteps hit the floor. "What do you want, Twilight?" That was Spike's voice. Twilight turned to the sound, trying to see through the darkness, straining her eyes to see. She heard Spike speak again. "Did you learn a spell to change the colors of your eyes or something?" Twilight tried to reply, but her words seemed to die in her throat. Only air issued from her lips. "Your eyes aren't normally grey. That's kind of a neat trick, I guess," Spike said, his sentence punctuated by a yawn. "Still, couldn't it have waited until morning? I can tell you haven't been to bed yet."

She didn't understand.

"Twilight, are you okay?" Spike voiced was now laced with concern. "What's wrong?"

Then, she heard something. A new voice.

Oh, Codswollop! This wasn't supposed to happen! My Dear Twilight, are you alright? I am so sorry about this! Really, I am!

Realization

Unbound

By Sojourner

Can't you see me hiding here,

Out amongst the trees?

Can't you tell the difference, then,

Between the many leaves?

Luna sighed and sat up in her bed, her sheets making little more than a whisper of sound. She looked out her window at the magnificent moon, just rising over the horizon.  It did little to raise her spirits. She had had the dream again. And it was getting worse.

Unable to stay in bed, Luna slid out from under the silk bedsheets, and moved to her vanity. Her hair was a mess from tossing and turning all night. She smiled as she looked herself over. She actually liked her hair like this. It always made her wonder what it would be like to be normal, to be able to leave her room without brushing her hair, or putting on her shoes, or pruning her wings, let alone the makeup she used to accent her features and hide the bags that had been developing under her eyes from the constant harassment of the dream. She gave a small chuckle before levitating her hairbrush out of its drawer. Even if she didn't particularly feel like brushing her hair, the long bristles always felt amazing as they ran through her hair and across her head, tickling and scratching and leaving her feeling fresh.

This dream had been haunting her for a while now, ever since her return. She shuddered again at the image of Nightmare Moon. Each time she attacked, her fangs never quite touched flesh, but Luna knew those fangs were inching ever closer each time. The storm also grew worse each time, and this was the first time the mast had broken off the ship. She wasn't quite sure what the dream entailed, but she knew it couldn't be anything good. Something was coming. And it made her even more uncomfortable to think it might involve her.

She began her daily scavenger hunt for her shoes. The small silver dainties she wore on her hooves were always hidden in the most unusual places, whether under the bed or on top of the bookshelf. She'd even managed to find one out in the flower box hanging from the window sill once.

She had analyzed each part of the dream, but it never came out quite clear what it meant. Being the connoisseur of dreams, her own were still quite a mystery. The only sense she could make out of it was some sort of impending doom.

The one fact that always bugged her, though, was the very, very beginning of the dream, before the storm would begin. The ship would be full of ponies, the sky bright and cheery, and the sun shining down. And always it would end the same. The ship devoid of life, the inhabitants fled, the sun blotted out by the clouds. Luna knew the sun represented Celestia. It always did in the few lucid dreams she remembered. Each time before, the sun had always been there to comfort her at the end, its rays warming her no matter the circumstance. But what of it this time? Was something different between her and Celestia now? Were those rays of shining light forever lost to her now? Was Celestia's devotion to her sister gone?

Luna shook her head, trying to dislodge the thought from her head. Celestia was her sister. Luna knew Celestia loved her. She had to. They were siblings. Though, the more she thought about it, the more recent events had caused her to doubt that very sentiment.

Finally finding the last shoe hidden in the dumbwaiter, she slipped it on her hoof. She looked into its reflective silver, seeing only a sad and confused pony looking back at her.

The ponies abandoning the ship was of significance as well, she knew. It was a reflection of how things were now. She had few friends beyond her night-guard, and even those friends were cursory at best. She was almost always alone. And that was the thing she hated most of all about controlling the night.

Not that she had taken care of the night anytime recently. Celestia had not seen it fit to return that duty to Luna yet. The only thing she could ask was why? The answer was always the same; either because Celestia didn't feel Luna had recovered, or, more recently, that they would talk about it later. Luna had barely spoken with her sister since she had returned, and those few times they managed to have time together, it always felt awkward. Luna couldn't quite put her hoof on it. Was it because her sister had changed? Was she not the sibling she had known? Or was it Luna who had changed? Did Celestia resent her?

The final dab of makeup under her eyes finished her evening sprucing. She wondered why she even bothered though. Almost all ponies slept during the night, so there was no one to actually impress or show good face to.

She looked at herself in the mirror. Again, she saw the hurt in her eyes.

Not this time.

She forced herself rigid, her eyes taking on their usual mask of shrewd cunning. This time, she would make Celestia tell her why. This time Luna would know for certain her sister's plan.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

What... What is this?

Oh, good! You can talk back! I was almost afraid for a moment the Spectre had taken all forms of communication away from you!

Twilight was taken aback by the suddenness of the situation. Her mouth opened and closed rapidly, her attempts to speak in vain.

“Twilight! What's wrong?” Spike spoke again, this time fear riddling his tone. “Say something!”

I don't how how many times I can apologize, Twilight. I am really, really sorry for this, but just listen for a few moments, okay?

Something touched her shoulder, and Twilight jumped away instinctively, hunching down and trying to see what had touched her.

“Twilight...”

What's going on here? What are you! Stop talking to me!  Twilight thought feverishly.

I see words aren't going to help. I'm going to have wait for you to calm down first. Just stop for a moment, and collect yourself. Think your words once your okay.

Twilight again felt something touch her, tentatively this time. The small clawed hand was warm against her clammy skin, a cold sweat having broken out across her body.

“Should I go get help?” Spike asked. Having managed to straighten her thoughts out, she nodded numbly. “Okay. Okay, I'll be right back! I'll go get Rarity. She's closest. Hopefully she'll know what to do.” Twilight nodded in response, and heard the patter of Spike's footsteps, and the quick opening and slamming of the front door.

So, are you better?  The voice said again.

Alright, I'm going to get some answers,  Twilight thought in the meanest voice she could imagine. First off, what is going on? Why can't I speak? Or even see, for that matter? And who in the hay are you?  She heard a sigh, or the voices version of a sigh in her head.

I'll do my best to explain. It's the least I owe you for this. The book you read the ritual from? I happen to be that book.

It took Twilight a moment to catch on.

So your-

An animate book, yes. And before you go off on me for this, let me explain, okay? I will do everything I can to fill you in.

Start talking.

I am an animate book, as I said. I was written with the express purpose of helping ponies find the right spell for the occasion. In this case, you needed something to undo the knot you had tied someone in, and a knot untying spell wasn't going to do the trick.

How do you know about what I did? And why wouldn't a knot untying spell have worked?

I need to be able to tell what you need, so quite clearly I am able to read into your thoughts. In a limited fashion, of course,  It added hastily when it felt Twilight mentally recoil at the thought, and through that limited telepathy, I could also tell that, well, your absolutely horrid when it comes to untying knots.

Twilight''s ears sunk a little bit. It was a rather strange aversion (as she liked to call it) she had,  but knots had never been one of her specialties. In fact, she had never managed to untie one with her magic. And Spike had been worked in such a good one there was no way simple manual labor would have done the trick.

So, I chose the next best thing I could think of, that being the time spell. And of course, as you can tell, that's gone horribly wrong.

Why?  Twilight thought in return. Why did it go wrong?

Because the Spectre woke up. If it hadn't of been so close to awakening,  you would have been fine.

Twilight was completely lost.

What in the name of Celestia is a Spectre? And why can't I see or talk?

I'm getting to that, almost there. I'll start with the Spectre. What it was, specifically, was a Death Spectre. What that means, is that is the creature which will ultimately be responsible for your death.

A strange numbness settled across Twilight. She had seen death? She had seen, quite literally, her own mortality?

Every pony has their own Death Spectre, the book continued, and these creatures feed off of your life force to sustain themselves. In the end, they maintain themselves while ending you. Now, using time spells pulls on the energy of the Spectre, making it wake faster and force it to pull more life from you to maintain itself. It doesn't realize this if it's asleep, but it just so happened yours was on the verge of waking anyways, which was the worst possible moment for the ritual. And it seems it decided on a rather impish way of taking the life it needed from you. It's taken your sight and your voice.

So, you mean...?

You are blind and mute, yes.

Twilight felt something inside her snap. The carefully constructed life she had made for herself here in ponyville was shattering. Without her eyes she couldn't read, and she had never learned braille. Without her voice, she couldn't speak. She couldn't debate, she couldn't lead, much less see where she was going. The snap let loose a wave of horror. Her limbs starting shaking, and her eyes began watering.

She couldn't read her books anymore. She couldn't hush Pinkie when she got of hand. She wouldn't even be able to watch Rainbow Dash when she performed a new trick. She began to sob, quietly. This wasn't something that bawling could even hope to represent. She sank to her knees, her head bowed down between her front legs, her tears running freely out onto the floor.

Twilight! Pull yourself together! I can fix this!

Twilight perked up at the thought.

What? But, how?

The how is easy, but I'm going to have to ask you to trust what I tell you. Can you do that?

Twilight nodded eagerly, a small smile forming on her lips.

Good. First things first, get to the front door. And don't stop for anything, understand? Even if you hear your friends voices, you can't stop. Understand?

But, why?

Simple. Your Death Spectre is awake, and more than likely very angry about what I'm doing. It will stop at nothing to keep you from gaining back what it has taken. Your friends may not even be your friends. Even Spike there was trying to keep you still, remember? Stay here, he said. If you stay here, we'll never manage to fix this.

Twilight moved carefully toward the stairs. Though she knew the library well enough, once outside she would be lost.

I'll be sure to tell you where to go once we're out the door,  the book reassured her.

With hope filling every step she took, Twilight edged out the front door.

     ___________________________________________________________________________________

Ensnared

Unbound

By Sojourner

Celestia sighed and removed her crown from it place atop her head, setting it gently on its pedestal left of the balcony doors, which were left open to keep the room fresh and cool. The wide, circular room that was Celestia's bedchamber was nothing but windows, save for the door into the castle proper. The tint of the windows helped keep the light of the night out, easing the eye and calming the mind with the surrounding darkness. It was like a comforting blanket, and the warm summer dreariness made sleep come that much easier. The only other things in the room were her bed, canopy draped in pink translucent fabric, and her mirror, tall enough to show her entire form. Celestia's eyes were heavy lidded as she approached her bed, a small smile forming across her lips as she fluffed the pillows. Those eyes quickly widened at the sound of the balcony doors slamming shut. She turned to find Luna standing in front of the now shut doors, staring daggers straight into Celestia's gaze.

"Sister, what are you doing in here?" Celestia asked, raising her eyebrows at Luna.

"We would hope you would know," Luna retorted, annoyance showing through her tone and eyes. "How could you? Again?"

Celestia sighed, rubbing her eyes. She looked back at her sister. "Can we talk about this later, Luna? I need to get some sleep-"

"You've been making nothing but excuses since last year! Always, it's either 'we'll talk later', 'I'll find you later', 'now isn't the time'. Well, it's time! We are fairly certain you have no business to attend to here." Luna swept her front leg around in an arc, "So why? Why haven't you given Us back control of the moon? Of the stars? It's our proper role in the kingdom, and We are tired of sitting around doing nothing!"

Celestia straightened, letting her sleepy, downtrodden gaze grow firm as she approached her sister. A full head taller, she looked down at Luna. "You need more time to recover," Celestia said, her voice still gentle despite the hardening of her features. "A thousand years under the control of Nightmare Moon, and you still speak of yourself as 'We' and 'Us.' Your're not back to your old self yet, and once you are, we will see about getting you back where you belong."

Luna's eyes quivered slightly, but her body remained rigid and defiant.

"We... I am fine, Celestia, and will be much better once I am helping to run the kingdom again!"

"Stop yelling," Celestia spoke in calm tones. "There's no need—"

"Sometimes, it's the only way to get my point made. And sometimes it's the only way to get something to stick in your skull, Celestia! So why?"

Celestia's face grew cross. If anything, she seemed bigger now. small tendrils of light yellow energy sparked from the corners of her eyes.

"Maybe," She said, her voice grave, "just maybe, when you stop having that dream of yours we'll see."

Celestia's words made Luna recoil, as though she had been slapped in the face.

"My dream?" Luna repeated after her sister, as if saying it again would stop the words from coming.

"Yes. The one with Nightmare Moon. It's been going on for a long time now, Luna."

"Why does it matter? Its just a dream! And how long have you been violating my privacy? We agreed never to dream weave unless we told the dreamer. Just what are you doing?"

"It does matter, Luna. You of all people should understand dreams. It was your field of expertise, far more-so than mine." Celestia voice grew in volume slowly as she spoke. "Nightmare Moon isn't gone yet. She still lingering, waiting for her chance to get back at you, and I'm not going to allow that to happen. That's why I want—"

"Stop." Luna glowered at her sister. "Just stop. We don't care." Celestia's eyes widened.

"Luna..." Celestia softened, her eyes losing the streak of anger that had been building, and her body seeming to shrink. "I'm sorry. I'm just worried..."

"Worried about Nightmare Moon taking over again. I know." Luna took measured steps to the door, not looking at Celestia while she spoke.  "Scared that I'm not strong enough to overcome my jealousy. Too scared to even trust your own sister."

"Luna, you know that's not true."

Luna didn't look back as she left the room.

"Prove it then."

________________________________________________________________________________________

The library was always quiet this time of night. Everypony was asleep, and the only ones up besides Luna were the Nightguard tending to their duties, leaving Luna little other discourse. Though book-reading hadn't been something she originally enjoyed, it was something she had grown fond of. It had been quite the way to pass the night, without anyone else around to talk to and nothing more to handle than the night sky. Her favorites turned out to be the Fiction: stories of adventure, excitement, and especially romance. Things Luna realized she would love to do if she had the chance. Or would have done now, if something just didn't feel so wrong.

She wandered through the dusty tomes, the tall shelves shading her as she perused the books and scrolls. None of them were familiar. Being away for a long time, you would expect something like that. But that didn't mean it wasn't now alien to her. Where was the good fiction hiding? All her favorites? She sighed. Even though her sister wanted her to take time for herself, she just didn't feel comfortable not having anything to do. And besides that, Celestia didn't even seem particularly pleased Luna was here, if her actions were any indication. She had been back for a year, and the longest time she spent with her sister was breakfast. Along with that, no one ever seemed happy to see her. It was almost as if she was still Nightmare Moon. The worst part of it was, though Celestia seemed to believe Nightmare Moon to be some other pony, she wasn't. All these years, Nightmare Moon was Luna. A thousand years on the moon is more than enough time for your jealousy and rage to build to a point where you can't even recognize yourself.

"Princess?"

Luna jumped.

"Who's there?" she said, suspicion wrought in her frame.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize you would be up this late." A small plump unicorn bowed to her when she turned to look at him.  His coat was tan and his mane brown and disheveled. He looked up at her, pushing a large pair of square spectacles back up onto his snout. The open book marked on his flank gave a good indication of his profession.

"Who are you?" Luna asked, perturbed by this meeting. No one was up at this hour. Not normally, at least.

"Oh! Names, uhm,  Dewy Delights, Like the delights of the Dewy Decimal System!"  he replied, his voice nasally. he laughed at his own joke, before quickly quieting. "Yes, but uhm, as you can see, I am the librarian, so I suppose that would mean it's alright for me to be up, unless you would prefer peace and quiet, your highness."

"No, no. please," Luna spoke, her surprise giving away to a curious joy, "Stay. We have never been treated so, well, casually before."

"Oh! I'm sorry, highness. Am I, uhm, not quite respectful enough? D'oh, I knew I should've looked up that book on proper etiquette-"

"No! no, your're fine. We would enjoy some company where we can relax." At that, Luna loosened up, her body having gone rigid out of instinct. "Please, if We may inquire, Why are you up so late? Normally, no one stays up so far into the night."

"Well, Your highness-"

"Please, call Us Luna."

"Oh, of course, your high- uhm, well, I mean, Luna." She smiled at this. It felt so strange for someone other than Celestia to call her Luna without all her usual titles. "I find it much, much easier to organize the books and returns during the night when no one is trying to check out books or do research. I have assistants who take care of the matter of checkout during the day, and I, well, I-I take care of categorizing and putting the books back in their proper places." Luna nodded in response.

"It must get lonely," she said remorsefully.

"Well, not always. Books are amazing companions," Dewey said, a small speckle growing brighter in his eye.

"It can't compare to normal ponies, though, can it?" Luna asked.

"Well, not always, but I do get my time off. So it's not all terrible, at all."

"We've had more than enough time off, and yet still, We have almost no one to talk to."

"Really? Well, uhm, why would that be, Your- uh, uhm, I mean, of course, uh, Luna?"

Luna stood quietly for a moment, thinking.

"Would you mind playing Us in a game of chess?" Luna asked suddenly.

"Wha-What? I, uh, mean, uhm, well-"

"We will help you with the books, as payment?"

"I suppose. O-of course! I enjoy a good game of chess!"

_________________________________________________________________________________________

"Knight to E-7..."

It had been so long since Luna had played a proper game of chess, and it was showing. So far, Dewy had the advantage.

"Bishop to A-3."

If she could take the knight now, she might have a chance.

"You've made such an, uh, obvious move, Luna," Dewy noted out loud. "There's something else here, right?"

Luna simply smiled. "You'll have to see, won't you?"

Dewy return the expression, his smile only growing wider at Luna's chuckle.

"I haven't played a game this good since that one time Celestia played me." Luna's bad mood returned just as quickly as it had left at the mention of her sister. Dewy didn't miss this, and a look of concern spread across his features. "I'm sorry, d-did I?- What's troubling you, uhm, Your High- uh, whoops, I mean, Luna?"

"Obvious enough that even someone like you can tell?" Luna sighed in answer. She had done her best to hide her shift in feeling, but Dewy was more perceptive than she originally thought.

Dewy gave a small smile, eyes scrunched shut. "I know what you mean; there's more to me than first meets the eye."

Luna was unsure what would be okay to share. I'm sure it wouldn't be horrible of me to have him listen. I'm sure he wouldn't mind. No one minds being graced by royalty. And, I'll have someone to really talk to.

She began, first by telling him about how Celestia had been that evening, how angry she had been. Luna moved on, explaining her lack of contact with her sister, the mood everyone seemed to be in when she was around, how almost no one seemed to like or trust her. How frustrating it all was. She told him everything.

Dewy simply listened, his face a mask of practiced neutrality.

"W-Well, Luna," He spoke after she finished, "That's quite the, uhm, the emotional burden you have there. In fact, I don't think I would hesitate to say you need help. If you wouldn't mind, of course. It's not my place to say such a thing, but-"

Luna cut him off. "You've done quite a bit just letting Us speak with you. Thank you."

"M-might I make a, uh, suggestion?" He added, looking nervous.

"Of course," Luna said.

"Maybe this, uhm, b-b-book could help." He levitated a small tome up to the table, setting it gently between the pieces on the board. "Go ahead, give it a look."

Luna took the book herself. It felt quite heavy, even while being carried by telepathy. There was no title on the cover, merely a realistic looking bronze flower. Luna felt herself entranced. This flower seemed almost real, as if it was reaching out of the cover to touch her. She could smell the fragrance, almost like a rose, but hinting at something different, something more. The silver and gold vine's stretching across the cover almost seemed to be wriggling.

"What is this book?" Luna asked, managing to tear her gaze away from the tome.

But Dewy was nowhere to be seen.

Curious, Luna looked back to the book. It opened without a sound.

Welcome, Princess of the Night.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

"Honestly Spike, why won't you tell me what's the matter?"

Rarity was grumpy, mostly because of a small dragon that just so happened to have been pounding on her door in the middle of the night. The look of terror on Spike face had quickly convinced her, however, that taking a look into whatever was scaring him was worth her while.

"That's because I don't know what's wrong," Spike admitted. "Twilight was acting all strange. Stranger than usual, I mean," he added. "She looked like she seen a ghost or something, and she wouldn't talk to me when I asked her what was up. She just stared into space."

"Hmm. That is rather odd," Rarity replied, her worry for Twilight growing with every step. "But, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about! We'll just talk to Twilight when we get to the library and ask her what—"

The two stopped when they notice a familiar unicorn inching her way down the sidewalk. "Twilight?"

Twilight jumped at the sound of her name and shook violently, her eyes darting around nervously. The book she was levitating with her remained floating, undisturbed by her movements. "Twilight, My dear, are you alright?" Rarity tried to be as kind as she could, but couldn't help the slight jitter in her voice as she spoke. A sound not unlike wind moved through her mind, the whispering sound barely audible.

There... Keep away... Move!

It was no voice Rarity could discern. Twilight continued walking, her pace faster than before. She moved right past Rarity and Spike without even so much as a word or a nod. No acknowledgement of the pair at all.

"See? I told you something weird was going on!" Spike said, the fear in his voice evident.

"Spike, I'm sure Twilight has a reasonable explanation for all of this," Rarity replied. The small laugh she spoke Spike's name in though was anything but jovial.

Normal... Wrong... Away! Away...

Rarity wasn't just worried, anymore. She was confused and somewhat scared.

"Twilight, talk to me, please! Hold on just a moment!" Twilight began trotting, and it was obvious she was trying to get away. "Slow down, please!" Rarity and Spike managed to catch up, and Rarity positioned herself in front of Twilight. Whatever was going on, it was clear as day to Rarity that Twilight wasn't aware of her surroundings. Being the social butterfly she was,the way Twilight moved and acted was more than an indicator of her distressed state. "Please Twilight! Stop for a moment, and talk to me!" Rarity put up a hoof, using it to try and stop twilight from advancing.

Keep away!

Twilight's pupil contracted, smaller than pinpricks for the moment Rarity was able to see them, the next thing she knew, she was hurling through the air. Twilight had blasted her with a field of concussive force. She slammed against the backside of a wagon, and quickly stumbled onto her feet, dizzy from the impact. Twilight wasn't trotting anymore. She was running, as though something was chasing her. Something dangerous.

"Rarity?" Spike said, his voice quivering as he spoke. "Are you okay?" She shook her head and managed to clear away spinning in her eyes. Spike looked to be at the edge of tears.

"I'm okay. But something is definitely wrong." Rarity began brushing herself off, dusting off bits of dirt from her fur. looking after Twilight, she noted her direction of travel: the Everfree Forest. "We need to get the others. Come on Spike!"