King of Tyrants

Chapters

Prologue
1. Runaway Pet
2. The Archive
3. Ever seen this Pony before?
4. Curiosity killed the Cat
5. Chained

Prologue

It’s horribly cold outside, food is getting scarce all the while their tribe is getting hungrier by the minutes. The endless winter caused by the wendigos was starting to take its toll on the three tribes that are battling for survival. Each had their own territory, and they would fiercely defend it to hog all of its resources for themselves.

Out on the cold tracks, there were two earth ponies wandering the woods in search of bays and water. The older one was a stallion who had done this many times already while the younger pony was a mare who was sent to aid the stallion in his search.

“Remember to always look above from to time to time. Our fruits are in the trees, not the ground.”

The mare was taken out of her thoughts by the ragged voice of the stallion. “Aye aye!”

He sighed as his eyes swung from left to right to make sure there was no danger. “And don’t forget to make sure there’s no danger. You gotta look around and always keep tracks of your surroundings. That is, unless you want to get lost in this frozen wasteland.”

“I know, I know. That’s what they always say.”

Suddenly, something caught the stallion’s attention. It was a small cottage, just on a small path on his right. There must be an earth pony in there, or at least, it was used by an earth pony. Anyhow, it wouldn’t hurt for them to warm up inside before they’ll keep on going with their scavenging.

“See that cottage? We’re going to stay in there for a few minutes before we resume. Got it?” he said in a commanding voice. The mare knew she only had the illusion of a choice, but she didn’t feel the need to oppose his wishes. She too, was feeling cold.

“I’m cool with that.”

Inside, the cottage was empty. No sign of any pony in here, though there are still some furniture remaining. From the looks of it, they have been used not long ago. There was a fireplace with burnt logs inside. Good, that should do just fine for these two.

The stallion was perhaps a bit too focussed on the fireplace for he did not notice something out of the ordinary but thankfully, the mare did.

“Is that like some sort of shrine?”

The old stallion turned his head immediately. Just on the far end of the cottage was a bunch of dimly lit candles surrounding a large painting hunched on the wall. The painting displayed the leader of the earth ponies, Chancellor Puddinghead in a triumphant pose.

“Wow, whoever painted this is really good.” He approached the painting, admiring it for a couple of seconds before an idea popped in his mind. “We should bring it back to the chancelor, he’ll surely be pleased. Hay, he might even give us a special favor if we can convince him that we made this!

The mare smiled, greatly pleased with his idea. “That sounds great. But how are we going to bring it back? It’s a little big...” she said as she looked back at the door, hoping that nopony would see nor hear their little scheme.

The stallion scoffed. “Oh please. I may be old, but I'm still strong enough to lift something like this.” He got on his hind legs and touched it to get a feel for the painting. “Now watch and learn gi-” His hoof passed through the painting. But how?

He got back on all four and curious to see if there was something on the other side, he stuck his head through.

“Ok, how long is this going to take? You said you could lift it, so why aren’t you-”

She stopped mid-sentence when she saw the stallion with his head lodged inside the painting.

“Wha- How are you doing this? Is this a magical painting?” the words left her mouth almost instantly, making them nearly incomprehensible.

She trotted over to the old pony. His body suddenly jolted for a mere second as she got close to him.
“So, uh... You’re gonna let me see through?”

He didn’t respond nor did he show any sign of acknowledgment. Irritated, the mare pulled on him with her hooves.

“Hey! Quit being self-”

The stallion’s body flopped to the ground as blood spilled all over the floor. His head was missing. Paralysed, the mare stared at the corpse in a mixture of fear and disbelief. The blood dripping out of the headless body slipped through the cracks of the cottage’s floor, hitting the ground underneath as it echoed through the interior.

Before she even realised what happened, something powerful grabbed her hind legs and began to drag her into the painting as she saw a giant green mass latch onto the dead stallion. Panicking, she scrambled for anything to grab on to, but there was nothing that could help her resist the pull of the thing.

“Help! Somepony! Please help m-”

With one swift pull, she disappeared alongside the headless corpse of the stallion. The dim lights on the candles were blown away by a strong gust of wind and the painting... faded away alongside the candles. The cottage was empty again.

1. Runaway Pet

"Spike! Be a little more careful with these books!”

Barely anypony came to the Golden Oak today. Thus, Twilight Sparkle had not much to do other than to read of course. It was her passion, a burning desire to always know more, to learn everything there is about Equestria and its history. She was worried that Spike’s little tumble could have damaged these already worse for wear books.

“I’ll try, but they are just so heavy!” complained the little dragon as he struggled to lift the heavy pile above his head. He finally managed to place them up on the table where the unicorn was sitting.

“Thanks Spike.” she casually said, her face still buried inside her book. She practically knew all its content yet couldn’t help herself to read it again from start to finish. Something about the precise, simple yet beautiful writing kept her attention drawn to the book.

“Need anything else?” asked Spike.

Twilight stopped reading and turned her attention to him. “Not really. Since we barely had anypony come in, I’ll let you do whatever you want for the day. Just don’t do anything dangerous.”

“Really!?” Spike had a large smile on his face as his eyes shined with wonder at all the things, he imagined himself doing on his surprise day-off. The mare nodded as her eyes snapped back to her book.

The little dragon ran upstairs to grab his stuff before making a beeline to the door. “Don’t run down the stairs, Spike! You could trip and hurt yourself badly!”

“I’ll be more careful next time!” he dismissively said, opening the door to finally take his well-deserved day-off. Just as he was about to run outside, he bumped into something and fell on his back.

“Oh! I’m sorry Spike. Are you okay?” The baby dragon lifted his head to see Fluttershy handing out a hoof to him.

“No need, I’m not really hurt.” he replied, getting up on his own. While he appreciated the great care everypony in Ponyville showed to him, he felt like sometimes they were treating him more like a fragile baby. A treatment he didn’t like in the slightest.

Having heard the voice of the Pegasus, Twilight hopped out of her seat to greet her friend. “Hey Fluttershy! What brings you here?”

“Hey Twilight, I hope I'm not interrupting anything.” she said with the usual concern in her voice that could only indicate one thing; she needed help. Fluttershy always had this particular tone whenever she had to ask somepony for help and Twilight eventually memorised it to the point that she could read her like an open book.

“Don’t worry about that, I’m always happy to lend a helping hoof!” jovially responded the unicorn.

Fluttershy’s eyes widened in surprise. “O-Oh, how did you know?”

“You could say I have the power of observation on my side.” Twilight turned her gaze towards Spike who looked nervous. The Pegasus already knew what her friend was about to say.

“No no, we can do it just the two of us.”

The lavender unicorn paused for a moment, surprised herself that the Pegasus pulled the same stunt. “Uh? Okay then.” Looking back at Spike, she said. “Well, have a nice day then. Just be careful, okay?”

With a massive smile on his face, the baby dragon left the library. “Sure will!”

Fluttershy moved to the side to show Twilight the two baskets full of carrots and treats she was carrying. “My pet Angel ran away out of the blue. I don't know why he did. I mean, I always took great care of him, fed him properly, gave him a lot of affection. I just... wonder if he felt dissatisfied with how I usually treat him.”

Twilight looked at the two baskets, gears turning in her head. “So, did he really run away for good or is he just being his petty self? I know Angel can have rather selfish needs. He’ll probably come crawling back to you if you don’t play his game.” she asked, though she knew that her friend probably already tried.

Fluttershy avoided eye contact, looking off to the side to somewhat hide her anxiety. “That’s what I’ve been thinking too but... it’s been six hours and he hasn’t returned.”

“Ah... Well, did you go out to look for him? He must surely be around Ponyville.

“Actually, Twilight, I last saw him a couple of minutes ago... running into the Everfree forest.”

Twilight now understood why Fluttershy wanted her help with Angel’s fugue. The Everfree forest is the one place Fluttershy would never go to alone. It is a dark and dangerous forest, but Twilight had the power of knowledge on her side and with time, the Everfree lost its fear factor to her. Hence, why the Pegasus trusted her the most with venturing into the forest.

Fear always comes from the unknown. It’s a natural fear that everyone possesses, be it ponies, dragons and even magical gods alike. Knowing the dangers lurking in the Everfree still made Twilight a little nervous to go into these dark woods, but she had the comfort of knowing how to deal with the wildlife should they get in trouble.

“I’m ready to go when you are, Fluttershy.” she confidently exclaimed to the Pegasus.

“No luck finding him...” Fluttershy was disappointed in how badly their search was going. Her anxiety was only rising more and more with each passing minutes. They still had a few hours left before nightfall, but the Pegasus would rather get this over with as quickly as possible for, she hated the Everfree forest and feared that Angel might fall prey to the various predators lurking around these woods.

Twilight looked up to her left and noticed the Castle of the Two Sisters overlooking the woods. This castle was long abandoned and has succumbed to nature since then. She saw a tiny silhouette making its way towards the castle.

“Hey Fluttershy! I think I saw Angel! He’s running towards the abandoned castle!”

“Th-The c-castle?” Fluttershy looked reluctant to go in, but she couldn't say no when her precious pet Angel was on the line. No matter how scared she was, she’d never leave a pet behind.

“Don’t be scared, I’ll stay close to you while we’ll be looking for him in there!” reassured the lavender unicorn upon noticing her friend’s worried expression.

And so, they made their way towards the abandoned castle. As they got close to it, they noticed that it was getting slightly darker. One simple look at the sun alerted them to a small issue. The Sun had been lowered, though not entirely. This was a heads up by Princess Celestia to let ponies know that it would be night in a few hours.

“That’s not a problem! We have more than enough time to find your pet and bring him back to the cottage.” Twilight’s confidence worked in easing Fluttershy’s worries as they opened the front gate of the castle and entered. The gate had a small crack at the bottom. Big enough for a bunny to fit in. Though the unicorn.

The castle had been taken over by nature. Many plants and even a few trees grew inside its moist interior. The only concern was that it was dark in certain areas where they weren’t any windows but that shouldn’t cause too much problem. The more aggressive denizens of the Everfree usually stayed away from the castle. There was little danger inside for both the two ponies and the runaway bunny.

“Um, where should we look first?” asked Fluttershy.

Twilight’s eyes darted around the various halls and stairs present. “I don’t know. I guess we’ll just have to pick a random direction and hope for the best. I mean, you’ve brought carrots and treats. We can lure him with them.”

They decided to start with the throne room as it was the most accessible and the closest to the entrance. The two thrones have been taken over by the vegetation creeping into the castle. They have essentially become grassy seats, which looked kind of funny to the two.

“So that’s what this 100% natural craze is all about?” playfully said Twilight.

Fluttershy giggled for a while, albeit it was an unimpressed one for she was still deeply anxious about Angel. “That was, um, pretty good, I think.”

Closely examining behind the thrones, the two ponies found a small hole, just big enough for a bunny to fit through. Finding him would be impossible if he hid in there, but that’s why they brought the food.

“Meh, if he’s really in there, we’ll just place some food down and I'll snatch him up with my magic once he sticks his head out.” confidently said the lavender unicorn as she charged her horn to place a carrot down a good distance away from the hole. “Let’s hide behind the thrones and wait for him to come out.”

“Are you sure he’s in there?” asked Fluttershy as she peeked at the apple from behind the smaller throne.

“Only one way to find out.” Twilight shrugged.

They waited, and waited, and waited...

“Maybe we’re too close? Angel might have seen us from here.”

The unicorn sighed. “You’re probably right. How about we hide behind these pillars instead?” she pointed a hoof at the pillars next to the thrones. They were located to the side of the hole, which would make it harder for the bunny to see them from the hole.

As they holed up and stared from behind the pillars, Fluttershy saw a movement in the corner of her eyes. She looked to her right just in time to see the silhouette of a small animal run past a hallway. “Twilight! I think that was Angel!” she exclaimed while pointing a hoof in the direction of the pet.

Twilight wasted no time in chasing down the runaway bunny with the Pegasus following, albeit lagging behind. As the unicorn turned the corner, she could unmistakably make out that this animal was in fact, Angel judging by its white fur. “Angel! Come back here!”

She pursued the pet up the stairs but was surprised at just how quick he was moving and yet, he remained within viewing distance. It felt almost taunting with how often the bunny looked behind to gage the distance between the two with his pearly white eyes.

Wait, pearly white eyes? Angel’s eyes are usually black. Moreover, his face had a blank expression rather than his usual mocking look that he carried on his sleeves. Angel was always a little rascal; he’d never keep such a serious visage during a chase like this. He’d be taunting her all the way through but now, he was acting very out of character. Twilight spent enough time watching Fluttershy dealing with him to know that.

The bunny eventually stopped in front of a door with a small hole at the bottom. He looked back at the chasing unicorn one last time before crawling through it. Twilight stopped and opened the door as quickly as she could. The room was dark, making it hard to see anything.

The unicorn’s horn charged up with light to illuminate the area and as she did, a large mass of colours swung down on her. She screamed as she pulled back and hit the wall behind her. Falling to her flank, she placed her hooves up to her face to shield it from any harm.

The mass split apart into tons of smaller flying things. Ugh, it was just fruit bats. Twilight got back up, feeling embarrassed at her rather dramatic reaction for such harmless creatures. There are many types of bats in Equestria, some are more dangerous than others. Fruit bats, however, are far from dangerous, that is unless you’re trying to run a farm.

As she moved deeper into the room, she was met with a curious sight. A large number of candles were placed around a large painting. The painting displayed the two alicorn sisters, Celestia standing on the left with the sun behind her and Luna on the right with the moon also being behind her. It looked very impressive, quite realistic for a painting. Whoever painted this had quite the talent.

Twilight moved in closer to get a better look at the painting. As she did, something jumped out and landed on her head.

“Wha- hey!”

Angel had jumped out of the painting and was now running outside the room. Just as she was about to chase the little rascal once again, she realised something quite bizarre.

Angel jumped out of the painting? Looking back at it, there was no damage whatsoever. Not a hole in the shape of a bunny, nothing. How did he do it? The mare couldn’t just gloss over this strange fact and so she reached a hoof out and touched the painting.

She pulled it back almost immediately when it phased through the object.

“What? How is this possible?”

She touched the painting again and just as expected; her hoof passed through it. Is this a secret passage?

Placing down the basket on the floor, she lifted her upper body to peek her head through the passage. She was not being too cautious and as she leaned in closer and closer, she lost her balance and tripped inside the painting.

“Angel! Don’t run! It’s just me, Fluttershy!”
The bunny stopped and looked at his owner. She happily picked him up and hugged him.

“Twilight! It’s okay; I got Angel!”

...Silence followed. The unicorn was nowhere to be seen.

“Uh... Tw-Twilight?”

Author's Note

Insert funny Mario 64 Jumping into Paintings reference.

2. The Archive

Twilight was thrusted onto the ground, slamming belly first since she lost her balance. She groaned in pain as she stood up, now that was a brutal fall.

Examining her surroundings, she was surprised to see just how different the whole place looked. The castle now had a cozy feeling, the candles around the room were lighting it up nicely, the stone walls were wooden and there was furniture around.

Twilight turned around to look back at the painting. It was still the exact same, just a painting of the two alicorn sisters. Well, the painting was bigger on this side, but apart from that, not much has changed regarding his object. The candles were still there, but much brighter than in the other side. Did she travel back in time? No, couldn’t be. The walls were wooden and as far as she knew, they were also made of stones.

Now that’s odd for upon closer inspection, there was a small difference in the painting. One that Twilight was barely able to make out. The expression on the sisters' faces were slightly different. They were looking down at whoever was viewing the painting with a worried look in their eyes,

“Ok... that’s strange.” muttered the mare to herself before deciding she should leave this room and see if anything else changed.

The door opened and she entered the halls. Now Twilight was really thrown in for a loop. The geometry of the castle was near identical to the ruins she was in, but at the same time, it felt completely different. The walls, the floor and the ceiling were all made of stones, yes, but it was a different kind of stone altogether. It was dark, much, much darker than the ruins despite having some torches placed around.

While this darkness was quite eerie, Twilight had all her attention on something else. Far off in the distance, there was somepony playing the piano, or perhaps it was just a recording. The music itself was, how to put it, dread-inducing?

Calming? Sad? All those adjectives seemed correct to describe this song. It was certainly quite unnerving to say the least as Twilight felt a slight shiver go up her spine. But I suppose it’s better to have this than to be in complete silence inside a castle that feels familiar yet alien at the same time.

In front of the unicorn was a flight of stairs that lead down, but to her left was a door with a sign resting above it. It read: Archive.

Archive? Maybe I can find something useful in there. For a book nerd like Twilight, the thought of finding rare literature inside this alternate castle sounded too exciting to pass. After all, if she arrived in this place via the painting, then that means that she can exit using this same passage, right? Should there be any danger whatsoever, she could just leave. There’s nothing to be afraid of.

Trotting up to the door, Twilight opened it. An infernal creak echoed throughout the hall. Despite being startled by this loud sound, the mare pressed on and entered the archives.

Interesting observation, the walls, the floor and the ceiling were entirely made of wood. It gave the place a welcoming vibe, a far cry from the hallway she just came from. The good news was that it was much brighter in there. She could easily see where she was going. There were windows too, unlike the hall, which allowed more light inside. Making her way down the archive, the unicorn passed by many doors and wondered just where she should go first.

She stopped abruptly when she heard something dragging across the floor in an adjacent room. Twilight Sparkle stared anxiously at the door that separated her from the source of the sound. A lot of time passed, and the sound didn’t return. The mare shook her head. Don’t be such a coward, Twilight. It was probably nothing to be worried about.

Brave words indeed, but she subconsciously didn’t believe them as demonstrated by the fact that the first door she chose to go through was one that was far, far away from the source of the dragging noise.

Inside was a long room in the shape of a rectangle filled with bookshelves. The unicorn smiled in wonder when she saw just how many books were placed on the shelves. She just had to see what they were all about. If she’s lucky, she might get to read books that were lost to time following the abandonment of the castle in the Everfree.

Walking up to one of the bookshelves, Twilight carefully inspected the state of the books. Much to her excitement, they were all in fairly good condition. They were only dusty which wasn’t really a problem for she simply blew off the dust and grabbed one of them. This book caught attention for it was more damaged than the others, an indication of its age.

Her eyes lit up with wonder when she finally got to read the title. “The pony guidebook before and after the founding of Equestria?!” she unconsciously said out loud. She knew the history of the three pony tribes before they founded Equestria but the details on how things were back then were rather vague. Most of the information regarding the way the three tribes functioned were relatively unknown. The stage play she did in Canterlot with her friends only contained a few accurate details, the rest was all imagined for the sake of the play.

Naturally, she wanted to read it right now. And so, she did just that. Placing herself down on a nearby worktable, the mare opened the blinds on the window next to her, shedding some light in the room. Her eyes widened at the view outside. The castle was normally resting on top of a hill, but the forest was on the same level and on top of that, it was foggy outside, extremely foggy to the point that she couldn’t see much beyond a couple of trees. It gave off the feeling that this forest had no limit to its size.

Feeling slightly uneasy, Twilight began her read of this ancient tome. It was separated in three chapters; The Earth Ponies, The Pegasi and The Unicorns respectively. She chose to start at the beginning rather than to fly over through it.

With clear hatred for the Earth Ponies and the Pegasi, the Unicorns lived far away from them, possessing their own power structure. The magic present in the average unicorn is not terrible, but not impressive. They are at a greater disadvantage than the other tribe, but their power resides in the few who had mastered the art of magic. These mighty unicorns are feared and respected by their enemies and thanks to them, the Earth Ponies and the Pegasi stay far from their tribe.

Now that the basic have been established, let’s move onto the more interesting part. The Earth Ponies often send small groups at a time to scour for food. These groups usually have around ten members or so. It is imperative to carefully observe each of the ponies' stances, expressions and position within the group as these can tell a lot about their individual personalities.

“Huh? Why is it written from an outsider’s point of view?” Twilight asked to herself before she continued reading.

Those at the front are the bravest, the most confident. Their walk is determined, fearless even. Their movement are all calm and collected, a far cry from those who stay at the rear. The more cowardly type moves more erratically and often keeps their head down as a sign of anxiety.

Despite being social by nature, ponies can have a rather individualistic mindset when faced with danger. It is the greatest vice of all three clans and probably the reason why they can’t get along. A group can split up if they are faced with a threat far too intimidating for their liking. As such, splitting these scouting groups are quite easy. Throwing rocks, scratching trees and loudly stomping the ground works just fine. But sometimes, just placing something out of the ordinary works wonderfully as a lure.

“That... couldn’t have been written by a pony, right?” It sounded more like a predator taking notes of its prey, quite chilling to think about. Out of curiosity, Twilight flipped through the pages and started reading the first chapter after the founding of Equestria.

With their back against the walls, the three tribes chose to put aside their differences and unite against the wendigos that have been following them since the dawn of time. It worked and gone is the endless winter. Instead, there is Equestria, a new continent claimed by the earth ponies, the unicorns and the Pegasi.

I find their new talks of friendship and unity quite amusing. Is it really that easy to let go of many years of prejudices and accept each other? I doubt it. Anyhow, this turn of events calls for major revisions in the system...

Now Twilight Sparkle was fully convinced that whoever wrote this must not have been a pony. The author seemed completely detached from their conflicts and even belittled their efforts throughout the book. At least, the mare learned that there was a third party hidden from the three tribes’ conflict documenting the whole situation. She just had to trim the less than useful information from the important ones. With time, she could more accurately draw a portrait of this ancient era of their society and of the book’s author.

Wait, the music stopped. When did it stop playing? Twilight stopped staring at the book and looked around the room, feeling nervous. The somber melody of the piano had eased itself into her ears and provided a nice background noise which was miles better than to be left in complete silence. The worst thing about background noises is that you don’t pay attention to them after a while, but you do when they’re iuddenly gone.

The absence of the music meant that the unicorn could now hear all the subtle sounds of the castle, which only added to its oppressive feeling. Dust fell from the ceiling at various points in the archive, the wind outside entered through the open windows and the rustling of hooves resonated throughout the archive. That last sound in particular startled Twilight who was sitting idly on an old creaky chair. There was somepony in there with her!

Thankfully, the sound was moving away from her. Maybe it wasn’t aware of her presence in the archive. The lavender unicorn stood up and followed the source of the rustling, hoping to see who it could be. With great care, the mare opened the door. Despite being old in appearance, it didn’t creak. Relieving to be sure for the ominous silence of the castle would have made the creaking audible by everypony within a 50-mile radius.

Slowly peeking her head through the door, Twilight looked to her right to see who could be moving around the archive. Sadly, she was too slow to spot the stranger and only caught a glimpse of its flank before they left through the hallway that led out of this section of the castle. The mare let out a small groan of disappointment before sneaking through the hall that the mysterious pony took.

The door to the archive creaked loudly before it slammed shut. Then, the whole place went quiet again. Too slow, the pony was gone now. In the shadows of the back hall, there was no chance Twilight could get a clear view of them.

Arriving before the creaky door, she waited for a bit. She didn’t want to bring unwanted attention to herself so, she wanted to be sure that this mysterious pony was long gone before she’ll make a move.

“...ight!” The lavender unicorn flinched. A spectral voice broke the eerie silence of the archive. It sounded like it came from just beyond the door. Although barely audible, Twilight felt a certain feeling of fear coming from that voice.

Come to think of it, it sounds familiar...

Fluttershy! The mare finally decided to leave the archive, heading back into the dark and unwelcoming back hall. As she did, the Pegasus’s voice returned, this time sounding clearer.

“Twilight, where are you?” The poor thing sounded terrified. Left alone in the castle in the Everfree, she could be in great danger and in dire need of her help! Without wasting any seconds, Twilight ran back to the room with the alicorn painting and jumped into it.

Back at the other side, Twilight once again landed on her belly. A squeak resonated from beyond the painting room. The unicorn groaned as she brushed off the dirt and pebbles that got caught in her fur before calling out to her friend.

“Fluttershy? Is everything alright?”

The frightened weeping stopped and was soon followed by the scared voice of the Pegasus. “T-Twilight? A-Are you in there?”

In response, Twilight charged up her horn and opened the door with just the right speed to not startle the frightened Pegasus that was now holding Angel. “Don’t worry, Fluttershy; I’m still here.”

The Pegasus’s panicked breath started to slow down until it returned to a normal frequency. “You had me scared back there. You were there for a moment and the next thing I know, I’m all alone in this scary castle.”

“Well, you see I-” Twilight turned her head to look at the painting but was stunned to find nothing there, not even the candles remained. There wasn’t even a single trace of being taken down, it looked like it never was there to begin with. “... Huh.”

Fluttershy tilted her head to the side and gave the unicorn a confused expression.

“Could have sworn there was a painting there. Did you see one?”

The yellow Pegasus shook her head. “No, I don’t think there’s even a single painting remaining. Many ponies came and stole all that had value in here long ago.”

Come to think of it, the candles were gone too. It couldn’t have been just an hallucination, right? Everything in that alternate castle felt so real, every sound, every smell, every sight...

“O...kay then.” Twilight noticed that her basket was still where she had left it. Picking it up, she looked back at the Pegasus holding her pet and noticed that he looked normal now. Gone were the pearly white eyes and the odd expression. Angel looked like he always did, and acted like he didn’t just run away from his master. He had this bored expression, like he just wanted them to shut up and go home.

Twilight placed the basket on her back and asked Fluttershy “Are we ready to go?”

“Yeah, I don’t want to stay here any longer. This castle is giving me the creeps.”

“Now Angel; I want you to apologise for running away and scaring all of us.” Fluttershy said with a serious tone.

The bunny raised his eyebrows and looked around the forest before setting his gaze back on the Pegasus, shrugging his shoulders. He was sitting on her back in the basket of carrots and treats, stuffing his face with food.

“What do you mean by you don’t know why we’re out here? You ran in the Everfree forest after disappearing for six hours! You had me worried that something bad might have happened to you.” she continued but Angel still didn’t seem to get it.

However, he did express some remorse even though he didn’t know why he made her angry and anxious. He looked away, his hands behind his back, as he spun his ankle around, seemingly indecisive. Eventually, he slowly reached out and hugged the Pegasus’s neck. Fluttershy calmed down and smiled. There was nothing to be worried about, Angel still loved her as much as she loved him.

Twilight was quietly watching the scene, knowing that she had no business in this exchange. She waited until the two were done before she spoke up. “See? I told you we’d make it before nightfall.”

Fluttershy giggled. “I never doubted you, Twilight. We can always count on you to lend a helping hoof.”

Somewhere in the Everfree, there was another pony, a stallion to be precise. His skin was light green, and his mane was golden. On his flank lied his cutie mark, a sketchbook with a pencil next to it. He was looking around the forest in confusion.

“According to the map, I must be near Ponyville...” he looked up to look at his surroundings. No sign of pony civilisation in sight. “So why am I still inside this Tartarus hole!”

Breathing heavily through his nostrils, he closed his eyes to calm himself down. “No use in getting flustered. I’ll just pick a random direction and walk until I see something. Eventually I’ll find Ponyville, uh, hopefully.”

He took a photo out of his saddle bag. It featured a purple unicorn; a stallion just like him. Somepony he hasn’t seen in years no matter how many times he tried to get in contact with him.

“You often mentioned a unicorn going by the name of Twilight Sparkle, right? Maybe she knows why you’re missing, bud...”

3. Ever seen this Pony before?

Okay, seriously... for how long has he been here? No matter which direction he went, the stallion couldn’t get out of the Everfree forest. Getting lost in a forest is one thing, but to lose their way in the Everfree while it’s getting dark is something else. If he can’t get to Ponyville before night, he’ll be in big trouble. Timber wolves, manticore, ursa minors and majors, there’s just a little bit of every awful creature ever in this forest. It’s a terrible place to be in, especially when it’s dark.

Almost instinctively, he pulled out his map from his saddlebag to examine it. “Of course, they don’t map out the forests in there. This map doesn’t help at all. I already know all the towns and forests in this part of Equestria!”

Again, he decided to pick a random direction and commit to it until he finds a way out, but just as he was about to move, a beautiful voice caught his attention. It was singing alongside a couple of birds not too far from his current location.

“Great! I just have to follow the voice now. Looks like lady luck is finally on my side!”

On the other side of the forest, Fluttershy was singing to her birds before they would go back to their nests for the night.

Once the mare was done, she wished them good night and watched them fly away.

“See you tomorrow!”

“Hey.”

Fluttershy yelped as she jumped back from the unexpected visitor.

“Oh. My bad, I didn’t mean to scare you there.” he said in a tired voice.

The Pegasus examined the stallion that had just arrived. An earth pony with a sketchbook and a pencil for a cutie mark. A newcomer, surely. From the looks of it, he came from the Everfree forest.

“Um, who are you? I don’t think I’ve seen you before.” she sheepishly asked in a voice that was very, very quiet. The stallion understood, thankfully.

“I’m not from around these parts. The name’s Sketch Pattern. I come from Manehattan.” He moved his head off to the side to look at her house. “Nice cottage. Sure is different from the city and honestly, I’d settle in a place like this if it wasn’t for my job.”

Looking at his cutie mark once more, Fluttershy had a good idea as to what could be his work. “You must be good at drawing, then. That’s what your cutie mark is supposed to represent?”

With a proud smile, Sketch responded. “Of course! In case you didn’t know, I’m the main artist on the Daring Do comics that started a few years ago.”

“Oh! I think I’ve heard Rainbow Dash speak about you. She’s a big fan of Daring Do, you see.”

Sketch was taking out some pebbles that had gotten stuck on his fur before setting his attention back on the mare. “Well, seems like Daring Do truly is popular everywhere. Though I’ve never seen her in person. Hey! Come to think of it, you didn’t tell me your name.”

“O-oh, I'm sorry. I’m Fluttershy.” she said, albeit in an almost whispery voice.

“Fluttershy, huh? Cute name.”

Woah, did he hear her right? That’s got to be the first time a pony has heard her say her name on the first try. Impressive.

Just at that moment, the stallion realised he had reached Ponyville. That means... “Hey, sorry if it’s coming out of the blue, but, uh.” He took out a photo from his saddlebag and showed it to Fluttershy.

“Ever seen this pony before? He’s my friend you see, but he’s been missing for quite a while now. His name is Stardust Radiant, he used to live in Canterlot.”

She examined the photo. A purple unicorn with red eyes and with quite the long mane for a stallion... “I’m sorry, but I have never seen this stallion.”

Sketch didn’t look disappointed by this response, however. He reacted like it wasn’t the first time he got this answer. “Tis fine, ‘cause I have at least one lead in Ponyville. Do you know somepony going by the name, Twilight Sparkle? I heard she’s quite popular around these parts.”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened slightly at the mention of her friend. “Twilight? Y-yes, I can take you to her now if you’d like to.”

The earth pony put the photo back in his saddlebag with a satisfied look on his face. “Good! Lead the way, Fluttershy.”

Back at the Golden Oak, Twilight watched through the window as the Sun was going down. All that was left of the golden ball of fire was its tip. In a matter of mere minutes, Celestia will lower it completely. This was the final warning to all ponies to get back inside for the night. A relatively simple system that worked much better than the first ponies who raised and lowered the Sun without warning.

It must be an awful feeling to be in the middle of a hike through the woods only for your surroundings to turn dark in mere seconds, hence why Celestia would slightly lower the star from time to time.

That is interesting to think about but that was not on Twilight’s mind at the moment, no. The castle... all its mysteries, its books and its residents. She was constantly thinking about them, unable to let go of all her wild theories as to what this castle may be. This nonstop theory crafting was slowly killing her on the inside. She had to know more.

So, why not just go back to the Everfree and head inside that painting again? Wait, wasn’t it gone when I returned to the abandoned castle?

Twilight groaned and brushed her tired eyes. Her newly found obsession wasn’t doing her much good.

“Uh, Twilight? What’s gotten into you again?” Spike asked curiously. The frantic pacing of the mare had become all too common for him. It happened almost every week for as long as he can remember. Twilight didn’t seem to have heard him, still lost in her thoughts.

So, tomorrow, she’ll give in to her curiosity and head back there to retrieve some books. The rustling she heard last time distracted her greatly, and thus, she forgot to take the book back with her. Another reason why she must return to the castle. Go back, retrieve all the books she can ger her hooves on, unravel all its mysteries, yeah now that sounded exciting just to think about!

Somepony knocked on the door, snapping the lavender unicorn back to reality. “Hm? Coming!”

Spike was the first to rush to the door while Twilight lagged for a bit, still emptying her mind of all that castle and painting talk. “Hm? Oh yeah, the door.”

“Oh, hey Spike. Good to see you again.” It was Fluttershy.

“Did you two find Angel? I, uh, asked Twilight but she didn’t hear me from the looks of things.” he asked as he looked back at the unicorn.

“We did. He’s back at the cottage now and promised me he won’t run away ever again.” she replied, sounding quite happy.

Twilight finally arrived to greet her friend. “Hey Flutt- Who's this pony?”

Spike moved to the side and saw the stallion that was awkwardly looming behind Fluttershy. Sketch noticed that the spotlight was now onto him and moved forward to properly introduce himself.

“I’m Sketch Pattern, and I come from Manehattan thought you probably won’t care since that’s a pointless detail. I know you’re Twilight Sparkle, a student of Princess Celestia.”

Twilight cocked her head back. “Huh, we’re getting more and more popular by the days. Still, for a pony who comes from Manehattan, how did you know about me?”

“Small precision, I wasn’t born in Manehattan, I moved out there. I was born in Canterlot just like you. I actually saw you a couple of times, but you didn’t know I even existed. The same went for my friends.”

“Oh, uh, I’m sorry, I guess? I wasn’t the most social pony at the time. I’m more open to making friends now if that’s what you’re looking for.”

Sketch shook his head. “No thanks, I’m not here to make friends. I’m here to find one that’s been missing for quite some time now.” He pulled out the photo of Stardust Radiant and showed it to Twilight. “I believe you of all ponies should know Stardust Radiant. He was a student of Princess Celestia just like you.”

Twilight stared at the picture for a while. Something about this stallion felt familiar yet, at the same time, she doesn’t remember even hearing or seeing this unicorn. “I, uh...” Sketch’s look already turned into sorrow as he pulled the photo back. “Wait! I didn’t even say anything.”

“No need. I can already see you don’t even recognise him. Celestia didn’t, and she was his mentor...” Sketch fell on his flank, any and all hope now gone from his face. “My friend’s a ghost now. It’s like he never existed.”

The lavender unicorn bit her lips. Did I do something wrong?

Fluttershy and Spike looked really uncomfortable at the scene before them. The Pegasus was also wondering if she did something wrong by bringing Sketch to the Golden Oak.

Suddenly, the earth pony got back up in a flash. “Welp, I got a mystery on my hooves.” His sudden change in expression surprised the three.

“Woah, that was fast...” muttered Spike.

Sketch looked at Twilight for a moment before saying. “So... would you mind if I stay here for the night? I don’t see a hotel in Ponyville.”

“What?!” She wanted to protest, but then remembered that she practically told him his friend didn’t exist to his face. So, perhaps she should show a bit of compassion for this stallion, but it’ll only be for one night. “I... Fine, I’ll let you sleep here, but only for one night.

“Ok.” Sketch slammed his saddlebag on the ground. “I’m heading off to sleep now.” He took a few steps further in the library before crumbling to the ground like a plank.

“Oh dear... He really needs sleep.” said Fluttershy in a worried tone. “He just came out of the Everfree forest a few minutes ago.”

It got dark outside. The Sun has fully lowered. Noticing this, Twilight told Fluttershy to head back home and that she’ll deal with her new guest with Spike.

Using her magic, she lifted the sleeping stallion and tucked him in a makeshift bed on the floor.

“We don’t have a third bed, so that’s the most we can offer him. I don’t think he minds.”

Spike hopped in his bed, giving the earth pony one last look before he closed his eyes. “Thank Celestia he doesn’t snore.”

Twilight Sparkle giggled as she turned off the light and went to bed. “I don’t think anypony can beat my dad in a snoring competition.”

“Goodnight Twilight.”

“Goodnight, Spike.”

“Well, off to find the kitchen, if there’s one in this library. Why am I assuming there’s a kitchen inside a library?”

Twilight had her eyes half open, confused as to what was happening until she saw somepony pass by her. She was still somewhat sleepy but awake enough to notice the few rays of sunlight beaming through her window. It must be early in the morning and yet, Sketch Pattern was already up on his hooves, making his way down the stairs.

“Oh come on... Can you please make less noise? We’re still trying to sleep here.” she said in her morning voice.

“Make less wha-” Sketch tumbled down the stairs, making more noise. “My bad...” he croaked as he got up.

The unicorn groaned and covered her ears with her pillow, trying to drift back into sleep.

Spike was still sound asleep, impressive. It takes a lot to wake up the baby dragon and apparently, a tumble down the stairs does not qualify as “a lot”.

Sketch looked around in hopes of finding food to satiate his ever-growing hunger. After a few minutes of searching, he realised that it was kind of stupid to expect a kitchen to be present inside a library. Ponies usually don’t live inside libraries.

“Still an egghead...” he muttered before deciding to scour out food outside.

“Hmm? Did he leave?” Twilight honestly had no strength to even turn around to see for herself. She simply closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep.

There wasn’t much light outside, but the Sun was slightly lowered, and indication that the day would soon come. Few ponies were even up at this time and those that were certainly didn’t have the same level of energy as Sketch Pattern. The stallion was practically galloping around town in search of anypony to talk to. He had a case on his hooves, and he was not going to let anything stop him from unraveling the truth of what happened to his foalhood friend.

“Hi there. Have you seen this pony?” He said to a mare walking downtown, showing her the photo in the process.

“Nope, sorry.”

“Darn. Welp, off to the next one.”

He quickly gave up and searched for somepony else. He landed on a stallion that looked quite tired.

“Hey, seen this pony before?” he asked in a strangely jovial tone.

“Gn, what?”

“I said, have you seen this pony before?”

The stallion looked at the photo for barely even a second before shaking his head. “No. Doesn't ring a bell.”

“Oh come on...”

No need to throw your hooves up in defeat just yet, there’s still a lot of ponies left to ask. As arduous as it is, he was stupidly perseverant enough to ask practically everypony in Canterlot, so why not do the same here? He needed a lead after all, and he’ll get it one way or another even if it means going through every single pony in Ponyville.

“Hey-”

“No.”

Sketch looked at the mare in confusion. “I've barely said anything.”

“I saw you asking these two about your missing pony. No, I have not seen them.”

Sketch found a silver lining in the usage of the word them. “Ha! You didn’t say anything about their gender, so that means you haven’t seen the picture. That means you can’t give a hasty response.” he fired back.

The mare didn’t seem interested at all, but gave in, hoping that he’ll leave her alone. “Ok then; show me.”

Sketch showed her the picture and she smiled, though it was a petty smile from the looks of it. “Never saw him, don’t know him.”

“Gah...”

He stopped trotting alongside the mare and looked around.

“Surely somepony must have seen him. You’re not a ghost, right buddy?” He stared at the photo for a brief moment as if he was letting it answer back. “Yeah, sounds about right.”

Twilight pursued the reading of the book she started yesterday, occasionally looking outside the window to see if Sketch was going to come back or not. She wanted to ask him a bit more regarding the missing pony to see if she can dig up a forgotten memory she might have had of the stallion.

“He’s not going to come back, isn’t he?” she said to Spike as he was cleaning the dust off the shelves.

“I guess he’ll come back if he finds nothing from the other ponies.”

“Let’s hope he does. I can’t imagine how much it must hurt to lose a friend. I suppose I’ll do the same thing if one of my friends went missing.”

“So will I.” said Spike.

Twilight Sparkle looked out the window, but this time, she was staring off in the distance at the Everfree forest. The castle of the Two Sisters overlooked the entire area so much that she could see it even from inside the Golden Oak. Once again, the same questions from yesterday resurfaced with a vengeance. It was now daytime, few ponies were coming inside the library, what’s stopping her from just heading back there for an hour or two?

Yeah, mysteries are meant to be solved, aren’t they? The painting was taunting her with its secrets. It was practically begging her to come crawling back to it, to jump inside and unravel the truth behind this other castle.

Come on Twilight, just go back for one more time. Don’t you want to snatch up a few of its books and take them home to analyse their content? Some of them might prove to be useful against future threats in Equestria. There’s so much to do, so much to learn from them. It’ll be a shame to let it all rot and act like nothing happened yesterday.

Her mind insisted on going back, yet the rest somewhat refused. She kept on reading her book, trying to get her thoughts off the painting, the candles and the castle but as time went on, she grew weary of reading this book.

She looked back at the window, the castle seemed more enticing now. Enticing enough to finally get her to embark on this small trip.

The unicorn walked past the baby dragon who looked back curiously. “Where are you going, Twilight?”

The mare charged up her horn to lift a saddlebag over, still walking towards the front door. “I’m just going to the old castle in the Everfree. I’ll be back in an hour.” She exited the library, much to Spike’s surprise.

“Huh, the abandoned castle. She never showed any interest in it before.”

Then again, it does contain many ancient books so it wasn’t hard to figure out why she might be interested in it. Although, it wasn’t THIS version of the castle she wanted visit...

Out in the light, the castle did evoke a sense of pity. What was once a majestic building that towered over all was now nothing else than abandoned ruins with a rich history. Everypony seemed to have forgotten about its significance and what transpired there a thousand year ago. But Twilight knew, and she often wondered why she paid no mind to it despite knowing what it stood for.

Not that it matters for the time being, she has other things on her mind. The other side, these books... Is the painting still there?

This was going to be a relatively simple quest. Go in and out, retrieve a couple of books while exploring for a bit. It’s easy, just a five-minute adventure. Saying she’d be back in an hour was grossly overestimating how much time she was going to spend in there.

This other castle could be dangerous, which is why she has to be quick about her little collect-a-thon.

Inside, the mare retraced her steps from yesterday, imagining the chase with Angel to locate the exact room. There it was, the room with the painting lied just beyond this door. She opened it and was relieved to see that the painting was back, although she did find it odd that it returned. That question, however, will be saved for later. For now, she’ll just fetch the most interesting books and get out. Of course, she didn’t forget about the mysterious pony inside. She’ll just have to be extra careful not to draw unwanted attention onto herself. Such an easy task can’t possibly go wrong...

Author's Note

"Stardust Radiant, now where have I heard that name before? Hm, suppose I must dig in my mind a little deeper."

Hey, who's trying to talk over me in my Author's Notes? Bugger off, whoever this is...

4. Curiosity killed the Cat

Passing through the painting, Twilight found herself in the other castle. Its eerie atmosphere was still making her nervous which was, however, eased by the music on the piano. Unlike last time, the song that was being played sounded more peaceful yet very open to interpretation. Happy ponies would describe it as being depressing. Sad ponies, on the other hand, would describe it as being hopeful.

It didn’t really matter how Twilight viewed it; the song didn’t have an ounce of malice in it. Leaving the room, she still found herself surrounded by mostly darkness. The hall was still relatively unlit, forcing her to use her magic to illuminate the area since the torches weren’t doing a great job.

Going to the left, the mare arrived at the archive. Just like her previous visit, it was brighter in there, but not bright enough to feel cozy. This castle just didn’t seem to have a single room that felt comfortable to even be in. Retracing her steps, she trotted back to the room with the bookshelves. Much to her surprise, the book that she read was still sitting on the worktable she sat on yesterday. It didn’t move an inch.

I guess that mysterious pony didn’t care enough to put it back on the shelf. She thought to herself as she placed the book in her saddlebag. That’s one down. Judging by the size of her saddlebag, she could fit in maybe three books of the first one’s size. Yeah, that should be good enough.

Moving on to the bookshelves, Twilight skimmed over the various sections. The books were all placed in alphabetical orders which helped the unicorn in finding the exact kind she was looking for.

“Appleloosa...Canterlot...” There were books entirely dedicated around Equestria’s towns and cities! Curious, Twilight walked all the way up to the books in the P section.

“Pony anatomy, no... Ponyville! There it is!” although she spoke out loud, the mare did keep her voice down somewhat as to not alert anypony that might be around. She took the book off its place and read its full name.

“Ponyville: a comprehensive history. Oh come on, that’s nothing new to me...”

Then again, what was she expecting to see? Perhaps some sort of unexplained mystery about the town she currently resides in?

Remembering the strange writer of the ancient history book she read yesterday, Twilight wondered if this one had the same style of writing.

Sure enough, it did. That same belittling, detached feeling coming from the author was present in this book too. It mocked the effort of the earth ponies and most disturbingly, spoke of them like prey. She didn’t go far in her reading yesterday, which was why she didn’t truly get to see just how dangerous the books author truly was.

Their tone was rather aggressive and sinister all the way through. It was, in fact, more pronounced in this one. Whoever wrote this must be posing a threat to ponies in some way although Twilight wasn’t sure if this strange author had already been dealt with. After all, the castle seemed abandoned. That other pony she heard last time couldn’t have been the same being that wrote this eerie book. Maybe it was somepony like her who just so happened to have stumbled upon the magical painting.

Something changed, and it was subtle enough that Twilight didn’t pay any attention to it at first. The music sounded not quite right. Upon listening to it for a few good seconds, the lavender unicorn realised that it was actually playing in reverse.

Now, it’s not impossible to play a song in reverse. It can be done, but it requires a lot of time and effort to do so after you’ve learned to play it normally. The music wasn’t a recording, the sounds of the piano’s pedals were heard being stepped on because of the echoey nature of the castle. There was somepony playing as of now, most likely a unicorn as their magic allows them to play the piano better than the other races.

That was probably a good indicator that she should hurry up before whoever was in that castle spotted her. Twilight had no idea who could be in there, but she certainly wasn’t interested to find out. The archive started to feel oppressive, and that feeling only grew stronger by the minutes. That feeling was only reinforced by the fact that many passages in the archive were caved in.

The lavender unicorn moved up to the C section to retrieve the book about Canterlot. Princess Celestia would want to see this for this castle might pose a big threat to the capital of Equestria. Twilight reached out a hoof to pick up the book and carefully pulled it out. A sudden thud startled her as she felt something hit her in the hooves. Looking down, she saw that a book has fallen off the shelf by accident.

The music stopped. The entire castle went dead quiet. There wasn’t even the sound of the wind coming through the windows, no. The forest outside was completely lifeless too. No birds chipping, no crickets, nothing at all. Silence filled the air as Twilight sporadically looked around in fear. The pony on the piano definitely heard the thud of the fallen book and they are most likely coming to see what happened.

I’ve got to get out of here! Twilight quickly stuffed the book about Canterlot inside her saddlebag and ran out of the archive as fast as possible. The blinds on the windows were all closed. They weren’t closed a few minutes ago.

Something changed in the hall. The torches were all blown out like candles, casting everything in an abyssal darkness. Just like in the archive, there was no sign of life anywhere. No wind, no critters, no bugs, nothing. This is wrong. All of this is wrong. Nothing can be this quiet, it’s simply impossible. The only sound that filled the air now, was Twilight’s ragged breathing.

Ragged, yes, for she was starting to slowly give in to fear. She couldn’t see more than a mere hoof away from her. Something could just... jump out of the darkness and rip her to pieces.

Monsters in the dark, normally you’d just chalk it up to your vivid imagination playing tricks on you. But in here, what’s to say that there isn’t a monster hiding in the dark, waiting to pounce on the mare should she drop her guard.

Horribly nervous, Twilight moved at a snail’s pace, constantly looking over her shoulder as she did just in case a creature was sneaking behind her. The stairs to her left led to the room where the piano was being played, there had to be something coming to her now. It was inevitable simply based on the layout of the castle.

Twilight looked at the seemingly bottomless stairs with dread, expecting to see a horrifying monstrosity burst from the shade, sprinting up the stairs to tear her to pieces. Her breaths were intensifying, her legs shaking with growing intensity. But nothing came, no sound, no eyes in the dark, nothing... for the moment.

The unicorn moved to the side; eyes locked on the stairs as she reached out a hoof to open the door leading to the room with the painting. It touched the cold stone walls of the castle, but no wooden door.

Finally adverting her eyes away from the stairs, Twilight looked behind her but found no door.

“Wh-What?” she blurted out in a crying voice.

Her eyes darted left and right. There was no more door, no more painting room. She froze in place as she realised something terrible; she was stuck here with no way to leave.

“No no no no no no...” Her heart was racing as she spun around several times in hopes that she’d somehow find a door leading to the painting. Tears fell down her face as she was starting to feel hopelessness settle in. There was no way out, she was stuck here for good. “I never should have come here. I should have stayed home with Spike.”

“Hey.”

Twilight froze, the voice came from the bottom of the stairs. It was a deep voice, most likely a stallion but what's to say it belonged to a pony? There’s something below, and it knows she’s here. Once again, her eyes were locked on the stairs as her mind drew various different monsters that could be lurking down there.

“Turn off your light. It’s drawing attention onto you. You don’t want them to know where you are at all times. They’re everywhere in this cursed place. Stay hidden if you want to live.”

Her heart began to slow down, the voice didn’t sound threatening, but rather concerned for her wellbeing.

Twilight finally mustered up the courage to talk to the voice. “Wh-Wh-Who are you?”

Silence, then it was broken by the being downstairs. “It doesn’t matter who I am. All that matters is that you leave as quickly as possible.”

“B-But how? The painting’s gone!”

“It isn’t entirely gone. The painting can move around the castle. It’s in the apple cider cellar now. It’s to your right at the bottom of these stairs. Go quickly, and don’t waste any time. If the King finds out you’re here; you’re as good as dead.”

Twilight’s heart began to beat faster. “Th-The King? Who’s that?”

The voice didn’t respond; it was gone. She was on her own again, but at least she knew that not everything in this castle was a threat. There was some comfort in knowing that though it was overshadowed by the fear of what the “King” might be. Something tells her this King and the strange author might be related in some way but that’s not important right now. She had to get out of here.

The hard part was to climb down the stairs, to descend in the darkness. After an agonising descent, Twilight reached the bottom safely. Her horn was no longer casting any light like the voice wanted. Her eyes were slowly adjusting to the environment which allowed the mare to somewhat see where she was going. If there’s any danger lurking around, she’d have to rely on her ears to locate the danger.

The voice said the cider cellar was to her right, and so, she trotted in its direction. But then, she spotted something in the corner of her eyes, and she instinctively jumped back, charging her horn in the process.

There was a giant bipedal beast standing on a pedestal, easily five to six times her size. Twilight could only see its bottom half, mainly its tail and its shoes. But upon closer inspection, it was just a statue. A big and imposing statue.

The unicorn breathed a sigh of relief before she resumed her walk. After a few more seconds of moving, she arrived at the cider cellar. The door was right there!

Then, something broke the silence of the castle. It was a loud sound of something crashing down on the floor followed by big stomps. This cacophony lasted for a couple of seconds before it abruptly stopped.

Afraid, Twilight charged up her horn and condensed all her light into a floating orb that she then moved forward with magic. The orb flew by, illuminating everything near its path. It flew by an empty pedestal. An empty pedestal.

Twilight scrambled to get the door open, and she bolted through without a second thought.

Thankfully, the apple cider cellar was better lit than the hall. There were a few torches and candles here and there casting the darkness away. There were windows but no light came through them. The forest outside was just as dark as the interior.

Compared to the hall behind, the cider cellar wasn’t stuck in complete silence. The mare could hear liquid dripping onto the floor, most likely apple cider, but that was it. Still, it was better than nothing.

The unicorn gathered all her courage to proceed further down this nightmarish castle. The wooden floorboard she was walking on creaked with every step. They felt very unstable, like they could break if she put too much pressure on them.

Twilight stopped when she was faced with wooden rails, there were stairs leading underneath her current position. So, with nowhere else to go, she followed the rails until she found the steps.

Once again, the bottom of the stairs was in complete darkness. All the lights in the cellar were located on the stairway and not where it mattered for poor Twilight.

Ok, Twilight. Just take a deep breath and go. You can do it.

Greatly hesitating, the mare took her first step, and then her second. Slowly but surely, she was descending, constantly having to chase away the fear that something will pounce on her when she least expected it.

Stay calm. Stay calm. Don’t panic, there’s nothing waiting for me at the bottom.

Each step resulted in an ear shattering creak coming from the wooden steps, Twilight became more and more uncertain if the stairs could even hold her weight.

Her doubts were confirmed when her hoof broke through one of the steps, nearly causing her to tumble down. As she pulled back her hoof, the sharp edges of the broken step scratched her leg. Twilight groaned while she examined the damage; it was bleeding, but thankfully, not a whole lot. She needed to be more careful around this unstable infrastructure.

A deep growl echoed throughout the cider cellar, though it did not sound like an animal. It felt like it came from a pony’s mouth! Whatever is out there heard that sound, though it wasn’t coming for her as no footsteps were heard thereafter.

Twilight finally reached the bottom and was met with a long room filled with big barrels full of apple cider huddled close to the walls. In the middle was a counter that spanned a big portion of the room with boxes, candles and tools placed on it. The candles were unlit, but a little magic was more than enough to light them up.

With a bit of light, Twilight felt more at ease in this dark environment. The apple cider cellar didn’t look too big, which in turn, made the task of finding the painting that much easier. Although, there was still the problem of the thing inside the cellar. The unicorn couldn’t pinpoint the location of the sound so it could be anywhere.

Twilight Sparkle tried her best to move as quietly as possible, ducking behind the counter just in case there was something on the left side. As she reached the end of the counter, the mare was faced with a choice. To either go to her left where a single door waited, or to go to her right where the hall broke into a single narrow corridor.

Of course, the unicorn chose the left. She twisted the doorknob and pulled, but the door was locked. Just as she was about to turn around, something violently banged on the door, causing Twilight to lose her balance and drop to the cold stone floor, letting out a surprised scream in the process.

The banging continued and only ramped up in intensity until a part of the wooden door shattered, leaving behind a hole big enough to see what could be on the other side though Twilight didn’t stay long enough to see. The thing growled again; it was the same sound that she heard earlier.

Her heart was pounding as she ran in the only other direction that could contain the painting. The corridor was barely big enough to fit a pony through... What was that?

On the far end of this claustrophobic space lied a singular door. There was light protruding underneath it. The painting, it must be there! It had to! Despite being terribly tired, Twilight pushed on and opened the door.

Just as she had hoped, her salvation was there. The room was small and cubic in shape. There was nothing but a single shrine where the painting stood surrounded by dimly lit candles. The room was eerily red in color as the fire that emanated from the candles were bloody in color. Despite that, Twilight only really paid attention to her way out of this nightmarish castle. She cracked a relieved smile as her eyes lit up. She made it.

Then she heard the thing growl behind her. It was the same thing that had broken down the door earlier. Caught by surprise, the mare had no time to react as she felt something hit the back of her head with tremendous force.

The world spun around, and her face collided with the floor. Then, her vision began to get blurry as she lost control of her body. The mare saw blood dripping down the floor, her blood to be exact. The last thing she felt before passing out was a metallic object grabbing at her hind legs to pull her away from the painting... away from her only salvation.

The castle wasn’t going to let her leave this easily. Not until the King finds out somepony’s been snooping around his domain...

Author's Note

Things got quite spooky back there. Let us hope that this King just wants to have a tea party with poor Twilight...

"How about a pony barbecue?"

Oh shut up.

5. Chained

Chains rustled, candles burned, and strange footsteps resonated in the distance. Twilight slowly awakened to these unfamiliar sounds. Her head was still hurting her greatly. The pain must have slowed down her mind as it took a while for her to realise where she was.

In her haze, she tried to move her hooves since she was in a rather uncomfortable position, but they struggled to even stretch outward. Surprised, she tried harder, but it was to no avail. They were chained to the wall. These chains were deathly cold, the same went for the wall she was practically glued to. The mare gasped; she remembered what happened before she woke up here. The apple cider cellar, the painting and lastly, the growl of the monster before it struck her down.

The unicorn tried to snap the chains off with her magic, but her horn wouldn’t charge up no matter how hard she tried. Moving her head around, she felt something wrapped around her horn. It didn’t take her long to realise it was a ring that inhibited unicorn magic. With this ring, she was powerless and worst of all, she couldn’t take it off no matter how hard she pushed on it. Twilight started to panic as the gravity of her current predicament started to sink in.

Looking around the cell was all she was allowed to do. There was a single candle lying on a wooden table nearby illuminating a small portion of her cell, just enough for the mare to see the bars on the other side. She had been captured and locked away inside the castle’s prison block.

With absolutely no way to break free from these bonds, Twilight had only one option left.

“Help me! Please, somepony help me!” she screamed. Her scream echoed throughout the dark prison she found herself in, but no response came.

That was, until a terrifying scream broke the quiet atmosphere. It was a scream of pure agony that belonged to a stallion in a cell close to hers. Twilight felt her heart pounding, there were other prisoners. What was happening to them? Calling for help was perhaps the worst thing to do. The last thing she’d want is to bring attention to herself.

She’d have to somehow find a way to free herself in silence. Perhaps pulling on the chains again? No, she’s no earth pony, brute strength isn’t her forte.

The scream intensified which only served to make Twilight panic more. Out of desperation, she focussed all her might into her horn in the foolish hope that the ring would somehow break but of course, it didn’t happen. These rings are designed to inhibit tremendous amount of magic to the point that only alicorns have ever been capable of breaking through them with magic alone.

The chains prevented her from reaching the table where many tools lied. As she reached the limit of the chains, the mare constated with horror that the tools were all made for torture. Sharp scalpels, saws and hammers were present alongside others she didn’t recognise.

Now, she had a better idea of what was going to happen to her. She shuddered as she imagined what the poor stallion was going through.

A monstrous growl accompanied the screams of the stallion. Then, she heard something smash into the wall on her right. Twilight instinctively moved as far away as possible from the wall. Bones cracked, flesh was being torn off and then the screams finally stopped but the monster was still wailing on the poor pony.

Despite not seeing the scene, Twilight was horrified. It was all happening right next to her; the monster was inevitably going to come for her after it was done tearing the corpse apart.

The lavender unicorn doubled her effort to reach the table. If she could just get a hold of the saw, she could cut the chains. Come on, just one more push...

She stopped. Just behind her bars, there was something in the darkness. Two bloodshot eyes met her. The figure was slightly taller than her but not by much. It’s... It’s a stallion. Twilight thought.

Something was wrong with his eyes; they were devoid of any emotion much less any intelligence. He wasn’t moving at all. Twilight was frozen in fear, this stallion didn’t give off the feeling of a serial killer. He felt more like a mindless animal with how motionless he was. His eyes weren’t blinking.

Seeing that she was already spotted, Twilight tried to talk to the pony. “Wh-Who are you? Why am I here?”

He didn’t respond, nor verbally, not even physically.

The monster on the other side of the wall whimpered; a strange sound that took Twilight aback. It walked away and as it did, the mare could hear metal scraping and grinding with each step it took. She heard the bars opening and the beast left the scene, leaving her alone with the stallion.

That stallion wasn’t being attacked once the beast left. It was at that moment that Twilight realised that the monster on the other side was most likely a pony too despite its monstrous voice. Sweet Celestia, she didn’t even want to see how this stallion looked in the light. His silhouette and his eyes alone send a shiver down her spine.

The pony growled in a deep and beastly voice before it trotted towards her cell. Twilight retreated, her sides now hugging the wall. The stallion was moving with a strange limp, balancing his entire body on his front left hoof which he struggled to lift.

The closer he came to her cell, the more his features became visible to the chained unicorn. Her jaw dropped when the pony was finally in the light of the candle.

Lifeless grey skin, dying white hair and almost reptilian eyes were the most striking feature. Then, it was the lower jaw. Broken, deformed and squished, it swung around with each step he took. Few teeth remained in his mouth. There were also many straps around his body and neck as well as stiches on his face indicating some sort of surgical operation took place. Its front left hoof suffered from a severe case of elephantiasis which is a considerable increase in the volume of a body part. It even had a strange metallic hand grafted onto it. The front right hoof, on the other hand, was severely maimed to the point that the bone underneath was exposed.

Could this pitiful looking stallion even be called a pony? Twilight wasn’t so sure as her mind unconsciously classified him as an it, a monster.

It moved closer and closer to the mare who pushed harder against the wall, somehow hoping that she could move away from the abomination. With nowhere to go, Twilight watched as the monster closed what little distance was left between the two. It was now right in her face, its emotionless eyes staring deeply into her soul.

The unicorn’s breath was now ragged and frantic. This monster was an earth pony from the looks of it. Without her magic, she was completely defenseless against the former stallion. Judging from the scuffle that took place in the other cell, these things were strong enough to tear a pony to shred. Twilight’s eyes teared up as she realised there was no way out this time.

She was doomed.

The monster growled, its lower jaw flapping around helplessly as it did. The unicorn closed her eyes, awaiting the inevitable. She clenched her teeth as time around her slowed down to a crawl. Seconds felt like minutes and minutes felt like hours. The beast was still motionless before her until... it moved. Bones cracked but it wasn’t hers, it was the creature’s bones. The sound moved to her right, her flank to be precise.

Then, she heard its hooves move slightly to her right. Silence followed; Twilight didn’t know why it wasn’t doing anything. So, she hesitantly opened one of her eyes, her gaze moving towards her flank.

The former stallion was staring at her cutie mark. Its head was dangerously close to her and in a moment of panic, she backed away from the thing. It reacted surprisingly fast, grabbing her by the flank to pull her closer. The metal hand dug its claws into her, delivering a sharp pain to her lower body. Once she was near it, the monster pinned her to the ground.

There was an impossible amount of strength in its mangled leg, Twilight couldn’t even lift her body up an inch from the ground.

“P-P-Please don’t kill me...” she fumbled out of terror.

Once again, the beast looked at her cutie mark. It stared so intently that the mare believed it was trying to memorise the motif.

A few seconds passed and then, the abomination let go and shambled towards the wooden table. Shocked and confused, Twilight immediately stumbled back on her hooves and watched the thing grab a pencil with the metallic hand. That’s when she noticed there was something else on the table that was not a torture device, a sheet of paper.

From where she was standing, she couldn’t see what was written on it, but she was, however, able to see what the monster was doing. Based on the movement it was performing with its hoof, Twilight assumed it was drawing. Perhaps it was her cutie mark? That would certainly explain why it was so keen on seeing it earlier.

Afterward, it looked at a bunch of checkboxes before turning its attention to an orb lying next to the sheet. Twilight’s attention was also on the strange object. It was crimson red and glowing intently.

What was it going to do with this orb? Twilight asked herself this question but figured she would soon get her answer as it approached the mare.

This time, the unicorn didn’t try to fight back or even move away, figuring it would only make the creature aggressive. It lifted its overgrown hoof up to Twilight and moved the orb towards her.

The mare instinctively pulled back just a little bit; her eyes locked on the artefact. Her eyes widened with disgust as she was finally shown the orb’s effect. The light shined by it allowed Twilight to see the interior of her body, including both her skeleton and her organs.

She felt sick at this repulsive sight. It’s not every day you get to see your heart beating with your own eyes.

The thing moved the orb up to her face, causing Twilight to shut her eyes. Then, it moved the object to her flank before it deactivated the device.

Now, the lavender unicorn truly had no idea as to what the purpose behind this examination could be. Back to the table, the former stallion checked every single box on the sheet.

Maybe these checkboxes represented the health of her organs. She always took great care of herself, so her whole body should be healthy. The implications behind why it wanted to know if she was in good shape sent a shiver down her spine. It couldn’t be good, but thankfully, she hasn’t been mauled by the abomination.

The creature picked up the sheet and shambled out of the cellar, taking Twilight out of her thoughts. A few seconds later, it was gone for good.

Now the cell was quiet again, no more screaming, no more growling, just an eerie silence filling the air. Completely exhausted by the stress she had just faced, Twilight dropped to the ground. It seems like she was going to live just a while longer, but something about that sheet of paper troubled her immensely.

What was the purpose behind it? Why was it examining my organs? Why did they attack the stallion but not me? Oh, theorising isn’t getting me anywhere!

Now that she was finally on her own without any distraction or horrible monstrosities right outside her cell, the unicorn got to ponder on the gravity of her situation as well as how her entourage would react to her sudden disappearance.

How long as she been here? It couldn’t have been more than an hour... spent awake. How long she has been unconscious remained a mystery for the mare, a troublesome mystery.

Oh no, how is Spike going to feel? He’s never spent a single day without me around to look out after him... Oh Spike, I’m so sorry. I never should have returned to this cursed castle.

Tears dropped on the floor of her cell as she imagined the devastated look Spike would have once he finds out she’ll be gone for good.

Then, she thought about her friends. They have accomplished so much together, spent so much time getting to know each other and forged many great memories. Twilight felt a crushing sadness in her heart once she realised that she’ll never get to see them again. At least, she knew Spike will have somepony to take care of him in her place. He’ll be in good hooves and hopefully, he’ll get to live out the life he always wanted.

Lastly, her mind turned to her mentor, Princess Celestia. Her biggest fear had unknowingly happened; she let the greatest pony in Equestria down. Worst of all, it seemed that the alicorn put much more faith in her than she did to anypony else. In the end, her curiosity yielded much more catastrophic consequences than she initially imagined.

I’m so sorry Celestia... I’m so sorry everypony. I failed all of you.

Time passed and nothing happened in the meantime. No sign of the King, not even of the abominations. Of course, Twilight didn’t fully give up her efforts to break out, but she knew subconsciously that there was no point in tugging and pulling on the chains. The same went for the magic inhibitor ring on her horn.

Eventually, she stopped trying, finally admitting that she’s completely powerless in here. She sat in the corner and got lost in her thoughts. It was all she could do, really.

How long as this castle existed? Maybe the strange books were written by the King which would mean... that this whole place existed right under everypony’s noses for thousands of years!

Her thoughts moved away from her friends and families and instead went on to theorise about the castle’s mysteries. The last thing Twilight needed was to fall into depression, keeping her mind busy with all sorts of theory did help to lessen her growing feeling of hopelessness.

Suddenly, a loud and otherwordly roar echoed throughout the entire castle followed by the sound of something big shuffling around. Twilight got back on her hooves, listening intently to the worrying sounds. Was it the King? Was it coming for her?

“You’re in luck, Twilight; the King is going out to hunt. Now’s the best time to plan a getaway.”

The mare jumped; her heart was pounding on her chest. The voice truly caught her by surprise and freaked her out badly. But once the initial shock faded, she felt relief. It was the same voice that guided her earlier. Perhaps, it was coming back to save her.

Just in the far end of the cell, she spotted a silhouette.

“It’s you again!” she said, unable to hold back a smile. In this nightmarish castle, this strange figure was the only friendly face, or voice, present.

“Seems like you need a helping hoof. Allow me to help, Twilight Sparkle.” The silhouette stepped out of the shadows, going into the candle’s faint light. It was a stallion, a unicorn to be precise, and he looked normal except for the fact that his eyes were covered in shadows no matter where the light reflected off his face. A singular crimson eye stood out, looking very tired but not entirely apathic to her predicament.

Then, Twilight realised something odd. Wait, how does he know my name?

The stallion noticed the look of confusion on the mare’s face. “Hmm, so you too have forgotten...”

Moving closer to the light, the stallion’s full appearance was revealed to Twilight. Her eyes widened as she recognised who it was. This pony was Stardust Radiant, the one on the picture Sketch showed to her yesterday.

“You’re Stardust Radiant!” she exclaimed in a hopeful tone.

The shadow around the stallion’s eyes faded away. “What? You... remember me?” the tone in his voice changed entirely, no longer sounding as hoarse as before.

“Uh... kinda, I think? I know your friend Sketch Pattern is looking for you. He’s been searching around in Ponyville as of late.” Twilight responded.

Stardust looked away, chuckling happily. “Of course he’d never forget me.” Right as he finished his sentence, his face shifted to sadness. The shadow around his eyes returned, completely obscuring them. “Hey, if you ever make it out; tell Sketch to drop his search and move on.” His voice turned hoarse once more.

“W-What?! Why would you want me to tell him that? He’s been looking for you for who knows how long!”

The stallion shook his head. “The further he stays away from this mess, the better. If he continues to look for me, he’ll end up dead just like those poor victims. You’re on borrowed time, Twilight and I want you to make the most of it. You don’t want the King to take interest in your entourage.”

Twilight was feeling extremely nervous, the stallion worded it like she was going to die even though he’s here to help her break free. Did he know something she didn’t?

“Well, if the King truly is gone for the moment; help me out. But first, I just want to know why you want me to tell Sketch to move on instead of you. Can’t you just say it to him or even write a message once we’ll be out of there?”

Stardust Radiant frowned. “I can’t exist outside of this living Tartarus. Twilight, I am dead, and I have been for a while.”

The mare’s eyes widened in denial. The stallion had no injuries on him, nor did he look transparent as ghosts are often described. “Y... You’re joking, right?” Her voice didn’t sound quite convinced, almost as if she knew what she was saying was stupid.

“If only... I’m just a spectre, unable to exist beyond this world. I can, however, still use my magic to some extent but apart from that, there isn’t much I can do to help. You’ll have to do the heavy lifting on your own.”

His horn charged up and he levitated a saw towards the chains restraining Twilight. A few arduous minutes later, she was freed from her restraints. The only thing that was left was the ring on her horn.

Stardust simply pointed to a key on the table. “These rings can be removed fairly easily if you have the key.” With his magic, he inserted the item in the keyhole and unlocked it.

Twilight felt pure ecstasy as magic coursed through her veins. Since magic was her special talent, it felt like she regained a part of her identity once the ring was taken off. “Thanks, Stardust. I owe you one.”

The stallion smiled. “No need for that. You should hurry though; the King’s absences are rather inconsistent. Sometimes, he leaves for days but he can also go away for mere minutes. I suggest you go as fast as possible but don’t ever forget this; the prison is crawling with servants.”

“Servants? So that’s how you named these creatures?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, their sole purpose is to do the King’s work so he can focus on snatching more victims.” The stallion hurried towards the bars of the cell and bent them with his magic, creating an opening.

“I don’t know how powerful the King is but if he’s capable of creating a whole new world with his twisted imagination, I believe he should be on Discord’s level. And to think that such a monster exists under our noses... You gotta spread the message, you hear me?”

Twilight nodded, she too, shared that sentiment. This King truly was unlike every other foe she had encountered. The one and only difference was that he didn’t announce his presence to the entirety of Equestria and that already made him a bigger threat. How can you fight a foe you didn’t even know existed? She absolutely had to tell the three princesses; it would be the only way to put an end to this dreary world.

The prison outside the cell was still dark, but there were a few torches hung on the walls. It was going to be easier to navigate in there compared to the dark hall.

“Let’s get out of here as fast as possible, the servants aren’t all that strong compared to our magic. It should be easy to blast them out of the wa-” Stardust’s plan was cut short by an awful otherworldly roar, though it sounded a little different in tone.

“Ah! Bogus! The King’s returned. Change of plan, sneaking around is your best bet. Don’t let any of the servants hear you, ‘cause the commotion will catch HIS attention, you don’t want that. I’ll try to keep him distracted for as long as I can, but I can’t guarantee much; he’s extremely smart and perceptive.”

Stardust trotted towards the wall in front of him, but Twilight stopped him for a brief moment. “Hey, thanks for the help. I swear I’ll tell Sketch to move on.”

The stallion let out a brief smile before he phased through the wall, leaving the mare on her own.

Ok Twilight, you can do this. Avoid the servants, make as little noise as possible and find the painting. You can handle it.

She wasn’t alone in this nightmare, a mysterious stallion that knows her was giving it his all to ensure that she would escape. Maybe she’ll get to return to Ponyville alive, and hopefully tell everypony about this monster that kidnaps and murders ponies in secret. For now, there’s no use in thinking about what she’ll do next, Twilight must focus on sneaking out. And so, she walked into the abyssal darkness of the prison in search of an exit.

Author's Note

...
Oh, hey! Nothing. Guess I can finally give my two cents without any interruption...

Well, that is if I have any.

"Hey, I went to get some milk. What did I miss?"