Another Sweetiebot Storyby Ponie PieChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 1The dark starry night twinkled above as the last traces of the sunset gently faded from the sky. Three little children lay in a field of grass, each out past their bedtimes. "Scootaloo? Applebloom?" The little white filly with a curly mane asked. She lay in the open field with her two friends, feeling the embrace of grass against their backs as they observed the night sky. "What's up Sweetie Belle?" Scootaloo replied after a pause, looking around at the waving trees. Apart from a gentle breeze the weather was calm and still. Not a single stray cloud in sight. "Yeah Sweetie Belle?" A country accent asked. Applebloom whispered with respect for nature's current stillness. Even the animals seemed to respect this apart from the unrelenting song of the crickets and frogs. "Do you... think we'll always be friends?" Sweetie Belle squeaked uneasily. "An invasion?!" The purple princess exclaimed suddenly. "What do you mean?" She asked quieter, trying to control her anxieties. Princess Twilight Sparkle sat across from her former mentor, and now equal. Princess Celestia paused a moment to gather her words; The mare spoke carefully around Twilight. "I am not so sure it is an invasion exactly. I am only saying that ponies have vanished, only to appear again the next day with no memory of being missing." The alicorn paused to take a sip of tea, doing so with regal elegance. Celestia did everything proper. What nopony else saw was years of failure and practice. "As you may be thinking now, this would usually be indicative of changeling kidnappings." Princess Celestia started again, setting her teacup down with a little clink. "However the returned individuals do not respond to anti-disguise spells." She wondered if her former student would have any ideas. An inkling, anything at all. "So it's... not changelings... probably. Not unless maybe they have a protective counter-anti-disguise spell or something." Twilight giggled nervously, sighing and looking down at the table between them. The new princess hadn't even touched her tea or cookies. They often met like this and just like any other time the subject took a grave tone, Twilight hadn't bothered. "Are you sure it's not some kind of coincidence?" She asked timidly, giving an awkward smile. Princess Celestia shook her head. "It is unlikely." She looked downward at the floor contemplatively. "We received dozens of reports from around Equestria in a single wave. Citizens vanishing and their loved ones taking notice, and then returning the next day as if nothing had happened. I brought this to your attention so that you may be alert on the matter. Whatever is happening to our citizens, the perpetrator or perpetrators may become more skilled at whatever their goal is. I fear if they are being replaced or something else we may not even notice or have an indicator. If anyone in Ponyville acts out of the ordinary I trust that you will investigate." Scootaloo kicked at the ground from her scooter. She gave a glance toward the field she'd laid in with her friends a few days prior. Sweetie Belle's question hadn't left her mind, and as a result had become even more insistent that the Cutie Mark Crusaders spend time together. As she approached Sweet Apple Acres, a dog's barking would become evident. "Winona." Applejack groaned. "It's just Sweetie Belle girl. Yer gettin all worked up for nothin." She grumbled to Winona and giving her a pet to try and calm her down. "What's wrong Winona?" Applebloom asked as she stepped out of the house, giving her friend a smile. "I don't know. Maybe she's mad at me because I don't have any treats." Sweetie Belle whined. Scootaloo skidded to a halt next to Sweetie Belle. "What's up? What do you wanna do today?" She asked her friends excitedly. "I know just the thing!" Applebloom exclaimed, adjusting her red bow. "I wanna go to the river and see if we can get fishin' cutiemarks!" Sweetie Belle perked up a bit. "Oooh! I wonder if I can catch a turtle?" She wondered, hopping up and down a little excitedly. Applebloom suddenly pulled her friends into a hug, the trio now a giggling mess of orange, yellow, red, white, and purple. "Ya'll are the bestest friends ever!" Applebloom squeaked. "Cutiemark Crusaders forever!" The trio happily shouted, hopping up and down. Applejack tapped Applebloom on the shoulder, a serious expression on her face. "Missy." She started as she turned Applebloom to face her. "You see anything.. weird or.. I dunno. Somethin out a place... just... tell me alright?" Applebloom furrowed her brow, pouting a bit. "I ain't seein lights anymore Applejack. You was right." She huffed. Applejack nodded slowly, gently brushing her hoof through her little sister's mane. "Alright, well. Don't be afraid to come to me anyway okay? I don't want you gettin h-" "I'm fine Applejack. I'm old enough to worry about myself." "Hmmm hm hm hmm.." Humming filled Twilight Sparkle's library. Today was day 4 of completely reorganizing every book. Spike wasn't too bothered by it, this was usual for her. "I think Princess Celestia should've declared you Twilight Sparkle: The Princess of Books." He joked. This prompted a laugh from Twilight. "I don't think I'm against that title." She said, holding out a wing to take the next book. Spike had realized long ago that Twilight was capable of organizing all of this within minutes if she wished. She enjoyed the process. Maybe Spike did too. Not enough to do it for 4 days straight though. "So Twilight.. do you think maaaybe we should go outside? Get some sunlight?" Spike started. Twilight sighed, her wings drooping to her sides. "We probably should." She mumbled. "I can't though I have to clean up this pile." She gestured toward the unshelved pile of books on the floor. "Don't you have that mystery comic to finish or something?" Spike shook his head. "Twiiilight." He raised an eyebrow. "The Power Ponies are awesome because I can read them anywhere." Twilight started climbing backwards down the ladder. "Yeah.. okay. I know." She giggled. "I think you know me better than I do sometimes." Twilight reached the bottom of the ladder, placing each of her hooves on the floor with four gentle clops. "Yeah. I'm like, the best." Spike bragged, giving her a smirk. "You still need to work on being humble." Twilight replied as she walked past. She pinched his cheek with a wing, giggling. "Hey!" Spike whined, batting at her wing. Twilight just giggled at him as she passed through the doorway and walked toward the front doors. Before she could make it to the doors, a mare burst through them. Her eyes darted around suspiciously. "Can you feel it Princess?" She mumbled. "Something is in the air.." "I think it's pollen." Twilight addressed the comment, raising an eyebrow. She was still getting used to being Princess but this mare had wholeheartedly adopted Twilight as her own princess. Steel Gaze narrowed her eyes at Twilight. "Uh.. yes. Not what I meant though." She mumbled, her back pressed against the wall. "Is there anything I can do for you Princess?" Twilight uneasily trotted toward the exit. "Umm.. no thanks.." She gave a nervous smile. "Stop right there Princess! You can't go out there..." Steel Gaze stepped in front of her warily. "Why not?" Twilight huffed, cocking a brow and waiting for an answer. The paranoid, light blue mare looked around. "This is some serious business Princess Twilight. I'm not kidding around." Spike crossed his little arms. "Dude. Just cut to the chase already or let us go outside." Steel Gaze nodded a little, pausing for a moment. "I've been entrusted with reports from several ponies. Several ponies that insist something is out there." "There's a lot of somethings out there. We live right next to a mysterious forest." Twilight made a pointing motion with one of her wings. "I can't help anyone if you don't just tell me what's going on." She said, softer and more concerned in tone. Her mind couldn't help but go back to her previous meeting with a certain Sun Princess. Her ears flopped downward as her mind worked, paranoia stirring from Steel's vagueness. "Seven reports." Steel Gaze started. "Each saying the same thing. Strange lights.. like eyes outside their windows while they sleep. Not stars. Not the light reflecting from an animals eyes." Twilight twisted her leg, pressing her hoof into the crystal floor to make a grinding sound. She thought as she fidgeted. "What color?" She asked nervously, the prickly long legs of anxiety tickling her spine, cold and wet feelings making her shiver. There was a logical explanation somewhere. Cockatrices had glowing red eyes didn't they? "Lyra Heartstrings reported yellow lights. Nurse Redheart reported blue. Roseluck reported green. Do I continue?" Steel Gaze explained, making good on her name. Her expression was stern and cold. The mare was ex-royal guard after all. This didn't comfort Twilight. It only made her squirm more. "I..." Twilight rubbed her chin, raising an eyebrow. "Yes." She nodded. "You said there were seven?" "Yes Princess. Seven reports of lights." Steel confirmed, keeping her steady tone and demeanor. It was quite the contrast to Twilight, who was having a mini panic attack. Spike patted her side, reminding her that he was there. "Just breathe Twilight." "Trixie Lulamoon and Octavia Melody both reported purple. Cheerilee reported green, and finally Matilda reported blue." Steel Gaze finished, awaiting a response from Twilight. "Spike, please fetch something to write all this down with." Twilight requested with a sigh. The little dragon nodded, burping up a green flame that manifested both paper and quill. "Soo.... we're going to investigate this right?" He asked as he finished writing it all down. He rolled the paper up into a scroll and handed it to her. The dragon gave her a smirk. "We don't have a choice Spike" Twilight nodded, kneeling down for him to climb onto her back. "Sweet! It'll be just like the comic!" Spike expressed excitedly as she adjusted himself. "This is no game little guy." Steel Gaze said lowly, crossing her forelimbs. "Everyone could be at risk. Lives are on the line here and it's all up to you." "Woahhh... Awesome.." Spike swooned. "She's right Spike. This is serious." Twilight mumbled as she pushed open her front doors. "Please keep an eye on everypony else." She requested of Steel Gaze. The ex-military mare nodded, bolting away to presumably do as Twilight requested. Twilight looked around nervously at all the ponies living their normal lives. She was silent, Spike noticed. They didn't seem worried at all. The pressure on her shoulders was immense. It was her responsibility to make sure it stayed that way. To make sure each and every citizen here and Equestria beyond was safe. It only worsened as her throat tightened. She felt an awful twisting in her chest. A hot jagged blade of feelings twisting around and making her feel uncomfortable in her own skin. Part of her yearned for another way out. Sweet Apple Acres was always a nice place to visit. Twilight was just about to knock on Applejack's front door until... "Applejack! You can't just do everything by yourself!" An unknown mare shouted. "You listen here missy!" Applejack started. Spike poked Twilight's neck. "You.. think we should wait.. or leave?" "I don't know." Twilight whispered. "This is mah dang farm and I run it how I want to!" Applejack asserted to the unknown voice. Both had accents. Perhaps it was a family member? "Applejack the whole point a me comin' over here was to help!" The voice replied. "You do Big Mac's chores and just that! Nothin' else Apple Fritter!" Applejack bellowed. Twilight backed away from the door. "Maybe I'll.. just wait at the gate." She whispered, ears firmly pressed to the sides of her head as she turned around. More shouting, though it was tough to tell what they were really saying now. It had been a few minutes of Twilight just sitting and waiting. She leaned on a fence post, tiredly watching the house. Applejack burst out of her front door, face red as a tomato. "Fine then!" She grumbled, looking back at Apple Fritter. "You can do it all!" WHAM! She kicked the door shut behind her and huffed for a moment, catching her breath. Twilight jumped at the noise. She's only seen Applejack angry a few times but it was never pleasant. She gulped, casting a glance at Spike. He just looked away at the ground. "Applejack?" Twilight asked. "You okay?" She carefully walked closer to Applejack, eyeing the ground more than looking at her friend. Applejack blinked quickly, looking up at Twilight. "Oh.. Uh. Hay." She grumbled, pulling her hat off her head and stuffing her face into it. "Whatchu up to Twi?" "Well. I'm currently investigating something. There have bee-" "Look out!" Scootaloo warned briefly before jumping into the river with a running start. Their fishing trip had turned into more of a swimming one now. Sweetie Belle had fallen in, and next thing they knew everypony was swimming. "Stop it!" Applebloom giggled, turning away from Sweetie Belle as she kept splashing her friend. Scootaloo impacted the water, splashing the both of them. The filly laughed as she surfaced. "Beat that Applebloom!" Scootaloo challenged her friend. The river was refreshingly cold. A nice change of pace from the hot day. She gave Applebloom a playful punch on the shoulder, something she'd seen Rainbow Dash do many times. "Ow! What'd ya do that for Scootaloo?" Applebloom pouted. She swam toward the edge, pulling herself out. "Applebloom cmooon I was just playing!" Scootaloo pleaded. "Don't leave yet!" "You just told her to beat your splash Scootaloo. That's what she's doing." Sweetie Belle pointed out. Applebloom raised an eyebrow, then smirked. "Aw Scoot." She mumbled. She stepped backward a few paces and then made a running start. "Cannon ball!" She shouted as she hopped into the air as high as she could, curling into a ball. The splash certainly surpassed Scootaloo's. The filly even managed to send a fish or two flying. Scootaloo giggled, unsuccessfully trying to shield her face from the big splash. "Okay.. you win." She conceded. Sweetie Belle meanwhile was pulling herself out of the water already, trying to save the fish. "Maybe we should have went to a pool instead." She mumbled, depositing the slippery creatures back into the water. Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. "Sweetie Belle I thought you didn't like touching fish?" Sweetie Belle stopped for a moment, looking down at the water. "I guess I didn't think about it." She excused. "They're slimy and floppy but they deserve to live too." Applebloom snickered. "Ya sound like Fluttershy, Sweetie Belle." She teased. "Do not!" "Do so!" "Do not!" "Do so!" Sweetie Belle gave up, sitting down and dipping her back hooves into the water. "Whatever Applebloom." She stuck her tongue out. "Don't leave that thang hangin out too long or it'll fall off!" Applebloom recounted something her granny had told her, teasing. Sweetie Belle shook her head. "No way that's true. That's just a lie." She contested the statement. The filly kicked one of her legs out to splash her friends. Scootaloo dipped her head under the water, swimming close to Sweetie Belle and trying to tickle her. After a moment she surfaced. "I know you're ticklish! What's the deal?" "Is that what you was doing under the water?" Sweetie Belle asked, her face blank. "I didn't feel it. Don't you... remember?" She seemed unsure herself of that question. Scootaloo stared, her expression one of confusion. "What? No?" "Whatchu mean Sweetie Belle?" Applebloom asked, arching an eyebrow. Sweetie Belle's eyes darted back and forth for just a moment, before she seemingly decided on a course of action. "It's personal..." She looked away, frowning. "I.. I don't wanna talk about it. I didn't realize I hadn't told you two. I'm sorry, I just don't wanna think about it right now." "Sweetie Belle.. you.. can't just not tell us stuff!" Scootaloo growled. Sweetie Belle squeezed her eyes shut, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I'm sorry.. I just.. It's really painful okay?" Applebloom sighed, patting Scootaloo on the side. "If it's that hard for her to think about Scoot it's probably a good idea to not push it. Reckon that's kinda rude." Scootaloo grimaced for a moment, looking downward. It took her a moment to swallow her irritation. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were supposed to be the closest bestest friends ever! How could Sweetie Belle do this?! "I.. uh.. I'm sorry Sweetie Belle." She managed. Sweetie Belle wiped the tears from her face, trembling a bit. "It's.. it's okay.." She murmured. Applebloom pulled the two into an uncertain hug, though soon they each giggled and chatted amongst another. All was well once again. "So yer sayin' ya think there's monsters or somethin'?" Applejack asked, her eyebrow raised. She'd calmed down quite a bit now. They began walking to Ponyville during their conversation. "I don't know, and I'm not going to speculate without evidence. The only evidence we do have are records of ponies vanishing and reappearing days later and a few reports. The lights." Twilight explained to her friend. "Lights... huh?" Applejack gulped. Twilight nodded, catching on. "You haven't seen anything like that have you?" She asked, almost pleading in a sense. Part of her hoped it was nothing, but if there were even more reports? That makes a disturbing trend. Seven ponies spotting the same thing was already strange enough. "Applebloom. Girl cried to me 'bout it few nights in a row. Ah didn't believe it at first, thought it was a scheme or somethin' but I aint never seen her so shaken up." Applejack shivered as she recalled the memory; The pleading teary eyes of her sister coming to the forefront of her mind's eye. "Aw Applebloom." She sighed. Twilight glanced at Spike, who was in fact doing his job and writing it down. "What color were they?" She asked Applejack. Applejack gave Twilight an odd look. "She uh.. never really told me that. Reckon we could ask her. Don't see how that's relevant though." "I'm trying to figure out what could be happening. It's very relevant." Twilight said with a sigh. "Guess I'll mark it down as a question mark..." Spike mumbled to himself. Twilight tapped her forehead with a hoof for a few moments. "Hrmm." "Whatcha thinkin Twi?" Applejack asked curiously. She was usually the brave one, but she had to admit to herself that she was a bit anxious too. Twilight seemed really worked up based on her body language. "I want you to come with me when I ask these ponies about what happened to them. You can tell when ponies are lying." Twilight said suddenly, after another moment or so of thinking. "That's why I was at the farm." "Reckon I can do that." Applejack nodded. "Ain't got nothin else better to do for once." "Is it slow at the farm?" Twilight asked quizzically. "Not exactly. Just got some extra help is all. Got a few cousins over for the week. I love my family but I think they're gettin tired a me." Applejack looked downward at the road, sighing. "Why would they be tired of you?" Twilight had a pretty good guess as to why. "They're actin all cold like. I think it's cause a what I said to em last time. Got a bit too big for my britches and told em I could do everythin' myself. Guess I made em feel all useless like." Applejack explained, shaking her head slowly. "Told Apple Fritter ta hit the road cause all she was good fer was makin' mediocre fritters." She winced as she said this. "Im awful." Twilight was glad at least that Applejack was being open about it. She could remember a time when the farmpony had been far less open about these things. "Did you apologize? I would try to make it right." With this, Applejack grimaced. "That's just it Twi, they won't let me speak to em. They're too mad at me to even let me talk to em. Makes me mad, but I always remember what I done said. I dunno though, If I were them I wouldn't a done that." "They're not you Applejack." Twilight reminded her. "Some ponies aren't direct like you." Applejack couldn't help but chuckle at Twilight's bluntness. "Ya sound like me Twi." She gave her friend a sad little smile. "Sorry, uh... Too straight forward?" Twilight asked with a nervous, apologetic smile. "Naw. Probably what I need to hear really. Heh. I'm supposed to be the honest one. I'm supposed to be tellin' you what you need ta hear." Applejack smirked a little. After a few moments of nervous silence and the clip clopping of hooves, they made their way through town. Applejack realized she'd just about gotten sidetracked. She knew somewhere in her head that she'd rather not talk about this at all, to maybe just for once plug her ears and sing as loud as she could. That wouldn't make her problems go away. She realized that long ago. She'd clammed up and shut everyone out before. It had only served to make things worse, as Twilight had helped her see. "Thanks for talkin' with me about this Twi." Applejack murmured. Twilight nodded, giving a reassuring smile. "That's what friends are for right?" She asked. "You matter to me." She promised. The two mares looked around at their town after another moment of silence. They were a little over halfway there. Twilight was heading for Trixie's Carriage. The "great and powerful" mare usually parked it in the same place. Twilight figured she should get the unpleasant one out of the way first. "Where am I?" ...... "Why can't I see?" ....... "I can't feel anything. Somepony help me please... I miss my sister. I miss my friends. Please Celestia... somepony..." ...... "Why can't I scream?" Author's Note Any feedback would be highly appreciated. Hugs and kisses Chapter 2 An awful stench. The cavity is pulled open. The shifting of flesh. A separate existence imposes upon another. They are one. "Welllll! Look who's brought her hick friend to humiliate me again." The azure mare teased with a big smirk on her face. Her tiny little cart had seen better days but she kept it somewhat clean. Trixie's cape lay upon her back and her star patterned hat hung from it's hook. Twilight nor Applejack were amused, but they had expected as much from Trixie. "We're here ta help ya." Applejack grumbled. Spike waved a claw at Trixie. "App-" "Spike." Twilight started. "She just wanted a reaction." She mumbled, her mouth a slanted line of annoyance. Trixie's unrelenting smirk confirmed this. "Best way you three can help The Great and Powerful Trixie is moving out of town." Twilight shook her head. "Trixie, Steel Gaze told me you saw purple lights late at night. I'm here about that. Can you for once just cooperate? This is important." For a few moments Trixie sat still. "I don't know what you're talking about Twilight." She scoffed suddenly, her expression shifting to irritation. Twilight glanced at Applejack, whose face was screwed up in confusion. She could usually tell, but either Trixie had a great poker face or nerves of steel. "Ah cain't tell." She mumbled, eyebrow raised. "Really? No purple lights?" Twilight asked seriously. "Guess you dreamed it. Trixie is never afraid." Trixie taunted, crossing her forelimbs in defiance. Applejack stared irritably. Why couldn't she tell if this stupid mare was lying or not? She never understood how she knew or could tell. She just.. knew. This time? Nothing at all to indicate one way or the other. Her rump plopped onto the floor. She sat and stared at her hooves. Was Trixie really just a good liar? Was something else going on? Was Applejack just useless? "Get your dirty tail off my floor!" Trixie scolded. "If you leave marks you're cleaning it!" Twilight sighed. This wasn't going anywhere helpful. She took another glance at Trixie. Hm. Trixie's eyes are purple. .... Did the eye color match for everypony else? Why did they match? Surely that had significance. "Can you leave? Seriously. You leave me without an audience because the whole town hates me and now you're here accusing Trixie of being crazy? Out!" Trixie screeched, interrupting Twilight's thought process. "Trixie it was never my intention to-" "Out!" Trixie pointed at the door angrily. Sweetie Belle scoffed. "Cherilee is a terrible teacher I think. I dont even have time at home to do anything!" "Yer tellin' me. I could probably build a house out of the darn homework." Applebloom grumbled. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were still sitting next to the river, drying off and basking in the sun. It was a beautiful day. A grasshopper landed on Applebloom's leg and she curiously looked down at it. "Well hay there little fella." She smiled, gently brushing her little hoof against it's head. "Go on now 'fore Sco-" Too late. Scootaloo screamed. "Aah! Groooosss!" She whined, swatting madly at Applebloom's leg. "Friendly fire!" Applebloom did her best to protect the green bug, moving away from Scootaloo. "Scoootaloo! Stop it!" Sweetie Belle hopped in between them to try and help. Scootaloo struck Sweetie Belle's leg with force intended for a terrifying threat. "Ow!" Scootaloo yelped. Instead of her hoof smacking into her friend's usual squishy flesh, she hit something harder. A muffled thump wasn't what she expected at all. Sweetie Belle's eyes widened and she backed away a little. "Sweetie Belle what're you made of?" "I'm real." Sweetie Belle murmured. "I promise." Scootaloo and Applebloom looked at each other, then back at Sweetie Belle. "Sweetie Belle that hurt. It's like I punched a tree or something." Scootaloo mumbled, holding her hoof off the ground. "Please don't tell anypony." Sweetie Belle cowered behind her own hooves, pressing her eyes shut. Scootaloo slowly nodded. Sweetie Belle acting strangely all made sense now. "You're secretly a-" Applebloom interrupted. "Are you a robot?" Scootaloo scoffed. A robot? Ridiculous. Sweetie Belle is clearly a- "Y-yeah." Sweetie Belle whined quietly. The single word was enough to cause a Scootaloo's train of thought to derail right above a highway, crashing into the road and causing a mental thirty four car pileup. "Uhhhh.." Applebloom gasped. "Am I a robot too?" She asked excitedly, knocking on her forehead with a hoof. Felt real enough. "Girls.. this has to be kept a secret please. Nopony can know. They'll take me away forever." Sweetie Belle pleaded. Scootaloo and Applebloom gasped in unison, rushing to Sweetie Belle's sides. "No way are they breaking apart the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" Scootaloo proclaimed, hugging Sweetie's side. "Yeah! I don't care whatchu are Sweetie Belle! Yer our friend!" Applebloom declared with a big grin on her face. Seeing as her friends accepted her, the white filly stood up straight. The emotion drained from her face like a cloth wiping away a coat of nail polish. She needn't waste her processes on pretending for now. She could allocate memory to other more important things. "Thank you for understanding, friends." Her friends looked at each other. "Oh.." "My.." "Celestia!!" "Our friend is a Ro-" They both almost shouted together. Sweetie Belle planted a hoof over both of their mouths. "The secret should be kept." She replied flatly. Scootaloo squealed. "Can you fly?" "Ooh oh! Can you shoot lasers?" Applebloom asked excitedly. 'Sweetie Belle' answered. "Flight isn't within my capabilities nor would it serve much purpose. Lasers aren't necessary for my personal agenda." "If you're.. that. Then how is your fur so soft and real feeling?" Scootaloo asked. Sweetie Belle paused. She thought for a few moments. "I'm very advanced." She found that answer adequate. Hopefully it was one her friends would accept. "Keep the secret and I'll do your math homework." She bartered. Anyone else might have found the sudden shift in her expressions and speech to be unsettling. Her friends found it cool. "Deal!" Applebloom spat in her hoof and offered it for a shake. "Gross." Scootaloo mumbled. Sweetie Belle pressed her hoof against Applebloom's and they shook. "Yer apposed ta spit to seal the deal Sweetie Bale." Applebloom commented. "I've no reason to waste my saliva. Producing it requires energy I could spare for other things." Sweetie Belle replied flatly. "Ah just can't believe it! Why didn't it work?" Applejack huffed, stomping after Twilight as they made their way into Sugarcube Corner. The bell rang, but nopony was at the counter. Pinkie Pie sprung out of nowhere accompanied by a blast of confetti. "Haaaayyy! girls! You want some cake? Cookies? Cupcakes? Awww! I'm just so glad to see you! What about brownies huh?" The pink party pony ambushed them, speaking quickly. "Eehehe." Twilight smiled. Pinkie Pie had that effect usually. "No thank you Pinkie. I had a serious question actually." Just like that she was frowning again. Pinkie paused. "How serious? Did you forget to buy icing this morning and had to run out and get some super fast but get to the store and remember why you didn't have any was because they were out of icing?" "We're talkin' way more serious than any a that silliness sugarcube." Applejack grumbled. Her pride was hurt. She was the living lie detector for goodness sake. How could she fail Twilight like that? "Do you keep note of everyone's eye colors?" Twilight asked. "I know it's a weird question." "Hmmmmmmmmm.... Yup! All in the good ol filing system." Pinkie giggled. "Cmon!" She waved a hoof, pulling a lever behind the counter that opened the wall to reveal a slide. Without a moment of hesitation she dove inside the dark slide. Applejack and Twilight knew it had to be safe. They couldn't help but be apprehensive though. Regardless they all made it down safe and sound soon enough. Twilight landed last, almost rolling over on her side as her hooves hit the ground. "We need Octavia Melody, Lyra Heartstrings, Roseluck, Cherilee, and Matlida's eyecolors." Twilight said with a sigh, dusting herself off. The little Pinkie cave was always a wild place to be. Tall shelves and filing cabinets lined the walls. From the ceiling hung a disco ball, what looked like big drips of ice cream, and an excess of party streamers. A giant blue candy cane rested against the wall a little further inside. "LA! La la la.. la la la!" Pinkie Pie sang as she manically dug through her files, offering Twilight every file she asked for. Twilight took them, reading through each name to confirm it. "Just make sure ya give em back." Pinkie Pie winked. "Spike." Twilight's expression stiffened. Her heart might as well have been tossed down a mineshaft. "The colors all match the eyes of the pony that made each report." Twilight reported, her eyes wide. Spike had nothing to say for once. He wrote the findings down. It was time to be serious. Like Twilight said. "Ya think that's why I couldn't tell Trixie was lyin' or not?" Applejack sat. She took off her hat and figeted with it uneasily. "Was that really Trixie?" "I don't know." Twilight took deep breaths. Not a panic attack. Not now. "Reckon.. uh. The rest a them ponies are-" "I. Don't. Know." Twilight narrowed her eyes, casting an unfriendly gaze at Applejack. The message was clear. She needed a moment. "Maaaaybe we should get some fresh air." Pinkie suggested, pulling Twilight a little. "NO!!" Outside? How many ponies? In public? Those fakes could be anywhere. It's not a guarantee. Calm down Twilight. Trixie seemed to know things that Trixie would. So? So what?! The whole town knew about that!! Could this really be happening? Didn't Applejack mention Applebloom? Was she a fake? Was her sister gone? The needles of anxiety dug deep into Twilight's skin, pulling the sweat from her glands. Her stomach twisted and writhed unhappily. Her throat clenched as if a snake had coiled around it and squeezed as hard as it could. Her heart beat quickly. Her eyes widened further. Pinkie Pie and Applejack shared a concerned look. Twilight was sitting there and rocking back and forth, breathing heavily to herself. A panic attack. "Ummmm.. Twilight? Who started Nightmare Night?" Pinkie asked a grounding question. "Luna.. Princess Luna." Twilight shivered, looking at Pinkie Pie. Her eyes darted up and down. She was hardly focused on her pink friend. The pink blob that was speaking to her. The input from her eyes became secondary to her thoughts. "Who's captain of the Wonderbolts?" Pinkie Pie asked. "Spitfire." "Who's Chancellor Puddinghead?" "A.. a founder of Equestria." Twilight answered the questions, one after another. "What color is my fur?" "Pink, Pinkie. You're Pink." Twilight slowed down a little with her response, narrowing her eyes at Pinkie. It was working. "What's your opinion on toast?" "Toast? Well for starters it tastes horrible." Twilight huffed. Jackpot. "If I wanted to eat charcoal I'd probably.." She paused. "Charcoal is interesting you know. I-" Applejack interrupted. "Guess what Twi? Yain't freakin' out anymore." Twilight blinked. "Hm.. yes." She nodded. She did feel a bit better. Still overall uneasy though. "Thank you Pinkie." Pinkie Pie rushed over to Twilight and hugged her tightly. Too hard. Twilight let out a surprised grunt. It wasn't unwelcome of course. "Yippiee! Twi Twi say bye bye to your silly panic attack cause Pinkie Pie made it go bye bye!" Pinkie Pie shouted in a semi sing song tone. "T-thanks." Twilight managed. She squirmed a little. Pinkie Pie was much stronger than she appeared. Her hugs could be deadly in the wrong context. Twilight wasn't sure of what to do about any of this yet. She was still trying to mentally gather herself. She paced around her room. Only Spike was with her now, offering suggestions every now and again. "Why not write Princess Celestia and see what she says?" Spike suggested, pulling a paper from his clipboard and pointing at it. "I don't want to bother her Spike. She's always busy. This isn't a friendship report. I dont even write those anymore anyway." Twilight rubbed her temples. The implications all of this had was gargantuan. Body snatchers? Was it a changeling scheme? There weren't any other things she could think of that could do something like this, and yet it perhaps wasn't changeling related. "...the returned individuals do not respond to anti-disguise spells." "Alright." Twilight mumbled. "Make a copy of the notes to send to her and then write her a message." It took Spike a few minutes, but since he'd already taken the liberty of copying some of it didn't take too long. He thought she might ask that. "What message?" He finally asked. "Dear Princess Celestia. Attached are notes regarding an ongoing investigation I've been following. I've not noticed any disappearances but the lights mentioned being the same color as each pony's eyes leads me to believe that likely this is related. Trixie Lulamoon claimed to have never seen any lights despite an earlier report brought to my attention by Steel Gaze. She could just be lying for her own purposes or could have even made a fake report just to mess with me.." Twilight sighed. Of course. Trixie hated her after all. "Regardless it's all very concerning and a second opinion or new data on the matter would be helpful. Right now I'm at a loss. I just feel like the longer I take on this the less time we have. Ponies lives are at stake. Your Student, Twilight Sparkle." "Uhhh.. Twilight, are you sure you want me to end it with that? You're a princess too." Spike pointed at Twilight's wings. "Oh.. ha.." Twilight flapped her wings uneasily. "Right. Just put.. I don't know. I guess friend would be weird, does she consider me a friend?" She thought aloud, pacing around the room again. Crunch Twilight lifted her hoof. What had she stepped on? "Aww.." Spike grumbled, already picking it up. It was one of his collectibles. He must've left it in the floor. "Which one is that again?" Twilight asked. "Mane-iac, Twilight." Spike replied, straightening her pose so he could fix it. "Check this out." He said with a smirk. He pressed a little button on her side and her little eyes flashed red. A little evil laugh came from a speaker on her underside. "Huh." Twilight smiled a little. "That's neat Spike. I like the glowing eyes." She frowned. "Glowing eyes." She repeated. The whistling of wind. It was a cold evening. It was getting dark. Optimal. Target is alone. Is Target expecting visitors? No. It was patient. It would wait as long as it needed to for the perfect opportunity. It had no concept of boredom or restlessness anyway. Octavia Melody yawned gently. She glanced at the fireplace. Her pupils grew as she took in the crackling of the fire. It cast an orange glow across the room. The house she lived in was an odd one. It had a thematic split through the center. One side was hers. The others was her housemate's. Vinyl Scratch was out tonight. Octavia wouldn't admit it but she missed Vinyl. She blushed, pushing away her more.. unsavory thoughts. Octavia pulled herself from her ever so comfortable seat. It was her favorite spot to be. It's comfort however wasn't enough. She felt uncomfortable in her own home. Tap, Tap, Tap. Her hooves tapped against the floor with each step, the only other noise in the room coming from the gentle roar of controlled flames. It wasn't even that cold really. She just needed sound. Anything. She could put on music of course, but that was too much. The fire was just right. Only just so loud that it was there, but not so loud that she couldn't hear. Each window was covered with curtains. "Vinyl dear. Please come home soon." She mumbled. Octavia pushed a curtain aside, peering outside into the darkness. From this window Octavia could see a few other houses, but also to the left she'd be able to see the woods. The sky was starless tonight. Inky black. She was both thankful and terrified that there were no lights tonight. Many nights in a row now she'd spied purple lights peeking from the bushes. At first she thought it might've been a prank, but it's been so.. persistent. A prankster would've wanted a big reaction and that's it. This has been going on for a while now. She wanted to be glad they weren't present tonight, but their absence did nothing to quell her unease. Perhaps Steel Gaze was able to make it stop? She'd reported it to her recently. Perhaps Steel Gaze had scared off youngsters who'd wired up some lights and sat them behind the bushes. Perhaps Steel Gaze had confronted what it was and.. No. Steel Gaze is surely perfectly fine. She was at home tonight taking apart her old rifles and cleaning them. Surely. Octavia suddenly focused, her eyes scanning outside the window. Had something moved? It had to be an animal. Look at yourself Octavia, crouched at your own window, staring outside like a paranoid little foal! She took a deep breath. A craving settled upon her mind. Tea sounds good. Octavia made her way into her kitchen, flicking the light on quickly. It was compact and modern. She liked it somewhat. It was one thing her and Vinyl could agree on. CLANK. The house's ventilation jolted to life suddenly. It was something Octavia was used to, but it still startled her every now and again. It hummed loudly, pushing warm air throughout the house. Had it gotten colder? Had the fire went out? She did suppose it felt colder in the kitchen. Octavia readied a kettle, filling it with water and placing it on the stove. She turned the burner on and- CLANK. "Excuse me?" Octavia whispered aloud, looking at a nearby vent. The vents didn't stop pushing warm air through the home. Then why the sound? A prickly feeling crawled through Octavia's mind. Thousands of little legs marched unevenly along her train of thought. She elected to ignore it. Octavia was going to brew her tea and enjoy it. The thoughts didn't go away as she waited for her kettle to signal that the water inside had come to a boil. Was it the thing outside? The lights from outside? Had it come for her? "Damn it." Octavia cursed. It was too quiet in here. "I told you not to go." THUD. Octavia nearly jumped out of her own skin. She backed away from the nearest vent. That was close. Too close. Rats. Surely they had rats. She'd call someone about it tomorrow. Ridiculous. No rat was large enough to make such a sound. All Octavia had wanted was a comfortable night. Something was clearly wrong here. Octavia started back toward the stove. She couldn't leave the burner on. THUD. CLUNK! Nevermind. Octavia rushed out of the kitchen, panting heavily. What the hell was that?! Another loud thud. Something metallic scraped across the Kitchen floor. Was she going to die? No. She couldn't. She had to see Vinyl again. Waves of fear crashed against her mind. She was shaking. Don't just stand there! Do something. She took a deep breath, trying to think. The door. Octavia rushed to the front door. She'd rather be outside, safe, and potentially look silly tomorrow than potentially die or face whatever that was. She'd go to Berry Punch's place. Her friend was a drunk but at least she wouldn't be alone. A night forgetting all this might be what she needed anyway. She tried the door. .... It didn't budge. The door didn't lock from from outside. What's going on? She pushed at it. Beginning to fully panic, Octavia threw her full weight at the door with a terrified whinny. Scrrrrraaatch. THUMP! Octavia turned around. A shock suddenly jolted through her body as she slumped against the damaged door. To her credit she'd managed a crack right down the center. She was an Earth Pony after all. Her vision began to darken as she looked upward at the pair of glowing purple eyes. "Hello. I'm Octavia Melody." Was that her own voice? It didn't matter anymore. Octavia almost couldn't feel anything. A sudden warm feeling. She tried to look downward. Blobs of red were pooling from her. A blurry figure had parted her ribcage. It pushed what Octavia thought might be it's head inside. "Vinyl. I-I.. love..." Author's Note This one is a little longer than I wanted it to be. I write pretty spontaneously. I figured a horror story should probably have a horror scene in it. I wanted to have one in chapter one but couldn't quite figure out where to put it. I hope people get something out of this. I aimed to keep this chapter at 3k words like the first one. I may not abide by that rule for all chapters though. We'll see. Chapter 3 It was late. Twilight Sparkle found herself unable to sleep, staring upward at her ceiling in an awkward pose in her dark room. Her mane was a frazzled mess, not that anypony was awake to see it. She hugged her pillow, setting up as she scanned the room. Her room was on the messier side than usual, organized chaos reigning above all else. Open books lay in piles. Two open notebooks lay upon her desk, chock full of various notes regarding dead ends. She'd went over the possibility of changelings again, she considered outdated accounts of mimics. She pulled herself out of bed. She looked down at Spike. He was snoring again. More pressing however was there'd been no response from Princess Celestia. Was something wrong? Well. More wrong than it already was? Twilight glanced out the window, half expecting to see purple dots jutting out of the dark. Nothing. Ponyville was silent as could be. Perhaps Princess Celestia was simply gathering her available information before replying. It wasn't the first time Twilight's had to wait for a reply. She decided to clean her room just a little, mulling over the thoughts swirling in her head. She scanned the titles of various books as she picked them up. 'A Nightmare Night Enthusiast's Guide To The Horrors Of The Night.' Twilight chuckled, laying the book aside. It hadn't yielded anything of note, but it was admittedly a fun read. 'The Night Walkers' This one was about odd creatures stealing the skin of a pony and using their likeness to draw in their loved ones. Disturbingly close to what may really be happening. She hoped it wasn't one of these 'Night Walkers'. Notably the story made no mention of strange lights, though perhaps those that saw them never lived to tell. 'Ye Olde Tricks and Treats' A peculiar book that retold classic Nightmare Night stories in a matter of fact fashion. It read more like a true retelling than the silly stories of old. It even had a few that had been lost to time. A foal that had been turned into a terrible but joyous monster. A story that told the origins of Windigos themselves. The story of a book that drove the reader mad.. Twilight sighed, closing this one as well. "What am I doing?" Twilight thought. She looked up at a particularly loud street light. It was buzzing. A delinquent might've thrown a rock at it and damaged it. It stood out from the rows of carefully places lights that dotted the dark street. Twilight gazed down the street. She was south of her home. There wasn't any curfew or law against being out this late, though as princess it likely wouldn't apply to her anyway. The lights in each window were mostly off apart from one or two odd homes. Slumber parties? A lucky night? Like the dots of light from the windows, the sky was dotted with stars as well. It was a clear night for a change, each star glistening above like a gem embedded into a gargantuan dome above all existence. She just walked, digesting today's events even more. "I can see why Luna does this sometimes." Twilight commented. It was quiet and calm. Serene. A gentle wind coaxed the trees into a little swaying dance. She decided on a plan of action. It'd keep the ponies that reported lights safe, and possibly catch.. whatever was replacing ponies. That was, if any of them were body snatchers. Non-ponies. Unknown beings wearing the skin of their victims.. Night Walkers... "Ugh." Twilight expressed quietly. "What or who would do this?" Twilight thought once more, making her way closer to the edge of town. "What motive could there possibly be?" She wondered. "Hm?" Octavia and Vinyl's joint home stood before her as it always had, it's thematic and yet fitting split down the center making it stand out from the other homes. It always drew the eye as one would pass it. All was normal, apart from one detail. The front door was damaged. Not open, but damaged. A jagged crack ran down the center. It looks like a metal object had been jammed into the door as well. Twilight reigned in her anxieties, trotting hurriedly over. She pulled at the metal object with her magic. Shhhink! "Rebar?" She murmured, holding it close while she trembled.. It was sharp. It could be useful. Twilight felt tears welling up in her eyes. Celestia's sake why now? Was she walking in on a Celestia forsaken murder scene? She took a deep breath, knocking on the door sternly. "Hello?" Twilight nervously rubbed her hoof against the opposite foreleg. Her wings shivered nervously. "Fly away!" Her instincts screamed. She tucked the sharp metal piece under a wing. She didn't want to look threatening. Running wasn't an option. No way. Twilight had to see if Vinyl and Octavia were alright. This was beyond suspicious. Twilight's thoughts were interrupted by the door being opened. It held together, barely. "Princess?" A refined voice asked. Octavia Melody peeked from behind the door. She looked calm and relaxed. "What a surprise!" She exclaimed with a warm smile. "What brings you here Princess Twilight?" Twilight couldn't speak. She cursed at herself mentally for not giving herself a moment to calm down. "I-I.. uh. Your front door was.. concerning." "Goodness, you look like you've seen a ghost. Are you alright?" Octavia reached out to touch Twilight's shoulder, her eyes wide with concern. Twilight chewed on her lip. It was all she could do. "No, not really." She answered honestly. "Did you report sighting purple lights outside your window to Steel Gaze?" She was here, might as well ask. Octavia sighed. "Yes. I did." It couldn't lie about that. That wouldn't make any sense. Steel Gaze was a direct witness after all. It couldn't think of any reason to lie about such a thing. "However I believe I know the cause now." Octavia added, looking Twilight in the eyes. Twilight waited for a reply, cocking an eyebrow. She bit too hard, and was now bleeding into her mouth. She didn't show it; Only tensing her brow just a little. "Vinyl has all sorts of lights, as you know. I believe the light was actually a reflection from the inside of our house." Octavia explained calmly. Twilight stared, digesting that. Plus the blood pooling down her throat. "That's... a really good explanation honestly." Twilight admitted, looking downward. It was so easy to believe. She really wanted to. "Regardless, there are 6 other reports though. 7 counting a newer one." "Hm. Well Princess, that is fairly strange I must admit. Have you ever considered it may be a coincidence?" Octavia pushed a bit. Octavia was very still, Twilight noticed. Very calm. Sure of herself. If only Twilight was so able to be calm. She coveted Princess Celestia's ability to be so incredibly steadfast. "I find it unlikely. I'd like you to come with me. For your own safety." Twilight half lied. She'd speak to Steel Gaze tomorrow about the others. "May I come in?" Twilight asked before Octavia could reply. Curiosity started to peek through her anxiety. Something was off here. The broken door, the nonchalance.. She'd have to write this stuff down herself later. "I-Well.. Um." Octavia stammered. "Perhaps not. Vinyl- I've got something special planned for.. when she gets home." She blushed, lowering her head in embarrassment. She pressed her front hooves together timidly. "Sorry Octavia but this is important. Your life is more important." Twilight emphasized. "Dear Princess, I promise you I'm in no danger." Octavia replied. Her nose wrinkled and she narrowed her eyes. Twilight felt tempted to use her title. She was a princess. She could simply order Octavia to let her inside. "Alright. How about this. I give you time to prepare. Tomorrow night you can come see me. We can talk over tea." Sounded nice didn't it? "Yes, well. I should be getting to sleep. It's already fairly late." Octavia glared, closing the door. Twilight blinked, staring at the door. She wished she'd asked about the crack. Perhaps tomorrow. If Octavia showed. "Meow!" "There there Mister Cuddles." Fluttershy cooed, picking up her little fuzzy friend. It was early morning. The sun was shining gently through the windows of the cozy little cottage. Many animals were still asleep. Fluttershy's home was, as always a serene reprieve from the dangers of the forest or the rambunctiousness of life in Ponyville. Fluttershy brushed her hoof against Mr. Cuddles. She made sure to use just the amount of force he liked on his back. "Mmrreow." He signaled happily. Fluttershy giggled softly. "It really is nice out this morning." She agreed with him. A little chipmunk scurried across the window sill. "Good morning to you too." Fluttershy smiled at it. "Oh, um. Good morning. Good morning!" She said to a few different waking animals greeting her. A snake quietly slithered closer. "Good morning Elanor." Fluttershy gently patted the snake's head, allowing the reptile to slither up her leg. "Do you feel better today?" Elanor nodded contently, snuggling against Fluttershy for warmth. Fluttershy looked out the window again, humming a sweet little tune. Soon a few birds chimed in, harmonizing with her in a wonderful and joyous symphony of voices. What was that? Silence. Footsteps. "Hello?" Fluttershy asked. Silence again. Fluttershy grit her teeth, shivering a bit and glancing down at Mister Cuddles. The cat of course wasn't bothered at all. A little head poked out from the open window. A deer. Fluttershy calmed down, letting out a sigh of relief. "Hello Little Doe." She greeted, holding out a hoof for the small one. Little Doe, the orphaned baby deer visited Fluttershy every now and again. She never stayed for too long though despite Fluttershy's insistence that she take care of her. She looked afraid. "What's the matter?" Fluttershy asked softly. She gently pet Little Doe's head. Little Doe made an afraid little noise. Fluttershy's eyes widened. "What? What do you mean?" Little Doe rested her head on the window sill. "That sounds really scary. Are you sure it wasn't just some ponies?" Fluttershy asked. Little Doe narrowed her eyes and shook her head. "You're absolutely sure?" Fluttershy asked, lifting Mister Cuddles with care, letting his little legs touch the floor as she lowered him to the waxy wooden floor. She stood up. "Show me." She requested gently but firmly. Fluttershy would do anything for the animals. Even if it meant facing something unknown and scary. Even still, persistent panic laced her fast and racing thoughts. Be brave, Fluttershy. The Everfree Forest was always fairly daunting. Fluttershy stood in the tall grass, speaking with a family of four deer. A mother doe, a father buck, and two little children. The swampwater bubbled and the insects chirped their insistent song. The trees waved gently as if to say hello. The overhead clouds menaced the ground below with constant darkness. In the daytime or nighttime the weather above The Everfree Forest was always wild and unpredictable. "Oh dear. That is pretty scary." Fluttershy commiserated. There was an unnatural path stomped down somewhat recently before her; Trees and other foliage crushed under the weight of something titanic. It began abruptly right in the center of the forest. Nopony would have found it for quite some time. Fluttershy was simply lucky, (or unlucky) enough to have been roped into this. Fluttershy shivered in place uncomfortably. No identifiable footprints. Her mind wandered. If a powerful unicorn wanted perhaps they could plow this path down, but for what purpose? Nevermind that, what unicorn was strong enough to do this? It lead in a straight line, deep into the forest one way and toward the edge the other way. It was about as wide as a carriage. She wanted to believe it was an elephant but again no footprints to speak of nor did any Elephants call this forest home. Big cities like Manehattan had steam rollers; Perhaps somepony had managed to get one all the way down here? Why? Could a steam roller even topple these huge trees in such a manner? Fluttershy doubted that. "Well.. um. Here goes." Fluttershy whispered with a gulp. The frightened pegasus began to walk, following the path deeper inside. A Cragodile hissed nearby, peeking it's head out of the water as Fluttershy passed. She gave it a nervous wave and a smile. "Nice to see you too." She greeted. Grey clouds swirled above, showering the forest's canopy with the noise of little pitter patters. The rain would have been nice in other circumstances. Down the path she walked, deeper into the forest. Further and further as her eyes traced the edges. It was if a giant stone had been pulled through, flattening everything in it's wake. It even went directly though hills, creating a perfectly flat path straight through. It was unnatural. Indiscriminate. It didn't seem to matter what it had to plow through, whatever created this had to go in a perfectly straight line through the forest, no if ands or buts. Fluttershy's eyes darted around. She'd been walking for some time now. Why was it so quiet here? She was beginning to wish she'd brought somepony.. someone with her. She missed Angel at this moment. The boisterous bunny had been asleep and she didn't want to wake him. A turn? Fluttershy looked downward at the angled path. It veered to the left now. The right side where it would be a curve instead was a perfect angle carved into the dirt. It was very abrupt, as if somepony had taken a thin piece of paper, cut it, and simply rotated the topmost piece leftward. Why did nopony ever try to tame this forest? It was simple really. The upkeep was impossible. The dangerous creatures that live here were problematic. Apart from the obvious though, the paths regrew too quickly to realistically maintain. They either had to be sustained with magic like the existing few pathways, or a big clearing needs to be created. A resource intensive task that destroys the purpose of visiting the forest to begin with. "My hooves are starting to hurt." Fluttershy mumbled to nopony, looking downward. She'd been out here for what felt like an hour or so. It was rather difficult to tell considering the sun was obscured by swirling grey clouds. She considered flying but quickly decided that it would tire her out even quicker. Nothing seemed scary so far per say, just really really strange. The animals seemed to stay away from the path, leaving the forest very very quiet. That was when she saw it. A stream of dark smoke reaching for the sky. It was difficult to notice at all. Had that always been there? It seemed to be directly ahead of Fluttershy. She grit her teeth, pressing onward despite her reservations. Flim and Flam came to mind. Did they set something up all the way out here? Illegally exploiting the forest perhaps? That thought alone filled Fluttershy with righteous rage, that ire fueling her confidence and footsteps. The closer the got the more it looked like the path ended at a black wall. Closer and closer still, it turned out to be a tall rectangular structure made of a black glassy material. It was incredibly smooth to the touch, Fluttershy discovered as she ran a hoof along the exterior. Flim and Flam's contraptions were never this.. alien. She hardly knew how to feel about this, fear and confusion coursing through her thoughts like a wildfire. "I've... never seen anything like.. this." Fluttershy murmured to herself, taking in the structure. The smoke was coming from the top. It was smooth all the way around, with no visible entrance or even a window. No animal dared come close to whatever this is. Fluttershy began to turn away toward the path when she heard an impact nearby. Her ears flopped downward as she impulsively dove into the bushes. It was hard to see what made the noise, but something was moving around the side of the building.. a pony? No.. too small. A foal? Fluttershy squinted, trying to get a better angle on the small shape as it stood motionless next to the black building. It was.. Diamond Tiara? What was she doing out here? The spoiled little filly was never one to get her hooves dirty. Is she lost? The little pink foal, Diamond Tiara stared at the black building for a moment, expression blank. After a moment she spoke. "Outside? Here?" She asked flatly, her tone odd in a way Fluttershy found it difficult to put a hoof on. Monotone? No, not quite. Close to it though. "I find that highly unlikely." She spoke to the building itself. Fluttershy shivered, was.. something crawling up her side? Diamond Tiara stared. Unsettlingly her expression hadn't changed once, as if her own face were merely a mask of some sort. "Out here? I do suppose that path is obvious. We should have covered the entrance." She began to look toward Fluttershy. Oh no! Could she see her? Fluttershy felt little legs crawling up her side. She glanced downward at a centipede making it's way up her leg. Gentle as could be, she let it crawl onto her forehoof, bringing it close to her face. "There there little guy.." She murmured. She brought her centipede friend closer and whispered something to it, soon placing it on the ground and watching it scuttle away. Fluttershy looked back to see Diamond Tiara still staring in her general direction. Was the building itself somehow aware that she was there? How was it talking to Diamond Tiara? Why in the world was she acting like this? "Investigating." The foal stated flatly, stiffly walking toward Fluttershy. Her odd stiff walk soon became more like the usual foal's gait. She cleared her throat and began to look around in a lifelike way, her expression finally changing to one of concern with a tinge of fear making it's way through as well. "Hello? Is anyone there?" She asked loudly, mere inches away from Fluttershy. Oh... Mister Centipede please hurry.. Fluttershy put her hooves over her mouth slowly, doing her best to breathe from only her nose. She shut her eyes, trying to make herself as small and low to the ground as possible. Hopefully the bushes were good enough cover. Why was she afraid of Diamond Tiara anyway? She was just a spoiled child right? Regardless of whatever rationalizations she could come up with, her desire to stand up and ask Diamond Tiara what she's doing out here was far outweighed by the creeping sensation that something was terribly strange and wrong about this. Diamond Tiara stood still, eyes narrowed. She walked closer to the bush, reaching out with her little hoof. Fluttershy listened to the painful silence. Was Diamond Tiara even breathing? As the moment dragged into a painful eternity, Fluttershy's swirling thoughts smashed into the sides of her skull's interior, jumbled and tangled sentences whipping around the small space that was Fluttershy's mind with a wild fury. Diamond Tiara's gaze darted toward something moving behind Fluttershy, to the right. A creme colored shape with seemingly a pink and tail hopped away into the woods quickly. She narrowed her eyes, walking past Fluttershy and into the woods. Fluttershy sighed softly, watching as alert as the very animals she watched over, eyes wide. "Thank you..." She thought. The very second the coast was clear she bolted away, wings spread as she flew above the path as fast as she could. "I owe you one Mister Deer.." She whined. Vinyl Scratch sat before her home audio system, removing her shades for the moment. It wasn't often that she got to remove them, however she liked to at home. She didn't mind them, but sometimes they did get a little sweat buildup around her eyes. She let out a sigh as she slumped into her seat. She'd just gotten home from a long night and morning of partying and she was about to completely pass out. Feeling the weight of her eyelids she grumbled as she pulled herself out of her seat. Sleeping during the day wasn't ideal, but what else could be done? No way was she gonna let herself fall asleep in that chair though. Last time it gave her a cramp. "Vinyl dearest?" Vinyl Scratch silently looked toward her roommate, waving at her a little with a foreleg. Octavia looked as she always had. A grey coat with a darker grey perfectly maintained mane and tail. She stood inside the doorway that lead to the kitchen, a gentle, restrained smile upon her face. "I've.. been meaning to tell you something." She began, looking away bashfully. Vinyl Scratch tilted her head, watching Octavia with her striking red eyes. Most had never seen Vinyl's unique eyes, but Octavia of course got to see them often. She just hoped Octavia was appreciative of the privilege. Vinyl gave Octavia a smirk. She had a pretty good idea of what was coming. She'd been hoping that she herself would be able to drum up the courage to talk about what had grown between the pair. It was obvious to just about everypony. Vinyl wasn't stupid of course, she could tell Octavia had developed a crush. Octavia sheepishly touched a hoof to her chin. Was something damaged in the fall? Running diagnostics. Despite sensing that something was odd, Octavia pressed onward. "I.. Well.. maybe you've noticed.. I know you're observant.. and.." She began to lightly blush. Vinyl Scratch stepped closer, nodding. She would be patient. She wanted to tell Octavia that it would be okay somehow. Admittedly the techno party pony wasn't the best at social interaction in general but she would try regardless. Gently, she reached for Octavia's hoof, and held it to her own chest. Central Unit damaged. Source: Fall from vent system. Rear left leg damaged. Source: Fall from vent system. Octavia had already known about the leg of course, but her central unit being damaged could pose an issue. It would make it that much harder to fool Vinyl. She gasped quietly, making her face blush as she widened her eyes by 30%. "Vinyl... I.. You.. matter so.. much to me." Octavia expressed tenderly, contacting her tear ducts to produce convincing waterfalls of fluid to stream down her face. Vinyl Scratch pulled Octavia into a hug, too overwhelmed to notice that her weight was different. Not that much different persay, the mechanical... things were well balanced and created to be lifelike in every way, but it was still different. Vinyl spoke no words but expressed her joy all the same, closing her eyes and crying into Octavia's false coat. "Finally! Took you long enough!" She thought. Author's Note I deeply apologize for the long wait for this chapter. Life happened and I got sidetracked by some other projects. Some writing related! I may eventually post that here. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and as always if you have any criticisms or feedback I'd love to hear it! I haven't forgotten about this story, i promise xoxo
Chapter 1The dark starry night twinkled above as the last traces of the sunset gently faded from the sky. Three little children lay in a field of grass, each out past their bedtimes. "Scootaloo? Applebloom?" The little white filly with a curly mane asked. She lay in the open field with her two friends, feeling the embrace of grass against their backs as they observed the night sky. "What's up Sweetie Belle?" Scootaloo replied after a pause, looking around at the waving trees. Apart from a gentle breeze the weather was calm and still. Not a single stray cloud in sight. "Yeah Sweetie Belle?" A country accent asked. Applebloom whispered with respect for nature's current stillness. Even the animals seemed to respect this apart from the unrelenting song of the crickets and frogs. "Do you... think we'll always be friends?" Sweetie Belle squeaked uneasily. "An invasion?!" The purple princess exclaimed suddenly. "What do you mean?" She asked quieter, trying to control her anxieties. Princess Twilight Sparkle sat across from her former mentor, and now equal. Princess Celestia paused a moment to gather her words; The mare spoke carefully around Twilight. "I am not so sure it is an invasion exactly. I am only saying that ponies have vanished, only to appear again the next day with no memory of being missing." The alicorn paused to take a sip of tea, doing so with regal elegance. Celestia did everything proper. What nopony else saw was years of failure and practice. "As you may be thinking now, this would usually be indicative of changeling kidnappings." Princess Celestia started again, setting her teacup down with a little clink. "However the returned individuals do not respond to anti-disguise spells." She wondered if her former student would have any ideas. An inkling, anything at all. "So it's... not changelings... probably. Not unless maybe they have a protective counter-anti-disguise spell or something." Twilight giggled nervously, sighing and looking down at the table between them. The new princess hadn't even touched her tea or cookies. They often met like this and just like any other time the subject took a grave tone, Twilight hadn't bothered. "Are you sure it's not some kind of coincidence?" She asked timidly, giving an awkward smile. Princess Celestia shook her head. "It is unlikely." She looked downward at the floor contemplatively. "We received dozens of reports from around Equestria in a single wave. Citizens vanishing and their loved ones taking notice, and then returning the next day as if nothing had happened. I brought this to your attention so that you may be alert on the matter. Whatever is happening to our citizens, the perpetrator or perpetrators may become more skilled at whatever their goal is. I fear if they are being replaced or something else we may not even notice or have an indicator. If anyone in Ponyville acts out of the ordinary I trust that you will investigate." Scootaloo kicked at the ground from her scooter. She gave a glance toward the field she'd laid in with her friends a few days prior. Sweetie Belle's question hadn't left her mind, and as a result had become even more insistent that the Cutie Mark Crusaders spend time together. As she approached Sweet Apple Acres, a dog's barking would become evident. "Winona." Applejack groaned. "It's just Sweetie Belle girl. Yer gettin all worked up for nothin." She grumbled to Winona and giving her a pet to try and calm her down. "What's wrong Winona?" Applebloom asked as she stepped out of the house, giving her friend a smile. "I don't know. Maybe she's mad at me because I don't have any treats." Sweetie Belle whined. Scootaloo skidded to a halt next to Sweetie Belle. "What's up? What do you wanna do today?" She asked her friends excitedly. "I know just the thing!" Applebloom exclaimed, adjusting her red bow. "I wanna go to the river and see if we can get fishin' cutiemarks!" Sweetie Belle perked up a bit. "Oooh! I wonder if I can catch a turtle?" She wondered, hopping up and down a little excitedly. Applebloom suddenly pulled her friends into a hug, the trio now a giggling mess of orange, yellow, red, white, and purple. "Ya'll are the bestest friends ever!" Applebloom squeaked. "Cutiemark Crusaders forever!" The trio happily shouted, hopping up and down. Applejack tapped Applebloom on the shoulder, a serious expression on her face. "Missy." She started as she turned Applebloom to face her. "You see anything.. weird or.. I dunno. Somethin out a place... just... tell me alright?" Applebloom furrowed her brow, pouting a bit. "I ain't seein lights anymore Applejack. You was right." She huffed. Applejack nodded slowly, gently brushing her hoof through her little sister's mane. "Alright, well. Don't be afraid to come to me anyway okay? I don't want you gettin h-" "I'm fine Applejack. I'm old enough to worry about myself." "Hmmm hm hm hmm.." Humming filled Twilight Sparkle's library. Today was day 4 of completely reorganizing every book. Spike wasn't too bothered by it, this was usual for her. "I think Princess Celestia should've declared you Twilight Sparkle: The Princess of Books." He joked. This prompted a laugh from Twilight. "I don't think I'm against that title." She said, holding out a wing to take the next book. Spike had realized long ago that Twilight was capable of organizing all of this within minutes if she wished. She enjoyed the process. Maybe Spike did too. Not enough to do it for 4 days straight though. "So Twilight.. do you think maaaybe we should go outside? Get some sunlight?" Spike started. Twilight sighed, her wings drooping to her sides. "We probably should." She mumbled. "I can't though I have to clean up this pile." She gestured toward the unshelved pile of books on the floor. "Don't you have that mystery comic to finish or something?" Spike shook his head. "Twiiilight." He raised an eyebrow. "The Power Ponies are awesome because I can read them anywhere." Twilight started climbing backwards down the ladder. "Yeah.. okay. I know." She giggled. "I think you know me better than I do sometimes." Twilight reached the bottom of the ladder, placing each of her hooves on the floor with four gentle clops. "Yeah. I'm like, the best." Spike bragged, giving her a smirk. "You still need to work on being humble." Twilight replied as she walked past. She pinched his cheek with a wing, giggling. "Hey!" Spike whined, batting at her wing. Twilight just giggled at him as she passed through the doorway and walked toward the front doors. Before she could make it to the doors, a mare burst through them. Her eyes darted around suspiciously. "Can you feel it Princess?" She mumbled. "Something is in the air.." "I think it's pollen." Twilight addressed the comment, raising an eyebrow. She was still getting used to being Princess but this mare had wholeheartedly adopted Twilight as her own princess. Steel Gaze narrowed her eyes at Twilight. "Uh.. yes. Not what I meant though." She mumbled, her back pressed against the wall. "Is there anything I can do for you Princess?" Twilight uneasily trotted toward the exit. "Umm.. no thanks.." She gave a nervous smile. "Stop right there Princess! You can't go out there..." Steel Gaze stepped in front of her warily. "Why not?" Twilight huffed, cocking a brow and waiting for an answer. The paranoid, light blue mare looked around. "This is some serious business Princess Twilight. I'm not kidding around." Spike crossed his little arms. "Dude. Just cut to the chase already or let us go outside." Steel Gaze nodded a little, pausing for a moment. "I've been entrusted with reports from several ponies. Several ponies that insist something is out there." "There's a lot of somethings out there. We live right next to a mysterious forest." Twilight made a pointing motion with one of her wings. "I can't help anyone if you don't just tell me what's going on." She said, softer and more concerned in tone. Her mind couldn't help but go back to her previous meeting with a certain Sun Princess. Her ears flopped downward as her mind worked, paranoia stirring from Steel's vagueness. "Seven reports." Steel Gaze started. "Each saying the same thing. Strange lights.. like eyes outside their windows while they sleep. Not stars. Not the light reflecting from an animals eyes." Twilight twisted her leg, pressing her hoof into the crystal floor to make a grinding sound. She thought as she fidgeted. "What color?" She asked nervously, the prickly long legs of anxiety tickling her spine, cold and wet feelings making her shiver. There was a logical explanation somewhere. Cockatrices had glowing red eyes didn't they? "Lyra Heartstrings reported yellow lights. Nurse Redheart reported blue. Roseluck reported green. Do I continue?" Steel Gaze explained, making good on her name. Her expression was stern and cold. The mare was ex-royal guard after all. This didn't comfort Twilight. It only made her squirm more. "I..." Twilight rubbed her chin, raising an eyebrow. "Yes." She nodded. "You said there were seven?" "Yes Princess. Seven reports of lights." Steel confirmed, keeping her steady tone and demeanor. It was quite the contrast to Twilight, who was having a mini panic attack. Spike patted her side, reminding her that he was there. "Just breathe Twilight." "Trixie Lulamoon and Octavia Melody both reported purple. Cheerilee reported green, and finally Matilda reported blue." Steel Gaze finished, awaiting a response from Twilight. "Spike, please fetch something to write all this down with." Twilight requested with a sigh. The little dragon nodded, burping up a green flame that manifested both paper and quill. "Soo.... we're going to investigate this right?" He asked as he finished writing it all down. He rolled the paper up into a scroll and handed it to her. The dragon gave her a smirk. "We don't have a choice Spike" Twilight nodded, kneeling down for him to climb onto her back. "Sweet! It'll be just like the comic!" Spike expressed excitedly as she adjusted himself. "This is no game little guy." Steel Gaze said lowly, crossing her forelimbs. "Everyone could be at risk. Lives are on the line here and it's all up to you." "Woahhh... Awesome.." Spike swooned. "She's right Spike. This is serious." Twilight mumbled as she pushed open her front doors. "Please keep an eye on everypony else." She requested of Steel Gaze. The ex-military mare nodded, bolting away to presumably do as Twilight requested. Twilight looked around nervously at all the ponies living their normal lives. She was silent, Spike noticed. They didn't seem worried at all. The pressure on her shoulders was immense. It was her responsibility to make sure it stayed that way. To make sure each and every citizen here and Equestria beyond was safe. It only worsened as her throat tightened. She felt an awful twisting in her chest. A hot jagged blade of feelings twisting around and making her feel uncomfortable in her own skin. Part of her yearned for another way out. Sweet Apple Acres was always a nice place to visit. Twilight was just about to knock on Applejack's front door until... "Applejack! You can't just do everything by yourself!" An unknown mare shouted. "You listen here missy!" Applejack started. Spike poked Twilight's neck. "You.. think we should wait.. or leave?" "I don't know." Twilight whispered. "This is mah dang farm and I run it how I want to!" Applejack asserted to the unknown voice. Both had accents. Perhaps it was a family member? "Applejack the whole point a me comin' over here was to help!" The voice replied. "You do Big Mac's chores and just that! Nothin' else Apple Fritter!" Applejack bellowed. Twilight backed away from the door. "Maybe I'll.. just wait at the gate." She whispered, ears firmly pressed to the sides of her head as she turned around. More shouting, though it was tough to tell what they were really saying now. It had been a few minutes of Twilight just sitting and waiting. She leaned on a fence post, tiredly watching the house. Applejack burst out of her front door, face red as a tomato. "Fine then!" She grumbled, looking back at Apple Fritter. "You can do it all!" WHAM! She kicked the door shut behind her and huffed for a moment, catching her breath. Twilight jumped at the noise. She's only seen Applejack angry a few times but it was never pleasant. She gulped, casting a glance at Spike. He just looked away at the ground. "Applejack?" Twilight asked. "You okay?" She carefully walked closer to Applejack, eyeing the ground more than looking at her friend. Applejack blinked quickly, looking up at Twilight. "Oh.. Uh. Hay." She grumbled, pulling her hat off her head and stuffing her face into it. "Whatchu up to Twi?" "Well. I'm currently investigating something. There have bee-" "Look out!" Scootaloo warned briefly before jumping into the river with a running start. Their fishing trip had turned into more of a swimming one now. Sweetie Belle had fallen in, and next thing they knew everypony was swimming. "Stop it!" Applebloom giggled, turning away from Sweetie Belle as she kept splashing her friend. Scootaloo impacted the water, splashing the both of them. The filly laughed as she surfaced. "Beat that Applebloom!" Scootaloo challenged her friend. The river was refreshingly cold. A nice change of pace from the hot day. She gave Applebloom a playful punch on the shoulder, something she'd seen Rainbow Dash do many times. "Ow! What'd ya do that for Scootaloo?" Applebloom pouted. She swam toward the edge, pulling herself out. "Applebloom cmooon I was just playing!" Scootaloo pleaded. "Don't leave yet!" "You just told her to beat your splash Scootaloo. That's what she's doing." Sweetie Belle pointed out. Applebloom raised an eyebrow, then smirked. "Aw Scoot." She mumbled. She stepped backward a few paces and then made a running start. "Cannon ball!" She shouted as she hopped into the air as high as she could, curling into a ball. The splash certainly surpassed Scootaloo's. The filly even managed to send a fish or two flying. Scootaloo giggled, unsuccessfully trying to shield her face from the big splash. "Okay.. you win." She conceded. Sweetie Belle meanwhile was pulling herself out of the water already, trying to save the fish. "Maybe we should have went to a pool instead." She mumbled, depositing the slippery creatures back into the water. Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. "Sweetie Belle I thought you didn't like touching fish?" Sweetie Belle stopped for a moment, looking down at the water. "I guess I didn't think about it." She excused. "They're slimy and floppy but they deserve to live too." Applebloom snickered. "Ya sound like Fluttershy, Sweetie Belle." She teased. "Do not!" "Do so!" "Do not!" "Do so!" Sweetie Belle gave up, sitting down and dipping her back hooves into the water. "Whatever Applebloom." She stuck her tongue out. "Don't leave that thang hangin out too long or it'll fall off!" Applebloom recounted something her granny had told her, teasing. Sweetie Belle shook her head. "No way that's true. That's just a lie." She contested the statement. The filly kicked one of her legs out to splash her friends. Scootaloo dipped her head under the water, swimming close to Sweetie Belle and trying to tickle her. After a moment she surfaced. "I know you're ticklish! What's the deal?" "Is that what you was doing under the water?" Sweetie Belle asked, her face blank. "I didn't feel it. Don't you... remember?" She seemed unsure herself of that question. Scootaloo stared, her expression one of confusion. "What? No?" "Whatchu mean Sweetie Belle?" Applebloom asked, arching an eyebrow. Sweetie Belle's eyes darted back and forth for just a moment, before she seemingly decided on a course of action. "It's personal..." She looked away, frowning. "I.. I don't wanna talk about it. I didn't realize I hadn't told you two. I'm sorry, I just don't wanna think about it right now." "Sweetie Belle.. you.. can't just not tell us stuff!" Scootaloo growled. Sweetie Belle squeezed her eyes shut, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I'm sorry.. I just.. It's really painful okay?" Applebloom sighed, patting Scootaloo on the side. "If it's that hard for her to think about Scoot it's probably a good idea to not push it. Reckon that's kinda rude." Scootaloo grimaced for a moment, looking downward. It took her a moment to swallow her irritation. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were supposed to be the closest bestest friends ever! How could Sweetie Belle do this?! "I.. uh.. I'm sorry Sweetie Belle." She managed. Sweetie Belle wiped the tears from her face, trembling a bit. "It's.. it's okay.." She murmured. Applebloom pulled the two into an uncertain hug, though soon they each giggled and chatted amongst another. All was well once again. "So yer sayin' ya think there's monsters or somethin'?" Applejack asked, her eyebrow raised. She'd calmed down quite a bit now. They began walking to Ponyville during their conversation. "I don't know, and I'm not going to speculate without evidence. The only evidence we do have are records of ponies vanishing and reappearing days later and a few reports. The lights." Twilight explained to her friend. "Lights... huh?" Applejack gulped. Twilight nodded, catching on. "You haven't seen anything like that have you?" She asked, almost pleading in a sense. Part of her hoped it was nothing, but if there were even more reports? That makes a disturbing trend. Seven ponies spotting the same thing was already strange enough. "Applebloom. Girl cried to me 'bout it few nights in a row. Ah didn't believe it at first, thought it was a scheme or somethin' but I aint never seen her so shaken up." Applejack shivered as she recalled the memory; The pleading teary eyes of her sister coming to the forefront of her mind's eye. "Aw Applebloom." She sighed. Twilight glanced at Spike, who was in fact doing his job and writing it down. "What color were they?" She asked Applejack. Applejack gave Twilight an odd look. "She uh.. never really told me that. Reckon we could ask her. Don't see how that's relevant though." "I'm trying to figure out what could be happening. It's very relevant." Twilight said with a sigh. "Guess I'll mark it down as a question mark..." Spike mumbled to himself. Twilight tapped her forehead with a hoof for a few moments. "Hrmm." "Whatcha thinkin Twi?" Applejack asked curiously. She was usually the brave one, but she had to admit to herself that she was a bit anxious too. Twilight seemed really worked up based on her body language. "I want you to come with me when I ask these ponies about what happened to them. You can tell when ponies are lying." Twilight said suddenly, after another moment or so of thinking. "That's why I was at the farm." "Reckon I can do that." Applejack nodded. "Ain't got nothin else better to do for once." "Is it slow at the farm?" Twilight asked quizzically. "Not exactly. Just got some extra help is all. Got a few cousins over for the week. I love my family but I think they're gettin tired a me." Applejack looked downward at the road, sighing. "Why would they be tired of you?" Twilight had a pretty good guess as to why. "They're actin all cold like. I think it's cause a what I said to em last time. Got a bit too big for my britches and told em I could do everythin' myself. Guess I made em feel all useless like." Applejack explained, shaking her head slowly. "Told Apple Fritter ta hit the road cause all she was good fer was makin' mediocre fritters." She winced as she said this. "Im awful." Twilight was glad at least that Applejack was being open about it. She could remember a time when the farmpony had been far less open about these things. "Did you apologize? I would try to make it right." With this, Applejack grimaced. "That's just it Twi, they won't let me speak to em. They're too mad at me to even let me talk to em. Makes me mad, but I always remember what I done said. I dunno though, If I were them I wouldn't a done that." "They're not you Applejack." Twilight reminded her. "Some ponies aren't direct like you." Applejack couldn't help but chuckle at Twilight's bluntness. "Ya sound like me Twi." She gave her friend a sad little smile. "Sorry, uh... Too straight forward?" Twilight asked with a nervous, apologetic smile. "Naw. Probably what I need to hear really. Heh. I'm supposed to be the honest one. I'm supposed to be tellin' you what you need ta hear." Applejack smirked a little. After a few moments of nervous silence and the clip clopping of hooves, they made their way through town. Applejack realized she'd just about gotten sidetracked. She knew somewhere in her head that she'd rather not talk about this at all, to maybe just for once plug her ears and sing as loud as she could. That wouldn't make her problems go away. She realized that long ago. She'd clammed up and shut everyone out before. It had only served to make things worse, as Twilight had helped her see. "Thanks for talkin' with me about this Twi." Applejack murmured. Twilight nodded, giving a reassuring smile. "That's what friends are for right?" She asked. "You matter to me." She promised. The two mares looked around at their town after another moment of silence. They were a little over halfway there. Twilight was heading for Trixie's Carriage. The "great and powerful" mare usually parked it in the same place. Twilight figured she should get the unpleasant one out of the way first. "Where am I?" ...... "Why can't I see?" ....... "I can't feel anything. Somepony help me please... I miss my sister. I miss my friends. Please Celestia... somepony..." ...... "Why can't I scream?" Author's Note Any feedback would be highly appreciated. Hugs and kisses
Chapter 2 An awful stench. The cavity is pulled open. The shifting of flesh. A separate existence imposes upon another. They are one. "Welllll! Look who's brought her hick friend to humiliate me again." The azure mare teased with a big smirk on her face. Her tiny little cart had seen better days but she kept it somewhat clean. Trixie's cape lay upon her back and her star patterned hat hung from it's hook. Twilight nor Applejack were amused, but they had expected as much from Trixie. "We're here ta help ya." Applejack grumbled. Spike waved a claw at Trixie. "App-" "Spike." Twilight started. "She just wanted a reaction." She mumbled, her mouth a slanted line of annoyance. Trixie's unrelenting smirk confirmed this. "Best way you three can help The Great and Powerful Trixie is moving out of town." Twilight shook her head. "Trixie, Steel Gaze told me you saw purple lights late at night. I'm here about that. Can you for once just cooperate? This is important." For a few moments Trixie sat still. "I don't know what you're talking about Twilight." She scoffed suddenly, her expression shifting to irritation. Twilight glanced at Applejack, whose face was screwed up in confusion. She could usually tell, but either Trixie had a great poker face or nerves of steel. "Ah cain't tell." She mumbled, eyebrow raised. "Really? No purple lights?" Twilight asked seriously. "Guess you dreamed it. Trixie is never afraid." Trixie taunted, crossing her forelimbs in defiance. Applejack stared irritably. Why couldn't she tell if this stupid mare was lying or not? She never understood how she knew or could tell. She just.. knew. This time? Nothing at all to indicate one way or the other. Her rump plopped onto the floor. She sat and stared at her hooves. Was Trixie really just a good liar? Was something else going on? Was Applejack just useless? "Get your dirty tail off my floor!" Trixie scolded. "If you leave marks you're cleaning it!" Twilight sighed. This wasn't going anywhere helpful. She took another glance at Trixie. Hm. Trixie's eyes are purple. .... Did the eye color match for everypony else? Why did they match? Surely that had significance. "Can you leave? Seriously. You leave me without an audience because the whole town hates me and now you're here accusing Trixie of being crazy? Out!" Trixie screeched, interrupting Twilight's thought process. "Trixie it was never my intention to-" "Out!" Trixie pointed at the door angrily. Sweetie Belle scoffed. "Cherilee is a terrible teacher I think. I dont even have time at home to do anything!" "Yer tellin' me. I could probably build a house out of the darn homework." Applebloom grumbled. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were still sitting next to the river, drying off and basking in the sun. It was a beautiful day. A grasshopper landed on Applebloom's leg and she curiously looked down at it. "Well hay there little fella." She smiled, gently brushing her little hoof against it's head. "Go on now 'fore Sco-" Too late. Scootaloo screamed. "Aah! Groooosss!" She whined, swatting madly at Applebloom's leg. "Friendly fire!" Applebloom did her best to protect the green bug, moving away from Scootaloo. "Scoootaloo! Stop it!" Sweetie Belle hopped in between them to try and help. Scootaloo struck Sweetie Belle's leg with force intended for a terrifying threat. "Ow!" Scootaloo yelped. Instead of her hoof smacking into her friend's usual squishy flesh, she hit something harder. A muffled thump wasn't what she expected at all. Sweetie Belle's eyes widened and she backed away a little. "Sweetie Belle what're you made of?" "I'm real." Sweetie Belle murmured. "I promise." Scootaloo and Applebloom looked at each other, then back at Sweetie Belle. "Sweetie Belle that hurt. It's like I punched a tree or something." Scootaloo mumbled, holding her hoof off the ground. "Please don't tell anypony." Sweetie Belle cowered behind her own hooves, pressing her eyes shut. Scootaloo slowly nodded. Sweetie Belle acting strangely all made sense now. "You're secretly a-" Applebloom interrupted. "Are you a robot?" Scootaloo scoffed. A robot? Ridiculous. Sweetie Belle is clearly a- "Y-yeah." Sweetie Belle whined quietly. The single word was enough to cause a Scootaloo's train of thought to derail right above a highway, crashing into the road and causing a mental thirty four car pileup. "Uhhhh.." Applebloom gasped. "Am I a robot too?" She asked excitedly, knocking on her forehead with a hoof. Felt real enough. "Girls.. this has to be kept a secret please. Nopony can know. They'll take me away forever." Sweetie Belle pleaded. Scootaloo and Applebloom gasped in unison, rushing to Sweetie Belle's sides. "No way are they breaking apart the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" Scootaloo proclaimed, hugging Sweetie's side. "Yeah! I don't care whatchu are Sweetie Belle! Yer our friend!" Applebloom declared with a big grin on her face. Seeing as her friends accepted her, the white filly stood up straight. The emotion drained from her face like a cloth wiping away a coat of nail polish. She needn't waste her processes on pretending for now. She could allocate memory to other more important things. "Thank you for understanding, friends." Her friends looked at each other. "Oh.." "My.." "Celestia!!" "Our friend is a Ro-" They both almost shouted together. Sweetie Belle planted a hoof over both of their mouths. "The secret should be kept." She replied flatly. Scootaloo squealed. "Can you fly?" "Ooh oh! Can you shoot lasers?" Applebloom asked excitedly. 'Sweetie Belle' answered. "Flight isn't within my capabilities nor would it serve much purpose. Lasers aren't necessary for my personal agenda." "If you're.. that. Then how is your fur so soft and real feeling?" Scootaloo asked. Sweetie Belle paused. She thought for a few moments. "I'm very advanced." She found that answer adequate. Hopefully it was one her friends would accept. "Keep the secret and I'll do your math homework." She bartered. Anyone else might have found the sudden shift in her expressions and speech to be unsettling. Her friends found it cool. "Deal!" Applebloom spat in her hoof and offered it for a shake. "Gross." Scootaloo mumbled. Sweetie Belle pressed her hoof against Applebloom's and they shook. "Yer apposed ta spit to seal the deal Sweetie Bale." Applebloom commented. "I've no reason to waste my saliva. Producing it requires energy I could spare for other things." Sweetie Belle replied flatly. "Ah just can't believe it! Why didn't it work?" Applejack huffed, stomping after Twilight as they made their way into Sugarcube Corner. The bell rang, but nopony was at the counter. Pinkie Pie sprung out of nowhere accompanied by a blast of confetti. "Haaaayyy! girls! You want some cake? Cookies? Cupcakes? Awww! I'm just so glad to see you! What about brownies huh?" The pink party pony ambushed them, speaking quickly. "Eehehe." Twilight smiled. Pinkie Pie had that effect usually. "No thank you Pinkie. I had a serious question actually." Just like that she was frowning again. Pinkie paused. "How serious? Did you forget to buy icing this morning and had to run out and get some super fast but get to the store and remember why you didn't have any was because they were out of icing?" "We're talkin' way more serious than any a that silliness sugarcube." Applejack grumbled. Her pride was hurt. She was the living lie detector for goodness sake. How could she fail Twilight like that? "Do you keep note of everyone's eye colors?" Twilight asked. "I know it's a weird question." "Hmmmmmmmmm.... Yup! All in the good ol filing system." Pinkie giggled. "Cmon!" She waved a hoof, pulling a lever behind the counter that opened the wall to reveal a slide. Without a moment of hesitation she dove inside the dark slide. Applejack and Twilight knew it had to be safe. They couldn't help but be apprehensive though. Regardless they all made it down safe and sound soon enough. Twilight landed last, almost rolling over on her side as her hooves hit the ground. "We need Octavia Melody, Lyra Heartstrings, Roseluck, Cherilee, and Matlida's eyecolors." Twilight said with a sigh, dusting herself off. The little Pinkie cave was always a wild place to be. Tall shelves and filing cabinets lined the walls. From the ceiling hung a disco ball, what looked like big drips of ice cream, and an excess of party streamers. A giant blue candy cane rested against the wall a little further inside. "LA! La la la.. la la la!" Pinkie Pie sang as she manically dug through her files, offering Twilight every file she asked for. Twilight took them, reading through each name to confirm it. "Just make sure ya give em back." Pinkie Pie winked. "Spike." Twilight's expression stiffened. Her heart might as well have been tossed down a mineshaft. "The colors all match the eyes of the pony that made each report." Twilight reported, her eyes wide. Spike had nothing to say for once. He wrote the findings down. It was time to be serious. Like Twilight said. "Ya think that's why I couldn't tell Trixie was lyin' or not?" Applejack sat. She took off her hat and figeted with it uneasily. "Was that really Trixie?" "I don't know." Twilight took deep breaths. Not a panic attack. Not now. "Reckon.. uh. The rest a them ponies are-" "I. Don't. Know." Twilight narrowed her eyes, casting an unfriendly gaze at Applejack. The message was clear. She needed a moment. "Maaaaybe we should get some fresh air." Pinkie suggested, pulling Twilight a little. "NO!!" Outside? How many ponies? In public? Those fakes could be anywhere. It's not a guarantee. Calm down Twilight. Trixie seemed to know things that Trixie would. So? So what?! The whole town knew about that!! Could this really be happening? Didn't Applejack mention Applebloom? Was she a fake? Was her sister gone? The needles of anxiety dug deep into Twilight's skin, pulling the sweat from her glands. Her stomach twisted and writhed unhappily. Her throat clenched as if a snake had coiled around it and squeezed as hard as it could. Her heart beat quickly. Her eyes widened further. Pinkie Pie and Applejack shared a concerned look. Twilight was sitting there and rocking back and forth, breathing heavily to herself. A panic attack. "Ummmm.. Twilight? Who started Nightmare Night?" Pinkie asked a grounding question. "Luna.. Princess Luna." Twilight shivered, looking at Pinkie Pie. Her eyes darted up and down. She was hardly focused on her pink friend. The pink blob that was speaking to her. The input from her eyes became secondary to her thoughts. "Who's captain of the Wonderbolts?" Pinkie Pie asked. "Spitfire." "Who's Chancellor Puddinghead?" "A.. a founder of Equestria." Twilight answered the questions, one after another. "What color is my fur?" "Pink, Pinkie. You're Pink." Twilight slowed down a little with her response, narrowing her eyes at Pinkie. It was working. "What's your opinion on toast?" "Toast? Well for starters it tastes horrible." Twilight huffed. Jackpot. "If I wanted to eat charcoal I'd probably.." She paused. "Charcoal is interesting you know. I-" Applejack interrupted. "Guess what Twi? Yain't freakin' out anymore." Twilight blinked. "Hm.. yes." She nodded. She did feel a bit better. Still overall uneasy though. "Thank you Pinkie." Pinkie Pie rushed over to Twilight and hugged her tightly. Too hard. Twilight let out a surprised grunt. It wasn't unwelcome of course. "Yippiee! Twi Twi say bye bye to your silly panic attack cause Pinkie Pie made it go bye bye!" Pinkie Pie shouted in a semi sing song tone. "T-thanks." Twilight managed. She squirmed a little. Pinkie Pie was much stronger than she appeared. Her hugs could be deadly in the wrong context. Twilight wasn't sure of what to do about any of this yet. She was still trying to mentally gather herself. She paced around her room. Only Spike was with her now, offering suggestions every now and again. "Why not write Princess Celestia and see what she says?" Spike suggested, pulling a paper from his clipboard and pointing at it. "I don't want to bother her Spike. She's always busy. This isn't a friendship report. I dont even write those anymore anyway." Twilight rubbed her temples. The implications all of this had was gargantuan. Body snatchers? Was it a changeling scheme? There weren't any other things she could think of that could do something like this, and yet it perhaps wasn't changeling related. "...the returned individuals do not respond to anti-disguise spells." "Alright." Twilight mumbled. "Make a copy of the notes to send to her and then write her a message." It took Spike a few minutes, but since he'd already taken the liberty of copying some of it didn't take too long. He thought she might ask that. "What message?" He finally asked. "Dear Princess Celestia. Attached are notes regarding an ongoing investigation I've been following. I've not noticed any disappearances but the lights mentioned being the same color as each pony's eyes leads me to believe that likely this is related. Trixie Lulamoon claimed to have never seen any lights despite an earlier report brought to my attention by Steel Gaze. She could just be lying for her own purposes or could have even made a fake report just to mess with me.." Twilight sighed. Of course. Trixie hated her after all. "Regardless it's all very concerning and a second opinion or new data on the matter would be helpful. Right now I'm at a loss. I just feel like the longer I take on this the less time we have. Ponies lives are at stake. Your Student, Twilight Sparkle." "Uhhh.. Twilight, are you sure you want me to end it with that? You're a princess too." Spike pointed at Twilight's wings. "Oh.. ha.." Twilight flapped her wings uneasily. "Right. Just put.. I don't know. I guess friend would be weird, does she consider me a friend?" She thought aloud, pacing around the room again. Crunch Twilight lifted her hoof. What had she stepped on? "Aww.." Spike grumbled, already picking it up. It was one of his collectibles. He must've left it in the floor. "Which one is that again?" Twilight asked. "Mane-iac, Twilight." Spike replied, straightening her pose so he could fix it. "Check this out." He said with a smirk. He pressed a little button on her side and her little eyes flashed red. A little evil laugh came from a speaker on her underside. "Huh." Twilight smiled a little. "That's neat Spike. I like the glowing eyes." She frowned. "Glowing eyes." She repeated. The whistling of wind. It was a cold evening. It was getting dark. Optimal. Target is alone. Is Target expecting visitors? No. It was patient. It would wait as long as it needed to for the perfect opportunity. It had no concept of boredom or restlessness anyway. Octavia Melody yawned gently. She glanced at the fireplace. Her pupils grew as she took in the crackling of the fire. It cast an orange glow across the room. The house she lived in was an odd one. It had a thematic split through the center. One side was hers. The others was her housemate's. Vinyl Scratch was out tonight. Octavia wouldn't admit it but she missed Vinyl. She blushed, pushing away her more.. unsavory thoughts. Octavia pulled herself from her ever so comfortable seat. It was her favorite spot to be. It's comfort however wasn't enough. She felt uncomfortable in her own home. Tap, Tap, Tap. Her hooves tapped against the floor with each step, the only other noise in the room coming from the gentle roar of controlled flames. It wasn't even that cold really. She just needed sound. Anything. She could put on music of course, but that was too much. The fire was just right. Only just so loud that it was there, but not so loud that she couldn't hear. Each window was covered with curtains. "Vinyl dear. Please come home soon." She mumbled. Octavia pushed a curtain aside, peering outside into the darkness. From this window Octavia could see a few other houses, but also to the left she'd be able to see the woods. The sky was starless tonight. Inky black. She was both thankful and terrified that there were no lights tonight. Many nights in a row now she'd spied purple lights peeking from the bushes. At first she thought it might've been a prank, but it's been so.. persistent. A prankster would've wanted a big reaction and that's it. This has been going on for a while now. She wanted to be glad they weren't present tonight, but their absence did nothing to quell her unease. Perhaps Steel Gaze was able to make it stop? She'd reported it to her recently. Perhaps Steel Gaze had scared off youngsters who'd wired up some lights and sat them behind the bushes. Perhaps Steel Gaze had confronted what it was and.. No. Steel Gaze is surely perfectly fine. She was at home tonight taking apart her old rifles and cleaning them. Surely. Octavia suddenly focused, her eyes scanning outside the window. Had something moved? It had to be an animal. Look at yourself Octavia, crouched at your own window, staring outside like a paranoid little foal! She took a deep breath. A craving settled upon her mind. Tea sounds good. Octavia made her way into her kitchen, flicking the light on quickly. It was compact and modern. She liked it somewhat. It was one thing her and Vinyl could agree on. CLANK. The house's ventilation jolted to life suddenly. It was something Octavia was used to, but it still startled her every now and again. It hummed loudly, pushing warm air throughout the house. Had it gotten colder? Had the fire went out? She did suppose it felt colder in the kitchen. Octavia readied a kettle, filling it with water and placing it on the stove. She turned the burner on and- CLANK. "Excuse me?" Octavia whispered aloud, looking at a nearby vent. The vents didn't stop pushing warm air through the home. Then why the sound? A prickly feeling crawled through Octavia's mind. Thousands of little legs marched unevenly along her train of thought. She elected to ignore it. Octavia was going to brew her tea and enjoy it. The thoughts didn't go away as she waited for her kettle to signal that the water inside had come to a boil. Was it the thing outside? The lights from outside? Had it come for her? "Damn it." Octavia cursed. It was too quiet in here. "I told you not to go." THUD. Octavia nearly jumped out of her own skin. She backed away from the nearest vent. That was close. Too close. Rats. Surely they had rats. She'd call someone about it tomorrow. Ridiculous. No rat was large enough to make such a sound. All Octavia had wanted was a comfortable night. Something was clearly wrong here. Octavia started back toward the stove. She couldn't leave the burner on. THUD. CLUNK! Nevermind. Octavia rushed out of the kitchen, panting heavily. What the hell was that?! Another loud thud. Something metallic scraped across the Kitchen floor. Was she going to die? No. She couldn't. She had to see Vinyl again. Waves of fear crashed against her mind. She was shaking. Don't just stand there! Do something. She took a deep breath, trying to think. The door. Octavia rushed to the front door. She'd rather be outside, safe, and potentially look silly tomorrow than potentially die or face whatever that was. She'd go to Berry Punch's place. Her friend was a drunk but at least she wouldn't be alone. A night forgetting all this might be what she needed anyway. She tried the door. .... It didn't budge. The door didn't lock from from outside. What's going on? She pushed at it. Beginning to fully panic, Octavia threw her full weight at the door with a terrified whinny. Scrrrrraaatch. THUMP! Octavia turned around. A shock suddenly jolted through her body as she slumped against the damaged door. To her credit she'd managed a crack right down the center. She was an Earth Pony after all. Her vision began to darken as she looked upward at the pair of glowing purple eyes. "Hello. I'm Octavia Melody." Was that her own voice? It didn't matter anymore. Octavia almost couldn't feel anything. A sudden warm feeling. She tried to look downward. Blobs of red were pooling from her. A blurry figure had parted her ribcage. It pushed what Octavia thought might be it's head inside. "Vinyl. I-I.. love..." Author's Note This one is a little longer than I wanted it to be. I write pretty spontaneously. I figured a horror story should probably have a horror scene in it. I wanted to have one in chapter one but couldn't quite figure out where to put it. I hope people get something out of this. I aimed to keep this chapter at 3k words like the first one. I may not abide by that rule for all chapters though. We'll see.
Chapter 3 It was late. Twilight Sparkle found herself unable to sleep, staring upward at her ceiling in an awkward pose in her dark room. Her mane was a frazzled mess, not that anypony was awake to see it. She hugged her pillow, setting up as she scanned the room. Her room was on the messier side than usual, organized chaos reigning above all else. Open books lay in piles. Two open notebooks lay upon her desk, chock full of various notes regarding dead ends. She'd went over the possibility of changelings again, she considered outdated accounts of mimics. She pulled herself out of bed. She looked down at Spike. He was snoring again. More pressing however was there'd been no response from Princess Celestia. Was something wrong? Well. More wrong than it already was? Twilight glanced out the window, half expecting to see purple dots jutting out of the dark. Nothing. Ponyville was silent as could be. Perhaps Princess Celestia was simply gathering her available information before replying. It wasn't the first time Twilight's had to wait for a reply. She decided to clean her room just a little, mulling over the thoughts swirling in her head. She scanned the titles of various books as she picked them up. 'A Nightmare Night Enthusiast's Guide To The Horrors Of The Night.' Twilight chuckled, laying the book aside. It hadn't yielded anything of note, but it was admittedly a fun read. 'The Night Walkers' This one was about odd creatures stealing the skin of a pony and using their likeness to draw in their loved ones. Disturbingly close to what may really be happening. She hoped it wasn't one of these 'Night Walkers'. Notably the story made no mention of strange lights, though perhaps those that saw them never lived to tell. 'Ye Olde Tricks and Treats' A peculiar book that retold classic Nightmare Night stories in a matter of fact fashion. It read more like a true retelling than the silly stories of old. It even had a few that had been lost to time. A foal that had been turned into a terrible but joyous monster. A story that told the origins of Windigos themselves. The story of a book that drove the reader mad.. Twilight sighed, closing this one as well. "What am I doing?" Twilight thought. She looked up at a particularly loud street light. It was buzzing. A delinquent might've thrown a rock at it and damaged it. It stood out from the rows of carefully places lights that dotted the dark street. Twilight gazed down the street. She was south of her home. There wasn't any curfew or law against being out this late, though as princess it likely wouldn't apply to her anyway. The lights in each window were mostly off apart from one or two odd homes. Slumber parties? A lucky night? Like the dots of light from the windows, the sky was dotted with stars as well. It was a clear night for a change, each star glistening above like a gem embedded into a gargantuan dome above all existence. She just walked, digesting today's events even more. "I can see why Luna does this sometimes." Twilight commented. It was quiet and calm. Serene. A gentle wind coaxed the trees into a little swaying dance. She decided on a plan of action. It'd keep the ponies that reported lights safe, and possibly catch.. whatever was replacing ponies. That was, if any of them were body snatchers. Non-ponies. Unknown beings wearing the skin of their victims.. Night Walkers... "Ugh." Twilight expressed quietly. "What or who would do this?" Twilight thought once more, making her way closer to the edge of town. "What motive could there possibly be?" She wondered. "Hm?" Octavia and Vinyl's joint home stood before her as it always had, it's thematic and yet fitting split down the center making it stand out from the other homes. It always drew the eye as one would pass it. All was normal, apart from one detail. The front door was damaged. Not open, but damaged. A jagged crack ran down the center. It looks like a metal object had been jammed into the door as well. Twilight reigned in her anxieties, trotting hurriedly over. She pulled at the metal object with her magic. Shhhink! "Rebar?" She murmured, holding it close while she trembled.. It was sharp. It could be useful. Twilight felt tears welling up in her eyes. Celestia's sake why now? Was she walking in on a Celestia forsaken murder scene? She took a deep breath, knocking on the door sternly. "Hello?" Twilight nervously rubbed her hoof against the opposite foreleg. Her wings shivered nervously. "Fly away!" Her instincts screamed. She tucked the sharp metal piece under a wing. She didn't want to look threatening. Running wasn't an option. No way. Twilight had to see if Vinyl and Octavia were alright. This was beyond suspicious. Twilight's thoughts were interrupted by the door being opened. It held together, barely. "Princess?" A refined voice asked. Octavia Melody peeked from behind the door. She looked calm and relaxed. "What a surprise!" She exclaimed with a warm smile. "What brings you here Princess Twilight?" Twilight couldn't speak. She cursed at herself mentally for not giving herself a moment to calm down. "I-I.. uh. Your front door was.. concerning." "Goodness, you look like you've seen a ghost. Are you alright?" Octavia reached out to touch Twilight's shoulder, her eyes wide with concern. Twilight chewed on her lip. It was all she could do. "No, not really." She answered honestly. "Did you report sighting purple lights outside your window to Steel Gaze?" She was here, might as well ask. Octavia sighed. "Yes. I did." It couldn't lie about that. That wouldn't make any sense. Steel Gaze was a direct witness after all. It couldn't think of any reason to lie about such a thing. "However I believe I know the cause now." Octavia added, looking Twilight in the eyes. Twilight waited for a reply, cocking an eyebrow. She bit too hard, and was now bleeding into her mouth. She didn't show it; Only tensing her brow just a little. "Vinyl has all sorts of lights, as you know. I believe the light was actually a reflection from the inside of our house." Octavia explained calmly. Twilight stared, digesting that. Plus the blood pooling down her throat. "That's... a really good explanation honestly." Twilight admitted, looking downward. It was so easy to believe. She really wanted to. "Regardless, there are 6 other reports though. 7 counting a newer one." "Hm. Well Princess, that is fairly strange I must admit. Have you ever considered it may be a coincidence?" Octavia pushed a bit. Octavia was very still, Twilight noticed. Very calm. Sure of herself. If only Twilight was so able to be calm. She coveted Princess Celestia's ability to be so incredibly steadfast. "I find it unlikely. I'd like you to come with me. For your own safety." Twilight half lied. She'd speak to Steel Gaze tomorrow about the others. "May I come in?" Twilight asked before Octavia could reply. Curiosity started to peek through her anxiety. Something was off here. The broken door, the nonchalance.. She'd have to write this stuff down herself later. "I-Well.. Um." Octavia stammered. "Perhaps not. Vinyl- I've got something special planned for.. when she gets home." She blushed, lowering her head in embarrassment. She pressed her front hooves together timidly. "Sorry Octavia but this is important. Your life is more important." Twilight emphasized. "Dear Princess, I promise you I'm in no danger." Octavia replied. Her nose wrinkled and she narrowed her eyes. Twilight felt tempted to use her title. She was a princess. She could simply order Octavia to let her inside. "Alright. How about this. I give you time to prepare. Tomorrow night you can come see me. We can talk over tea." Sounded nice didn't it? "Yes, well. I should be getting to sleep. It's already fairly late." Octavia glared, closing the door. Twilight blinked, staring at the door. She wished she'd asked about the crack. Perhaps tomorrow. If Octavia showed. "Meow!" "There there Mister Cuddles." Fluttershy cooed, picking up her little fuzzy friend. It was early morning. The sun was shining gently through the windows of the cozy little cottage. Many animals were still asleep. Fluttershy's home was, as always a serene reprieve from the dangers of the forest or the rambunctiousness of life in Ponyville. Fluttershy brushed her hoof against Mr. Cuddles. She made sure to use just the amount of force he liked on his back. "Mmrreow." He signaled happily. Fluttershy giggled softly. "It really is nice out this morning." She agreed with him. A little chipmunk scurried across the window sill. "Good morning to you too." Fluttershy smiled at it. "Oh, um. Good morning. Good morning!" She said to a few different waking animals greeting her. A snake quietly slithered closer. "Good morning Elanor." Fluttershy gently patted the snake's head, allowing the reptile to slither up her leg. "Do you feel better today?" Elanor nodded contently, snuggling against Fluttershy for warmth. Fluttershy looked out the window again, humming a sweet little tune. Soon a few birds chimed in, harmonizing with her in a wonderful and joyous symphony of voices. What was that? Silence. Footsteps. "Hello?" Fluttershy asked. Silence again. Fluttershy grit her teeth, shivering a bit and glancing down at Mister Cuddles. The cat of course wasn't bothered at all. A little head poked out from the open window. A deer. Fluttershy calmed down, letting out a sigh of relief. "Hello Little Doe." She greeted, holding out a hoof for the small one. Little Doe, the orphaned baby deer visited Fluttershy every now and again. She never stayed for too long though despite Fluttershy's insistence that she take care of her. She looked afraid. "What's the matter?" Fluttershy asked softly. She gently pet Little Doe's head. Little Doe made an afraid little noise. Fluttershy's eyes widened. "What? What do you mean?" Little Doe rested her head on the window sill. "That sounds really scary. Are you sure it wasn't just some ponies?" Fluttershy asked. Little Doe narrowed her eyes and shook her head. "You're absolutely sure?" Fluttershy asked, lifting Mister Cuddles with care, letting his little legs touch the floor as she lowered him to the waxy wooden floor. She stood up. "Show me." She requested gently but firmly. Fluttershy would do anything for the animals. Even if it meant facing something unknown and scary. Even still, persistent panic laced her fast and racing thoughts. Be brave, Fluttershy. The Everfree Forest was always fairly daunting. Fluttershy stood in the tall grass, speaking with a family of four deer. A mother doe, a father buck, and two little children. The swampwater bubbled and the insects chirped their insistent song. The trees waved gently as if to say hello. The overhead clouds menaced the ground below with constant darkness. In the daytime or nighttime the weather above The Everfree Forest was always wild and unpredictable. "Oh dear. That is pretty scary." Fluttershy commiserated. There was an unnatural path stomped down somewhat recently before her; Trees and other foliage crushed under the weight of something titanic. It began abruptly right in the center of the forest. Nopony would have found it for quite some time. Fluttershy was simply lucky, (or unlucky) enough to have been roped into this. Fluttershy shivered in place uncomfortably. No identifiable footprints. Her mind wandered. If a powerful unicorn wanted perhaps they could plow this path down, but for what purpose? Nevermind that, what unicorn was strong enough to do this? It lead in a straight line, deep into the forest one way and toward the edge the other way. It was about as wide as a carriage. She wanted to believe it was an elephant but again no footprints to speak of nor did any Elephants call this forest home. Big cities like Manehattan had steam rollers; Perhaps somepony had managed to get one all the way down here? Why? Could a steam roller even topple these huge trees in such a manner? Fluttershy doubted that. "Well.. um. Here goes." Fluttershy whispered with a gulp. The frightened pegasus began to walk, following the path deeper inside. A Cragodile hissed nearby, peeking it's head out of the water as Fluttershy passed. She gave it a nervous wave and a smile. "Nice to see you too." She greeted. Grey clouds swirled above, showering the forest's canopy with the noise of little pitter patters. The rain would have been nice in other circumstances. Down the path she walked, deeper into the forest. Further and further as her eyes traced the edges. It was if a giant stone had been pulled through, flattening everything in it's wake. It even went directly though hills, creating a perfectly flat path straight through. It was unnatural. Indiscriminate. It didn't seem to matter what it had to plow through, whatever created this had to go in a perfectly straight line through the forest, no if ands or buts. Fluttershy's eyes darted around. She'd been walking for some time now. Why was it so quiet here? She was beginning to wish she'd brought somepony.. someone with her. She missed Angel at this moment. The boisterous bunny had been asleep and she didn't want to wake him. A turn? Fluttershy looked downward at the angled path. It veered to the left now. The right side where it would be a curve instead was a perfect angle carved into the dirt. It was very abrupt, as if somepony had taken a thin piece of paper, cut it, and simply rotated the topmost piece leftward. Why did nopony ever try to tame this forest? It was simple really. The upkeep was impossible. The dangerous creatures that live here were problematic. Apart from the obvious though, the paths regrew too quickly to realistically maintain. They either had to be sustained with magic like the existing few pathways, or a big clearing needs to be created. A resource intensive task that destroys the purpose of visiting the forest to begin with. "My hooves are starting to hurt." Fluttershy mumbled to nopony, looking downward. She'd been out here for what felt like an hour or so. It was rather difficult to tell considering the sun was obscured by swirling grey clouds. She considered flying but quickly decided that it would tire her out even quicker. Nothing seemed scary so far per say, just really really strange. The animals seemed to stay away from the path, leaving the forest very very quiet. That was when she saw it. A stream of dark smoke reaching for the sky. It was difficult to notice at all. Had that always been there? It seemed to be directly ahead of Fluttershy. She grit her teeth, pressing onward despite her reservations. Flim and Flam came to mind. Did they set something up all the way out here? Illegally exploiting the forest perhaps? That thought alone filled Fluttershy with righteous rage, that ire fueling her confidence and footsteps. The closer the got the more it looked like the path ended at a black wall. Closer and closer still, it turned out to be a tall rectangular structure made of a black glassy material. It was incredibly smooth to the touch, Fluttershy discovered as she ran a hoof along the exterior. Flim and Flam's contraptions were never this.. alien. She hardly knew how to feel about this, fear and confusion coursing through her thoughts like a wildfire. "I've... never seen anything like.. this." Fluttershy murmured to herself, taking in the structure. The smoke was coming from the top. It was smooth all the way around, with no visible entrance or even a window. No animal dared come close to whatever this is. Fluttershy began to turn away toward the path when she heard an impact nearby. Her ears flopped downward as she impulsively dove into the bushes. It was hard to see what made the noise, but something was moving around the side of the building.. a pony? No.. too small. A foal? Fluttershy squinted, trying to get a better angle on the small shape as it stood motionless next to the black building. It was.. Diamond Tiara? What was she doing out here? The spoiled little filly was never one to get her hooves dirty. Is she lost? The little pink foal, Diamond Tiara stared at the black building for a moment, expression blank. After a moment she spoke. "Outside? Here?" She asked flatly, her tone odd in a way Fluttershy found it difficult to put a hoof on. Monotone? No, not quite. Close to it though. "I find that highly unlikely." She spoke to the building itself. Fluttershy shivered, was.. something crawling up her side? Diamond Tiara stared. Unsettlingly her expression hadn't changed once, as if her own face were merely a mask of some sort. "Out here? I do suppose that path is obvious. We should have covered the entrance." She began to look toward Fluttershy. Oh no! Could she see her? Fluttershy felt little legs crawling up her side. She glanced downward at a centipede making it's way up her leg. Gentle as could be, she let it crawl onto her forehoof, bringing it close to her face. "There there little guy.." She murmured. She brought her centipede friend closer and whispered something to it, soon placing it on the ground and watching it scuttle away. Fluttershy looked back to see Diamond Tiara still staring in her general direction. Was the building itself somehow aware that she was there? How was it talking to Diamond Tiara? Why in the world was she acting like this? "Investigating." The foal stated flatly, stiffly walking toward Fluttershy. Her odd stiff walk soon became more like the usual foal's gait. She cleared her throat and began to look around in a lifelike way, her expression finally changing to one of concern with a tinge of fear making it's way through as well. "Hello? Is anyone there?" She asked loudly, mere inches away from Fluttershy. Oh... Mister Centipede please hurry.. Fluttershy put her hooves over her mouth slowly, doing her best to breathe from only her nose. She shut her eyes, trying to make herself as small and low to the ground as possible. Hopefully the bushes were good enough cover. Why was she afraid of Diamond Tiara anyway? She was just a spoiled child right? Regardless of whatever rationalizations she could come up with, her desire to stand up and ask Diamond Tiara what she's doing out here was far outweighed by the creeping sensation that something was terribly strange and wrong about this. Diamond Tiara stood still, eyes narrowed. She walked closer to the bush, reaching out with her little hoof. Fluttershy listened to the painful silence. Was Diamond Tiara even breathing? As the moment dragged into a painful eternity, Fluttershy's swirling thoughts smashed into the sides of her skull's interior, jumbled and tangled sentences whipping around the small space that was Fluttershy's mind with a wild fury. Diamond Tiara's gaze darted toward something moving behind Fluttershy, to the right. A creme colored shape with seemingly a pink and tail hopped away into the woods quickly. She narrowed her eyes, walking past Fluttershy and into the woods. Fluttershy sighed softly, watching as alert as the very animals she watched over, eyes wide. "Thank you..." She thought. The very second the coast was clear she bolted away, wings spread as she flew above the path as fast as she could. "I owe you one Mister Deer.." She whined. Vinyl Scratch sat before her home audio system, removing her shades for the moment. It wasn't often that she got to remove them, however she liked to at home. She didn't mind them, but sometimes they did get a little sweat buildup around her eyes. She let out a sigh as she slumped into her seat. She'd just gotten home from a long night and morning of partying and she was about to completely pass out. Feeling the weight of her eyelids she grumbled as she pulled herself out of her seat. Sleeping during the day wasn't ideal, but what else could be done? No way was she gonna let herself fall asleep in that chair though. Last time it gave her a cramp. "Vinyl dearest?" Vinyl Scratch silently looked toward her roommate, waving at her a little with a foreleg. Octavia looked as she always had. A grey coat with a darker grey perfectly maintained mane and tail. She stood inside the doorway that lead to the kitchen, a gentle, restrained smile upon her face. "I've.. been meaning to tell you something." She began, looking away bashfully. Vinyl Scratch tilted her head, watching Octavia with her striking red eyes. Most had never seen Vinyl's unique eyes, but Octavia of course got to see them often. She just hoped Octavia was appreciative of the privilege. Vinyl gave Octavia a smirk. She had a pretty good idea of what was coming. She'd been hoping that she herself would be able to drum up the courage to talk about what had grown between the pair. It was obvious to just about everypony. Vinyl wasn't stupid of course, she could tell Octavia had developed a crush. Octavia sheepishly touched a hoof to her chin. Was something damaged in the fall? Running diagnostics. Despite sensing that something was odd, Octavia pressed onward. "I.. Well.. maybe you've noticed.. I know you're observant.. and.." She began to lightly blush. Vinyl Scratch stepped closer, nodding. She would be patient. She wanted to tell Octavia that it would be okay somehow. Admittedly the techno party pony wasn't the best at social interaction in general but she would try regardless. Gently, she reached for Octavia's hoof, and held it to her own chest. Central Unit damaged. Source: Fall from vent system. Rear left leg damaged. Source: Fall from vent system. Octavia had already known about the leg of course, but her central unit being damaged could pose an issue. It would make it that much harder to fool Vinyl. She gasped quietly, making her face blush as she widened her eyes by 30%. "Vinyl... I.. You.. matter so.. much to me." Octavia expressed tenderly, contacting her tear ducts to produce convincing waterfalls of fluid to stream down her face. Vinyl Scratch pulled Octavia into a hug, too overwhelmed to notice that her weight was different. Not that much different persay, the mechanical... things were well balanced and created to be lifelike in every way, but it was still different. Vinyl spoke no words but expressed her joy all the same, closing her eyes and crying into Octavia's false coat. "Finally! Took you long enough!" She thought. Author's Note I deeply apologize for the long wait for this chapter. Life happened and I got sidetracked by some other projects. Some writing related! I may eventually post that here. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and as always if you have any criticisms or feedback I'd love to hear it! I haven't forgotten about this story, i promise xoxo
