The Web of Deceit

Chapter 2

“So I was thinking if we moved th-“

Twilight yelped in surprise. Mayor Mare had vanished. She whirled around trying to find where she had gone. “It’s physically impossible for an earth pony to teleport. Not to mention doing it without a flash. That’s a highly advanced study of magic that only the most skilled unicorns can do.” Twilight thought aloud. An eerie silence had settled around her and she snapped out of her trance, realizing just how quiet it had gotten. Twilight perked up her ears to listen. The pounding of the hammers, the morning chit chat of ponies getting ready for the day, everything had stopped.

Silence.

Twilight methodically scanned the direction she had come but her eyes were met only by the bright decorations blowing around. The chilly morning breeze had turned into an ice cold wind. Dark clouds had also begun to roll in, blocking the sun's comforting rays.

"That's odd. Where did everypony go? They were right there just a minute ago." she said, puzzled.

Just then, a raindrop plopped on Twilight's nose.

"I'd better hurry and find where they went before this storm hits." she said, and took off down the street.

"Now where do I start? Sugarcube Corner is probably the closest." Running through the market, Twilight dodged vendor stands and houses until she finally slid to a halt in front of the bright pink door. Twilight raised her hoof and rapped on the wood. The sudden noise echoed ominously through the streets. She waited a moment and knocked again. "Hello?" she said, pushing on the door handle. It was unlocked.

The door swung open with a hollow creak and Twilight peeked inside. All of the lights were on and so was the display case. Stepping out of the doorway, she glanced around.

"Nothing seems to be out of place." she murmured.

Continuing her search, Twilight peered into the kitchen. "Nothing there either."

"Maybe the Cakes are out making a delivery. Pinkie should be right upstairs looking after the kids. "

Twilight nodded to herself thoughtfully and walked upstairs, confident Pinkie would be right there, playing with the kids. Rounding the corner, she froze. Not only was there no Pinkie, but there were no kids either!

"The Cakes couldn't have just moved away and left their entire store unlocked!"

Twilight scratched her head in frustration. Nothing made sense!

"Okay, so maybe Cakes are gone. There has to be somepony here somwhere." She said. Stepping back out into the cold street, Twilight raced towards Carousel Boutique.

The cold torrent of rain lashed at Twilight, mixing with her hot tears.  The distant thunder rumbled ominously, and flashes of lightening ripped through the pitch black sky. Darkness had fallen long ago, but Twilight didn’t care anymore.

After looking in Sugarcube Corner, Twilight had gone to Fluttershy's hut, Rarity's boutique, Sweet Apple Acres, all of them! She even went to houses of ponies she'd barely knew! All of them with houses unlocked, cooking projects abandoned, fireplaces burning.

Every last pony in Ponyville was gone.

Twilight walked through the melancholy streets, her sobs muffled against the storm’s roar. She had nowhere to go. She couldn’t take the heartache of returning to an empty house. She just couldn't.

There were too many memories.

A sudden crack of lightening echoed across the landscape and Twilight jumped in terror. However, as she was shaking in fear, she saw something.

Twilight turned and squinted to see through the pouring rain. Then she spotted it: a lamp was flickering inside the window of Lyra and Bon Bon’s house. Her spirits rising,  she picked her hooves out of the mud and trotted quickly towards the dark shape of the house.

"Ugh, why won't this whelp shut up?"

The Changeling Queen had been sitting her throne for the last twenty minutes listening to this defector's poor excuses.Thank goodness she hadn’t converted him into a changeling when she’d had the chance. Chrysalis had tuned him out a long ago, and continued to probe her way through the collective absent mindedly. She could sense the growing boredom in her guards. "At least I'm not the only one." She thought to herself, and sent them each a small amount of love for putting up with this idiot's shenanigans. They straightened up immediately, fully focused on their duty. Chrysalis groaned to herself.

"I've been queen for thousands of years but the stupidity of  ponies seems to be timeless."

Just then, a drone brushed against her mind and she connected with him.

“I hope this is important.”

“My Queen, there is news from our spies. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are attempting to awaken Twilight Sparkle.”

Chrysalis bolted upright in her chair, startling the oblivious pony in front of her. The guards sensed her distress and snarled threateningly.

“What did you say?'”

“It’s true, my Queen. The information we have received was from a reliable source. Twilight Sparkle is returning.”

Chysalis sat back for a moment. But then she laughed loudly and smiled, exposing her sharp fangs.

“Guards, get this pathetic excuse for a pony out of my sight.” She said, “As for you drone, gather our allies. The time for my vengeance has come."