---Chapter 12: Path---

There was no Equestria.

There were no friends to turn to for guidance, no home to long for. In the world there were no rolling hills, no valleys, no lakes, no oceans. There was no sun. There was no moon.

There was only The Forest.

The colt did not think the The Forest had a proper name. Why would it need one? There were no other forests. There were no other places. The world was The Forest, and The Forest was the world.

The colt could not be sure, but as far as he could tell, he had always been in the forest. One day, he could only presume, he had come into being in this place. And here he would remain, for where else was there?

He lacked the capacity to imagine any place beside The Forest. But still, he tried with all his might.

For The Forest was a frightful place.

Trees did not grow in The Forest. Ponies did. They rose up out of the ground, infinite, uncountable multitudes, each the size and shape of a great oak. But it was never one pony.

Instead, growing out of the ground were distorted structures made up of dozens of living ponies, all fused with each others' bodies. The ponies were connected, irrevocably, by their genitalia. Each structure the Colt walked by consisted of scores of writhing, moaning ponies, fused together at impossible angles, their bodies contorted and deformed. Some had inverted spines, others had extra limbs. All of them seemed, to the casual observer, to be in ecstasy.

They screamed out in perpetual bliss, endlessly rutting one another with such violent energy that it appeared as though they were trying to rip each other’s bodies apart.

The colt, upon observing one of these structures for some time, came to the conclusion that the ponies were trying to escape. Through their violent thrusting they somehow hoped to rend their companions apart in order to attain freedom. But the very act of doing so brought them immense physical pleasure, and so they were trapped, forever caught between their desire to escape and their desire for gratification.

The colt could see it in their eyes. Despite the pleasure they felt, each pony was in a state of constant fear. Perhaps that was why the moans in the forest always sounded wrong, like music being played on broken instruments.

Every now and then, one of the ponies would notice the colt.

They would turn their eyes (often the only part of their bodies they could move in his direction) and stare at him. And if they happened to have a mouth, they would speak to him, and always say the same thing.

“Welcome to our Gathering, Pip. Wouldn’t you like to join us?” they would say. “You’re a bad colt, Pip. The worst kind. We saw what you did. There’s no excuse for the things you did. No going back. You’re just like us. You're disgusting.”

The Colt somehow knew that every pony in The Forest had once been like him. They had been free, in control of their own bodies and minds. But then one of the Forest Ponies had asked if they would like to join them. And they had.

One touch. All the colt had to do was touch one of the Forest Ponies, and he would become like them. His body would warp and twist itself, his bones would jut out at random angles, and he would be lifted up to join the other Forest Ponies. His body would be joined with that of something which had once been a mare. And there he would remain, for all time, eternally locked in a state of physical pleasure, and mental terror.

The colt knew better than to touch the Forest Ponies. Besides, he had to walk on.

He was not quite sure why he was walking, or to where. In fact, he didn’t know when he had started, or even IF he had started. Perhaps his walk had no beginning. Perhaps it had simply always been.

All he knew was that he had no choice. He had to walk down this path until he reached its end. He simply had to. The colt could sense that what waited him there was something even more terrible than the Forest Ponies, and capable of bringing him even more suffering. Yet, despite this knowledge, the colt continued his walk down the path.

Nothing could stop him. The colt knew this, for he had the tried to stop many times.

Presently, the path was brighter than usual. Something shone upon the trail, leading the colt ever closer to his destination. He marveled at this. What could be bringing light to The Forest?

He looked up, and saw the moon. He knew it was called “moon” immediately, even though there had never been any object in the sky before, not since his walk began (if, in fact, it ever did.)

What a strange object. He felt he knew it quite well, despite never having laid eyes on it before. Why did it appear so suddenly? And why now?

“I must be nearing the end of my walk,” the colt said.

He focused on this new anomaly, and it helped him to ignore the moans, the screams, the arrhythmic writhing which was going on all around him.

He walked on. He was not sure how long he walked with the moon shining down on him. Nothing ever changed in The Forest, so measuring time was both impossible and pointless. The colt walked on.

The forest was growing thicker now. The structures bearing the forest ponies were becoming more numerous, and louder. Where once there had been a cacophony of moans, these slowly gave way to an almost universal chant, as every Forest Pony began shouting, through distorted voices which cracked and changed tone randomly.

“Join our Gathering, Pip! We know what you did! You’re just like us!”

The colt did his best to ignore them. This new change had to mean he was getting close. Just a little longer. Just a little longer, and he could finally learn his fate…

Then he heard a sound which he had never heard before.

It was the sound of earth being pulled up. The colt looked back.

They were walking.

Somehow the monstrosities which had been growing all around him were moving now. They were walking toward him, on legs made of dozens of ponies, limbs and appendages grasping in his direction.

All they needed was one touch.

The colt’s first thought was to run. Instead, he took a quick look around. They had already surrounded him.
Had he been less terrified, he might have laughed at his initial notion.

How does one run from trees when inside a forest?

The Forest Ponies were no longer chanting the colt’s name. They were shouting now, in perfect unison, a single, indistinct screech of pure lust.

The colt fell to the ground, covering his ears. The Forest Ponies were now inches away from him.

The colt looked up past them, at the moon. He wished to gaze at something beautiful in his last moment of sanity.

The moon was glowing brighter. Blindingly so. Its size was expanding as well, until it looked like a miniature sun.

Sun? How do I know that word?

The Forest Ponies noticed this as well. All at once, they fell silent, and those that had eyes turned them toward the moon.

And then the moon was gone.

All light simply vanished. Even the small sliver of light which had allowed the colt to see in The Forest (he had never found out where it came from, nor had he wondered) had been snuffed out. The colt was engulfed in total blackness.
It was then that he heard her voice.

“Fear not, little one, for you are guarded by the night.”

And then the darkness was gone, chased away as if it were a physical thing. The moon shone once again, and standing before the colt was a beautiful dark blue mare. She smiled tenderly at the colt.

“You are safe now, child, though I cannot say for how long.”

The colt realized then for the first time that The Forest was gone. He stood in a clear, open field, with nothing else visible except the path.

The colt opened his mouth, but no words came out. With considerable difficulty, he forced a guttural noise.

“Can you not speak?” the mare asked.

The colt coughed, and then found that he could.

“I didn’t know I could talk,” the colt said. “I’ve never needed to. There was never anyone to talk to before.”

“Ah, I see,” the mare said. “You are indeed deeply submerged in your nightmare, little one. It seems you have lost your true memories.”

“My what?” the colt asked. “What are memories?”

As soon as he asked the question, he somehow knew the answer. The colt raised an eyebrow. What a strange thing. What good was memory, when nothing existed but The Forest, and nothing could be done but to walk down the path?

But now there was no forest. And now there was another pony, who still had her senses and did not want to harm him.

The world had changed.

“Listen to me, child,” the mare said. “You are here because someone hurt you. A vile, terrible pony took something precious from you, and your mind cannot let go of the pain. Those abominations you saw in The Forest are creations of your own mind. They exist because you cannot confront your fear. Do you understand?”

So many new ideas! The colt shook his head.

“I see,” the mare said. “On some level, I know you understand me. But we are within dreams, and dreams have their own special rules. If you wish to escape this nightmare, Pipsqueak, you must walk to the end of the path. You must confront her.”

“Her?”

“The source of your pain. The reason for your nightmares. Confront her, and you can escape. You can finally be free. This is how we defeat our nightmares, little one. By facing our fears.”

The colt looked down the path. What had once been an infinite road now seemed very small indeed. He could see the path’s end just up ahead.

“Who are you?” the colt asked. Perhaps she had a name. He had never imagined that other ponies might have names.

“I am Princess Luna,” said the mare. “And you are a very dear friend to me, though you may not realize it. I am here to guide you. I can keep the nightmare at bay for a short while, but only you can end it. Go now, little one. Confront her.”

In a flash of clarity, the colt suddenly remembered who she was.

“I…don’t know if I can,” the colt said. “It’s because of what happened with her that I’m such a terrible colt. I don’t know if I can face her.”

“You’re not a bad colt, Pip,” Princess Luna said. “No matter what she told you, no matter what she made you do, it is not your fault.”

The colt turned toward the path.

“You’re wrong,” he said. “She didn’t make me do anything. It was my choice. It’s all my fault.”

“Confront her,” Luna said. “Then, I hope, you will understand.”

Silently, the colt began to walk. The Princess followed the colt without a word, until they reached the end of the path.

Nothing could be seen in the distance as they approached the end. Yet somehow, at the moment the colt reached the end of his walk, he found that a cabin was standing, and had always stood, at the end of the path.

There was a light on inside. Black smoke bellowed from the chimney.

“She’s inside, isn’t she?” the colt asked.

“I do not know. This is not my dream,” Luna said. “But if you feel she is inside, then she must be. Be strong, young one, and act without fear. Only by confronting Rarity can you break free of these nightmares.”

The colt gave Luna a perplexed look.

“Rarity?” he said. “Rarity isn’t the pony in there.”

“What?” Luna said. “But she’s the one who hurt you...”

“Yes, she is,” the colt said. “But she’s not why I’m a bad colt. It took me a while to understand, but nothing she made me do was my fault. It’s her fault. The reason I’m so terrible…”

The colt walked toward the cabin and opened the door.

“…is because of what I did to her.”

Pip walked into the cabin, with Luna following close behind.

There was a city inside.

The colt knew this place. He knew the Princess, and he knew himself. Stepping through the door had caused him to come to fully remember who he was. His name was Pipsqueak. And he was a terrible colt.

Luna recognized the city, but only barely. It appeared similar to modern Canterlot, but distorted somehow. The buildings were all identical, spaced apart at uniform intervals, and they seemed to go up forever, towering far beyond the clouds. There were no trees, houses, or roads. There was only a sidewalk, surrounded by row after row of endless, identical buildings.

There were only three ponies in the city. Luna, Pip, and a third pony, who was lying on the sidewalk in front of them.
She seemed to be covered in frost, like a corpse which had been left out in the snow.

And sure enough, as soon as Luna noticed this, the city was met with a blizzard.

The wind blew fiercely, but made no sound. The snow fell endlessly, but did not accumulate. But the cold remained. Luna could feel it, as deep and merciless a cold as she had ever experienced.

“She’s shivering,” Twilight Sparkle said, as she entered the third hour of her vigil. “Why is she shivering?”

Luna looked down at the pony who lay in the sidewalk. She was perfectly still, and the frost covered much of her body, so it was difficult to tell what color her coat was. But the frost had not covered her cutie mark. It bore the unmistakable image of a silver spoon.

“She’s dead,” Pip said. “Because of me.”

Luna looked at the dead filly’s face. It indeed bore the sunken, empty look of a corpse. Except for her eye. The one eye which wasn’t covered in frost looked up at Pip, and even though it did not move, somehow, both ponies could tell that it could see.

Pip turned away from it.

“Let’s go, Princess,” Pip said. “I don’t like how she’s looking at me.”

Behind Luna, the city began shimmering, and then it slowly faded away. In its place, fading into view, was The Forest. It was fully restored, and in fact seemed larger than ever. But the blizzard remained, and the cold was even fiercer.

The Forest Ponies were already moving toward them.

“No...” Luna whispered. “Child! Please, you must face her! Confront this fear, and defeat it! It’s the only way!”

Pip looked back at Silver Spoon. Her eye was still staring right at him.

“I…I can’t…” Pip stammered.

“LISTEN TO ME!” Luna cried, as the Forest Ponies began their slow advance. “Was it not you, child, who taught me a lesson about fear? Was it not you whose simple wisdom brought a new realization to a Princess who has lived countless centuries? You can do this, Pipsqueak! Please!”

“I don’t know how!” Pip cried.

“Just talk to her,” Luna said. “You will know what to say.”

Luna’s horn lit up, bathing The Forest anew in moonlight.

“I shall delay them as long as I can,” Luna said. “Speak to her, child. I know you can do it. Even the most fearsome nightmare is nothing against a colt as brave as you.”

“Br…brave?” Pip said.

“Good luck,” Luna said. With that, she ran into the whirling snow toward the Forest Ponies, her horn shining brighter than ever.

The Princess chanted words in a long-dead language, and a beam of light shone forth from her horn, hitting one of the Forest Ponies, and causing it and all ponies touching it to vanish.

“This will only delay them for a moment before they re-form,” she said. “Hurry!”

Pip forced himself to stare directly into Silver Spoon’s eye. He felt as if its gaze were burrowing right into him. “I’m sorry,” he said.

Not far away, he could hear the Forest Ponies moving closer, and the Princess shouting spells he did not understand. He did his best to tune them out.

“When I got home, I forgot about you,” Pip said. “I kept having nightmares about The Gathering, and about Rarity. They were scary, but they started to go away after a while. I mean, I know what I did there wasn’t my fault. I know she forced me. But that doesn’t excuse what I did to you.”

The eye kept staring.

“I saw him choking Sweetie Belle. I was right there, in front of the couch,” Pip said. “I could have done something. I could have run up, and kicked him, like you did.”

Just for a moment, the eye seemed to twitch.

“I wanted to help, I really did! But I was…I was scared. So I just shut my eyes. I just shut my eyes and tried to think of something else, while he was killing her!” Pip said. “Luna said I was brave, but you were the brave one.”

Not far away, Luna fired a blast of magic at another group of Forest Ponies. They weren’t moaning or speaking anymore. They were screaming endlessly. Their only purpose now seemed to be to take hold of Luna and make her into one of them.
The magic was barely keeping them at bay now. Each monstrosity that Luna dissolved would reform in seconds. She knew there wasn’t much time before they overwhelmed her.

In the library, Princess Luna’s body staggered slightly. She seemed to be having trouble keeping her footing.
Twilight stared helplessly at the Princess, and then looked down at the sleeping form of Pipsqueak.

His lips were moving.

“If I had been the one who helped Sweetie Belle, it would have been different,” Pip said. “Rarity wouldn’t have been mad at you. She wouldn’t have kicked you out unto this sidewalk. And even if she had, I could have stopped it!”

Pip began to shake.

“I was RIGHT THERE! I was right in the carriage! I could have stopped her! But I didn’t even try! All I cared about was going home! I let her throw you out!”

The eye blinked. Pip was too upset to notice.

“Then I heard that Rarity got in trouble for killing you,” Pip said. “The news didn't say exactly how she did it. But I know. I asked my mum about Dead Weight Alley. She said it was an awful place, where no foal should ever go. She said it got really cold at night there, and no one had a home to go to…”

Pip heard a creaking sound.

“That’s how you died, isn’t it? You died all alone, freezing in the cold. Because of me,” Pip said. “Because I’m a coward…”

Pip reached out and touched the filly’s cold body.

“I’m sorry…” Pip said. “I’m sorry I’m such a terrible colt…”

The creaking grew louder, and suddenly Pip recognized it for what it was: the sound of ice breaking.

The dead pony was raising her hoof toward Pip. Without hesitation, he took it.

“Pip, it’s okay,” said the voice of Silver Spoon, though the pony’s mouth did not move. “I know you were scared. All of us were. It’s not your fault that Rarity did those awful things to me.”

Close behind Pip, a towering Forest Pony rose up out of the ground. Luna ran to face it. It smiled at her, with dozens of mouths.

She fired her beam. It did nothing.

“But I still didn’t help you when you needed it,” Pip said. “That was a cowardly thing to do…”

“Maybe it was,” Silver’s voice said. “But what you’re doing right now is incredibly brave. You walked through The Forest, kept to the path, and braved The Empty City, all to tell me you were sorry.”

The eye was still looking straight at Pip. But he no longer feared its gaze.

“I was mean to you before. But you’ve shown me so much kindness tonight. Only a truly good pony would do that. So it’s okay, Pip,” Silver’s voice said. “I forgive you.”

The towering forest pony grabbed Princess Luna.

Twilight’s blood turned to ice as the Princess, still standing on shaky legs next to her bed, began to scream.

“I forgive you, so please…” Silver’s voice said. “Forgive yourself.”

“I…” Pip said. “I don’t know if I can…”

“Just answer me this, and answer it honestly,” said Silver Spoon’s voice. “Who are you, and what are you?”

“I…” Pip said. “I’m named Pipsqueak. I’m from Trottingham but I moved to Ponyville. I want to be a pirate one day. And as for what I am, I…”

Pip closed his eyes, and smiled. He understood.

“I’m a good colt,” he said. “Maybe not the best, maybe not the bravest. But I care about my friends, and I don’t hurt anyone. So there’s nothing wrong with me…”

He turned around, and saw a gigantic Forest Pony. Princess Luna was trapped in its midsection, moaning unceasingly.
Pip was not afraid.

“DO YOU HEAR ME?” he shouted at The Forest. “You can't hurt me! Because you're wrong, I'm nothing like you. The Princess said you were made from my fear. Well, I'm not afraid anymore!"

When Pip had finished speaking, there was no Forest.

He looked back at Silver Spoon’s body.

Her eye was closed.

“AAAAAH!”

Luna shouted as she leaped to her hooves, startling Twilight. She looked around. She was back in Twilight’s library. It was bathed in sunlight.

“How long…?” The Princess stammered.

“It’s almost noon,” Twilight said. “I was starting to get really worried. You collapsed, and-“

“What? That’s impossible!” Luna said. “If I were to collapse while in the dream of another, that would mean my spirit has been consumed. Yet I am alive. How is this possible?”

“I’m guessing it’s because you weren’t inside Pip’s dream when it happened,” Twilight said.

“You mean-“

“PRINCESS! You’re awake!”

A small, smiling colt ran into the room and hugged one of Luna’s forelegs. The princess hugged him back with the other. It was so good to feel something and know it was real.

“He woke up right before you collapsed,” Twilight said. “I guess you were just exhausted.”

“Indeed I was, Twilight Sparkle. The things I saw in that colt’s mind…” Luna shook her head. “I do not wish to dwell on them. But I will say this: Pip, I owe you a tremendous debt.”

“Me?” Pip said. “Princess, what do you mean?”
“After the night of the Gathering, I believed myself to be a failure,” Luna said. “I thought I was useless, as I saw no way to protect you while preserving Equestria’s balance. So I hid in the shadows, dispatching agents to send me information, but forbidding them from acting. Like you, little one, I was afraid. But your courage has shown me the proper path.”

Luna bowed down before the young colt. “I am truly honored to have you as my subject, little one.”

Pip blushed. “Oh, gee, Princess, now you’re just embarrassing me!” he said with a giggle.

“So I guess you’re feeling better, huh, Pip?” Twilight asked.

“Better than I have in a while,” Pip said. “I think I’ll be able to sleep at night, at least. Especially since you told me that Silver Spoon’s not dead after all.”

"Ah," Luna said. "So you know this as well. Tell me, Twilight Sparkle, how did you come by this knowledge?"

“Sweetie Belle left me a message. I only deciphered it last night. I told Pip about Silver while you were out,” Twilight said, turning to Luna. “Now that he's safe, he can go to the authorities and tell them what he knows about Rarity.”

“N-no, I can’t!” Pip said. “Because…well, I can’t say why, but I can’t! I've probably said too much already!”

“Ah, you speak of Rarity’s enchantment,” Luna said. “Worry not, child. I could sense it on you when I first saw you last night. It was a simple thing to remove it while you slept.”

Pip sighed in relief. “That’s really good to hear,” he said. “Now I can tell the guards what happened.”

“Actually,” Luna said, “It might be prudent for you to refrain from doing so for the time being. The pony who sits atop The Circle has many friends in this village. If you testify, he shall know someone in Ponyville is on to him, and fortify himself accordingly. If you still intend to go to Canterlot, Twilight Sparkle, you cannot afford to lose the element of surprise.”

“Circle? What Circle?” Twilight said, with more than a hint of exasperation in her voice. “I keep hearing references to some Gathering and bad things happening in Canterlot, and that’s on top of the note saying that Silver’s alive and Twist is trapped in a mansion! Princess, what in Equestria has been going on these last few months?”

Luna smiled gently. “Come, Twilight Sparkle, help me take this brave little colt home,” she said. “It will be a long walk, and you and I have much to discuss.”

As she stepped out into the cool autumn air, it occurred to Twilight that this was one of the most beautiful days she had seen in some time. Pip ran head of them, eager to get home, while the two mares hung back slightly, engaged in conversation.

“This goes a lot deeper than just Rarity, doesn’t it?” Twilight said.

“Let me ask you something, Twilight Sparkle: do you love my sister?”

Twilight was taken aback by the question. “Yes! Of course I do! Every pony in Equestria loves and reveres the Sovereign Sisters!”

“Yes, but most ponies in Equestria have never met us. What they love is an ideal, the conception of us that they carry in their minds. They know nothing of the Princesses they claim to adore. They see only wise, undying paragons. They see none of the ugliness we carry inside.”

Twilight was aghast. Luna’s words felt almost like blasphemy.

“But you are different,” Luna continued. “You know my sister as a mentor and friend. As a pony.”

“Yes, I do,” Twilight said. “And I love her. As all those things.”

“I see,” Luna said. “I love her as well. Beyond any possible expression.”

Luna sighed heavily.

“If my sister is right, then the path you have started on may well destroy Equestria. It is my fervent hope that she is mistaken.

“Listen well, Twilight Sparkle, and I shall tell of my sister’s theory of balance, and what she has done to maintain it,” Luna said. “And I pray that when I am done, you can still find it in yourself to love her.”

[NEXT: Silver’s gift/Twist’s training/Pinkie’s letter]

Author's Note

Author's notes for this chapter can be found here.