Lost

Chapters

the tragedy
The Fall
the Rise

the tragedy

SECTION 1, RARITY

"Listen Sweetie Belle, don't hate me, but i do NOT want you going out on your little adventures with the crusaders after dark, especially not considering the amount of time you end up in the Ever-Free forest"

"But Rarity!" Sweetie Belle complained "AppleBloom and Scootaloo are going, why can't I? we won't do anything too dangerous"

"I know you wont dear, but how many times have you told me those exact same words?" Rarity replied to her little sisters whining.

Sweetie Belle paused for a moment before replying with "Ten, maybe?" Rarity looked at her sister doubtfully. "Fifteen?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"More like fifty, and how many times has that statement been true?" Rarity replied.

"Umm, fifty?" Sweetie Belle looked hopefully towards her sister.

"More like zero. Now off to bed, i'll be upstairs in a moment to say goodnight, after i finish cleaning up down here." Rarity watched her sister mount the stairs and sighed. She truly did wish she didn't have to be so harsh on her. She knew how happy Sweetie Belle was when she went off on her adventures, and it was terrific life experience failing at things so often, even if that did sound a little harsh. Rarity had failed at plenty of things in her time, even fashion was something she had had to work towards. Sweetie Belle would understand in time, but she is too young to understand the danger of the situations she's put herself in, but for now it is Rarity's job to keep Sweetie Belle safe, and safe she will be.

Rarity finished the cleaning up and headed upstairs to her sisters room. She found Sweetie Belle somewhat sadly snuggling up to her pillow and looking a touch on the tearful side of things. Rarity truly did wish that she could have let Sweetie Belle go, and in a way she was going to. Rarity knew that Sweetie Belle was going to sneak out, which is most likely what Applebloom is doing as well, Rarity knew Applejack was just as protective of her little sister as she was of hers. So, after Rarity had said goodnight, she immediately went down stairs to don her trendy jacket and slip out the front door to wait for Sweetie Belle to climb out of her window. Which of course didn't take all too long (fillies aren't known for their patience) and followed as Sweetie Belle headed off for the Crusaders favorite meeting place, the treehouse.

Rarity realized she wasn't exactly dressed to hide in shadows, so she took the main road expecting Sweetie Belle to hide from her anyways. She was feeling terribly excited at the prospect of playing the part of the spy, and was looking forward to it. As she was working herself over her role, she realized she had missed the turn off towards the treehouse. She turned around and saw Sweetie Belle dash of into the tree's. Rarity turned and followed, sneaking from tree to tree until she reached the treehouse, which of course was emanating the loud voice of Scootaloo and Applebloom welcoming Sweetie Belle into the treehouse. Rarity realized she would have to wait a little while before the three girls actually decided to do anything, so she sat down beside a tree and patiently waited on the verdict of the girls activity for the night.

of course Rarity didn't need to wait long, 'Fillies are SO impatient' Rarity mumbled as she watched the girls leave the treehouse and head off to none other the the Ever-Free forest. She knew there was a ninety nine percent chance they would go there, but she still shook her head sadly as she resigned herself to the stupidity of her sister. Rarity set off in pursuit of the three excited fillies as she resigned herself to whatever idiotic activity they'd decided on tonight.

Rarity walked through the forest as quietly as she could, unfortunately she was still quite loud. Luckly the girls were making such a racket that they didn't notice Rarity's clumsy attempt at stealth. Rarity was so preoccupied, she didnt notice the girls had stop in a clearing and nearly blundered straight in after them. Luckily she was able to stop herself and hide behind a tree before she gave away her position. Sitting quietly behind the tree she listened to the girls as they got ready for their new attempt at finding their cutie marks.

"ready girls?" she heard Scootaloo cry out to her fellow Crusaders.

a chorus of "let's do it!"'s and "yea!"'s came from the group of fillies and Rarity waited anxiously for the announcement of the activity they had decided on.

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS SINGERS YAY!" came the cry from the clearing and all three immediately burst into song.

Rarity sighed a sigh of relief. Out of all the activities they could have attempted, singing was the least likely to cause them harm. Rarity sat back and listened to the Crusaders trying their best at singing. She was proud to admit that Sweetie Belle by far was the star of the show, outclassing Scootaloo and Applebloom who ended up stopping themselves to listen to Sweetie Belle. Rarity was sorely tempted to step into the clearing and congratulate Sweetie Belle on her wonderful singing but she didn't want to ruin Sweetie Belle's night unless there was an immediate threat. She was almost asleep by the time the collective gasp of Scootaloo and Applebloom sounded through the clearing, silencing Sweetie Belle. Rarity peeked over at the fillies, who were all staring at Sweetie Belle's flank while Sweetie Belle squealed happily.

"MY CUTIE MARK!" Sweetie belle exclaimed very loudly, rustling some of the animals in the tree's.

"It's music! Ah knew as soon ya started singin' that it'd be tonight ya got yer cutie mark!" Applebloom said happily patting Sweetie Belle on the back.

"Wait ti'll Rarity see's this, shes going to be so proud" squealed Sweetie Belle, Rarity smiled in the shadows, thinking of the next morning when Sweetie Belle proudly walks into breakfast sporting her new cutie mark.

Rarity was just picturing the happy moment when there was a sudden rustling of the branches to her left and a small squeal from the clearing. Rarity turned to look into the clearing and was immediatly hurtling towards her little sister, who was cowering in the middle of the clearing with Applebloom and Scootaloo.

Approaching from the left and stalking towards the clearing where three Timberwolves, most likely attracted by the girls excited squealing. They crept towards the three fillies, heads low and teeth barred, red eyes blaring. At least twice the size of Rarity and more than three times the fillies, the Timberwolves reached the girls just as Rarity burst through the trees. Horn glowing with magic and eyes full of fear.

All three Timberwolves looked over at Rarity, causing her to stop in her tracks. Rarity was no Twilight Sparkle, but she had learned a little about magic and in the heat of the moment, the adrenaline pulsed through her veins as she concentrated on stopping the Timberwolves movement towards the fillies. The grass and flowers came out of the ground and began tying themselves around the feet of the Timberwolves, causing them to stumble. Rarity motioned for the three girls to get behind her, who immediately began to scramble towards Rarity. Rarity knew that her magic was not powerful enough to stop the Timberwolves for long, even with the extra adrenaline from the situation, and she knew that she couldn't outrun the Timberwolves, even at full strength. She knew it was her time to die, there is no denying that fact. She had accepted that as soon as she had cast the spell to save her sister, however she did not expect for Sweetie Belle to stay with her, and watch as her sisters magic slowly failed. She did not expect Sweetie Belle to try and save her own sister and distract the Timberwolves by running in the opposite direction. She did not expect the wolves to run after Sweetie Belle. And then her magic failed. Rarity was helpless but to watch as her sister was bitten and ripped apart by the brutal claws of the Timberwolves while letting out piercing yells of pain before letting out a wet, gurgling sound before falling to the ground with lifeless eyes starring directly at her sister. Then Rarity heard a audible snap and her vision cut out.

The Fall

When Rarity woke, she could hear muffled voices around her, however she kept her eyes closed, fearing what she would see if she opened them. She was just starting to pick out voices over the loud buzzing in her ears. She wished that buzzing would go away, it was truly annoying, She began to shake her head, softly at first, then escalating to furiously as she tried without success to rid herself of the annoying sound. She then began to shake her entire body trying to rid her mind of the incessant buzzing. Then she realized she was not shaking her body, but somepony was shaking it for her, somepony with exceptionally strong hooves. Somepony like...

"Applejack..." Rarity finally opened her eyes to see the very concerned face of Applejack looking down at her.

"Oh thank god, she's awake" Twilight said as she stepped into Rarity's field of view.

"Rarity, uhh, Applebloom told me what happened the other night, and i'd just like to thank yah for savin' my little sister in the forest there, it was awfully brave of ya, and i'm really sorry about what happened ta Sweetie Belle" Applejack whispered the last part, although Rarity did not understand why.

"Umm, Applejack, darling, why exactly are you sorry for Sweetie Belle, I'm positively ecstatic, she's finally received her cutie mark, I've never been so proud in my life"

Her friends looked at her quizzically, then suspiciously before finally resting on pity.

"Umm, I'm sorry to tell you Rarity, but Sweetie Belle died last night saving your life" Twilight said softly looking sadly upon her friend.

"Oh" was all Rarity managed to let out before collapsing once more and blacking out.

When Rarity awoke she continued to keep her eyes closed once again. It was night, Applejack was sleeping in a chair beside her, she could tell by the snoring. Keeping her eyes closed, she once again heard the strange buzzing noise, like a bee's nest had been kicked in her skull. This time however, after listening to the sound, she started to hear a voice, a sweet little voice. Sweetie Belle's voice. The voice was whispering in her ears, surrounding her thoughts, coating her mind in an artificial bliss. She continued to keep her eyes closed.

The voice in her ears was now beginning to tell her things. Mostly things of little importance, tedious bits of gossip, small snippets of news from around Ponyville. Then in an echoing voice that seemed to scramble her mind came the words "Kill her, Kill Applejack". All Rarity could think about was how strange this sounded coming from Sweetie Belle, she didn't even realize she was getting out of the bed and looking at Applejack. Rarity tilted her head, 'I suppose the neck would be a good place to start' she thought to herself as she approached Applejack. She was readying herself to strangle Applejack when she let loose a yawn. Realizing how tired she was she got back into bed. Closing her eyes, she resolved to water her plants the next day, they did need a little care. "Maybe Applejack could help" she mumbled as she drifted of into her dreams again.

Rarity woke the next day, judging by the sun, approximately mid day alone and back in her bedroom. She did not know why she was in her bedroom, in fact she did not know why she was in bed either. She got up, got dressed and went downstairs. Sweetie Belle had probably gone to do some crazy thing with the Crusaders so she had the entire afternoon to herself. She did not feel like going to see her friends, so she grabbed a book, lay down on the sofa and began to read. While she was reading, she was aware of Sweetie Belle calling out to her from the landing, all Rarity heard was that Sweetie Belle was spending the night with Applebloom, and all that meant to Rarity was a night to herself. Rarity continued to read her book when she heard Sweetie Belle again, this time from right beside her. Rarity looked over and smiled at her sister, who smiled back, showing her brilliantly white, pointed teeth. Rarity often wished she could have teeth like her sister, they would be so useful for ripping and tearing. Above all else however, Rarity wished she could have her sisters eyes, pitch black and marked with a red X though the iris, they were so beautiful.

"Come downstairs with me" Sweetie Belle whispered. Rarity smiled, she loved doing things with her sister, plus Sweetie Belle always had something exciting planned.

"What are we going to do dear?" Rarity asked as she tailed her sister down the stairs.

"Get the matches, then you'll see"

Rarity went into the kitchen, grabbed the matches and went to find Sweetie Belle sitting in the middle of Rarity's latest creations.

"Throw them on the ground Rarity, It'll be fun, trust me" Sweetie Belle said as she walked away.

"Well, Ok, if you say so" Rarity wasn't sure how throwing her dresses on the ground could be fun, but she was willing to give it a try.

Once all of the dresses were on the ground, Sweetie Belle turned to Rarity "Now light them on fire, throw a match on them" Sweetie Belle suggested. Rarity simply lit the match and threw it into her dresses. The effect was stunning, Oranges and reds and yellows burst from the pile of fabric while Rarity sat and watched. The sight was so beautiful, she turned to Sweetie Belle to thank her for the idea but she had left. Rarity's eye's started to tear up and then she coughed twice and fell to the floor. She closed her eyes.

Rarity opened her eyes immediately this time and completely ignoring the shocked looks from her friends got out of bed and left the hospital. She turned back, she had thought that she was at home in bed, not at a hospital. She wondered why she was at the hospital, but couldn't seem to find an answer. She finally got home, closed and locked the front door and once again went and lied down to read her book. She closed her eyes.

"Rarity, wake up it's not safe here"

Rarity woke to the sound of Twilight's voice and looked up at her, then the room she was in.

"Why don't be silly dear, this is my bedroom, there's no other place i feel safer" Rarity replied.

"But Rarity, since the fire last night, all the support in your house is gone, there's really nothing left holding this place together"

"Oh, i don't know what your talking about, there was no fire here last night" Rarity laughed at the absurd statements Twilight was making.

"But i saw it from my... wait, Rarity, what did you do last night"

"Oh, me and Sweetie Belle had a magnificent light show downstairs, you should have seen it, it was magnificent"

"Sweetie Belle... Umm, Rarity I have to go, I'll see you later ok?"

Rarity didn't even have time to answer before Twilight had run out the door.

"Silly mare.." Rarity mumbled as she continued her book.

SECTION 2, TWILIGHT

Twilight looked back, you could still pick out Rarity's white coat amongst all of the burnt wood and still smoking pile of dresses on the floor. Twilight had some idea of what had happened to Rarity. Obviously, Sweetie Belle's death had affected her deeply, to the point where she was imagining her sister being there with her, maybe even suggesting to her things that she should do. Twilight had read about somepony else who had gone through the same type of ordeal, with the same effects and the book was somewhere in her library. She knew that if she could find that book, then she could save Rarity, and hopefully before she causes herself too much harm.

Twilight reached her library in her usual state of frenzied panic as she immediately began tearing books off the shelves, causing a certain baby dragon to tumble down the stairs and slam into the far wall.

"Can't you come in quietly for once, Twilight?" Spike yawned and stretched while he spoke, distorting his words slightly.

"Can't you be awake for once when i come home?" Twilight snapped back "Now help me look for that book about the colt who watched his brother die and went crazy"

"Why do you want that one, it's so sad" Spike asked

"I think it'll help Rarity... AHA! here it is, no thanks to you" Twilight stuck her tongue out at Spike who laughed and went to get some new candles for Twilight's reading

Twilight sat down at her desk and lit a candle. The cover of the book had always scared Twilight, it depicted a colt staring into the eyes of a decapitated pony. Knowing the events described in the book were much, much worse, Twilight braced herself, took a deep breath and opened the book, hoping to find an index or something to let her skip through the more gruesome parts. Unfortunately, like in most hand written books, there was no such thing and Twilight swallowed hard, knowing this was going to be a long night.

Many hours later, Twilight found herself dreaming. She was walking in the Ever-Free forest with Princess Celestia. They were casually talking about Twilight's studies, and Twilight herself was being more casual than normal when she was speaking with the Princess about magic, though this was a dream. Twilight watched herself having this conversation with a mix of boredom and inattentiveness, which was also strange for Twilight, and yet again she had to remind herself that this was a dream. After a while the setting began to turn dark and Princess Celestia turned towards Twilight, not the dream Twilight but the real Twilight looking at the dream. Celestia began to glow with pure with light that burned Twilight's eyes causing her to look away. When she looked back, she was looking at a hideous rendition of Princess Luna, with sharp white teeth and horribly black eyes with red X's in them. And when she spoke, she spoke in such a voice you couldn't help but agree with her.

"The book is full of lies, burn the book and cast it away. It is not safe"

Twilight's eyes shot open. She caught the scent of smoke and a flare of orange, the she passed out

Twilight woke in the hospital.

She could hear her friends talking in the background, but couldn't make out any words, her throat was still raw from smoke and she could smell the suspicious scent of burnt hair, it didn't take her long to figure out what happened. She sat bolt upright, receiving some stares from her friends as she started to babble.

"The library, the books! Fire, there was fire, and smoke! Smoke too! The books, are the books ok? what happened, WHERE'S SPIKE!!??" Twighlight sounded like a maniac.

"ho ho there sugarcube, but you need to calm right down, there was a fire but only one of ya books caught on fire, and Spike's right here" Twilight calmed down a little after that but was still shaking from exaustion and fear.

"Spike, you need to tell me what happened... after I sleep" And she closed her eyes.

"Twilight, wake up, you're having nightmares"

Spikes voice broke through Twilight's dreams, causing her to sit up suddenly, nearly smashing her head into Spike.

"What? Spike, why am I in the hospital? and why is my mane half gone?"

"Umm, the fire, remember? in the library?" Spike replied tentatively, looking questioningly at Twilight, who looked confused.

"What fire, there was no fire, I was reading that book about that man who went insane then climbed up into bed, there was no fire, i made sure i put the candles out as well" Spike must be confused, thought Twilight, she knew that there had been no fire. Not in HER library.

"But I saw you! You were reading that book, when all of the sudden you screamed and threw a candle on it before passing out!" Spike's voice had raised out of concern and nearly yelled loud enough to shatter the windows.

"Shush, Spike, I'm sure you're telling the truth, you never have lied to me in the past. So, tell me, what burned in the fire, are the books alright?" It was now Twilight's turn to be concerned, those books were her pride and joy and if any harm had come to them on her behalf, she could never forgive herself.

"Weird thing is Twilight, the only thing that burned was the book you were reading" Spike looked nervous as he spoke, he most likely thought Twilight would think he wasn't telling the truth, but Twilight knew this wasn't the case. Spike would never lie to her.

"I believe you Spike. There's some strange magic here, and I have a feeling it doesn't want to be stopped"

Twilight woke the next day and headed back to her home with Spike by her side. As soon as she stepped into the house, she immediately confirmed that Spike hadn't lied about the fire. The floor was streaked with scorch marks, which all seemed to emanate from her study. The door of her study had been burn't beyond recognition. It had gone from it's usual deep purple to a pitch black and as she studied it more, she found it was also marked with a red X through the center, on both sides. The X struck her as familiar, though she did not know where she had seen it before.

Twilight next went to inspect her study. Spike had once again been telling the truth, nothing but the book seemed to have burned, not even the loose papers littering the floor and the desk. Although none of the books or the papers had been burnt, every single surface in the room, from floor to ceiling had been turned pitch black, and marked with the same mysterious X that had appeared on the door. Twilight knew something was wrong, something terrible was causing these problems, first with Rarity, now with her. She backed out and closed the door.

"Spike, I want you to bring my list of all the books in the library, i want to make sure everything is here" Twilight sat down wearily. There were hundreds of books in this library, all of which needed to be accounted for.

"Twilight, ummm, I was wrong when I told you that the book you had been reading was the only thing that burned"

"WHAT!? What else is gone? Tell me Spike, this is important!" A panic was starting to grip Twilight's heart, whatever it was she was dealing with, did NOT want to be found out.

"Ummm, All of your files... they're gone" Twilight flew down the stairs and into her records room. Every piece of work she'd ever done had been in that room. Copies of all her letters to Celestia, essays she had written on various subjects, every award she had ever received and most importantly, her list of all of the books in the library.

"oh my..." Twilight nearly collapsed as she entered her sacred room. Every file was gone, every single memory she had stored was torn away, all piled into a heap of ashes in the middle of the floor. All except for...

"What's that paper over there Spike" Twilight whispered. She had a feeling that whatever it is, it was not good news.

Spike handed Twilight the letter. All that was written were two words in an untidy scrawl, two words, less than eight letters and yet when Twilight read them, she smiled as an overwhelming calm swept through her mind. All she could think about where those two words and how satisfying it would be to do. She smiled.

And said "Kill Spike, what a fabulous idea"

New chapter coming soon!

the Rise

SECTION 3, SPIKE

"Umm, Twilight, what did you just say? I didn't quite catch that" Spike was backing away slowly. He'd heard excatly what Twilight had said, he was just hoping that he'd heard wrong.

"I said that I'm going to kill you now, doesn't that sound like fun?" Twilight was slowly approaching Spike now.

"Uhh, not especially, cause I'd be dead then" Spike pressed himself against the wall, he was cornered.

"That's exactly the point you silly little dragon" Twilight smiled "Celestia told me that I should kill you, It's right here in this letter" Twilight held up the piece of paper for Spike to see. Spike read the letter, which didn't take long because...

"TWILIGHT! THIS LETTER'S BLANK!" Spike screamed at Twilight, who just tilted her head to the side questioningly.

"Don't be silly, It's written right here:

My most faithful student, Twilight Sparkle

Recent word has come to Canterlot of that baby dragon of your's causing trouble in the town of Ponyville. There have been several unexplainable fire's lately and most suspect Spike to be the cause. It would mean a great deal less conflict if you could dispose of Spike yourself. Killing would be the most optimal solution, as it would eliminate the chance of any more accidents.

Your most beloved Princess,

Princess Celestia

See silly, right there, signature and everything" Twilight continued to look questioningly upon Spike.

"Now, let's get this over with" Spike tried to shrink further into the wall as Twilight slowly approached. Twilight was beginning to channel her magic while Spike began to weep, tears falling freely down his cheeks. Twilight paused for a second and shook her head furiously.

"Spike, run, go to sugarcube corner, and DON'T LET ME FOLLOW YOU!" Twilight began to convulse and fell to the floor.

"Twilight..."

"Spike, listen to me, this... Thing, it's an infection, it can control your thoughts, make you do things, make you see things, go to sugarcube corner, get Pinkie Pie to gather everyone up, find Rarity, when you do, don't trust her, she's infected as well..." Twilight had to pause, because the writhing had become to much "GO! tell the others! make sure this doesn't spread" Twilight stopped shaking and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, they were pitch black, marked with a red X.

"Considering the amount of suffering this pony is going through, it would be a nice thing to do if you could at least let her save you" Twilight looked down at Spike, who was frozen in place by fear. The words had come out of Twilight's mouth, yet they sounded nothing like her.

Twilight shook her head again, more furiously this time, she blinked, her eyes had returned to normal. "GO!" she yelled, Spike couldn't help but obey. Out the door, he turned to shut and lock it, and the last thing he saw of Twilight was her ram her head against the wall, shattering her horn and as she fell to the floor, Spike locked the door.

SECTION 4 TWILIGHT

"Hmm, you are much stronger than Rarity was, before I broke her"

Twilight was sobbing, gathering up the pieces of her shattered horn, while trying to stop the bleeding from the jagged stump where those pieces used to fit together.

"You are not going to win this, whatever it is you're trying" Twilight managed to choke through her sobs. She was in immense pain, never had she heard of a unicorn who had purposefully broken their horn, and was in fact slightly surprised she was still alive.

"Oh, but you see I already have won, ever since that freak accident in the forest when Rarity had released me, I haven't lost"

"Rarity released you? Rarity would never do something like that, I don't believe you"

"Oh not on purpose, no she wouldn't, but accidentally, she's done a great job, don't you think"

"What are you?" Twilight was tired of these games. She was in fact very tiered, but she knew she had to stay conscious, otherwise this being would drive her insane.

"My my, straight to the point, i like that. I'm what ponies like to call 'Insanity', however that is a fairly general term, i prefer the term 'Internal Chaos'"

"You sound like Discord" Twilight mumbled, delirious from the loss of blood.

"Ha! You insult me! Discord is nothing compared to me, he has but a piece of the power I posses. He knows nothing of true chaos, the actions a pony will take if they are pushed along the right path. While Discord can sit atop a hill and murder as many ponies as he likes, he will be stopped. I on the other hand, take control of a pony's deepest desires and darkest fears and have them act out my will, I can cause ponies to kill each other while Discord is being turned to stone. I am more powerful than he because the hardest thing to beat is one's self, although you see to be doing a pretty good job"

"Don't... This isn't... You can't...." Twilight could no longer concentrate well enough to form a sentence.

"Shhhh, you company" Twilight could hear pounding hoof beats above her.

"Spike, I told him..."

"Don't strain yourself" Twilight was losing conciousness "Well I'll be off, don't die on me now"

Twilight closed her eyes and fell to the floor.

"Twilight? Twi, there's somepony here to see you" Twilight's eyes flickered open.

She was once again lying in the hospital, surrounded by the concerned faces of her friends along with...

"Princess Celestia..." Twilight was exhausted, she could barely get out the words.

"Yes Twilight, I'm here" The Princess was looking the most concerned of the crowd, starring fixedly upon the stump that used to be Twilight's horn.

"I had to Princess" Twilight whimpered "I had no choice"

"I know Twilight, only, I've never in a thousand years seen a unicorn break their own horn, and live" Twilight looked at the Princess blankly.

"You mean, I shouldn't be alive?" Twilight was beginning to tear up "I thought I was, I had planned on it, I told Spike to get everyone together and... Wait, why am I alive?"

"Well, Twilight, Spike, being a smart dragon, sent for me immediately, and it was good he did, otherwise I might not have been able to save you"

"You... You saved me? But... what? why? The thing was in me! It's still here if I am!" Twilight was becoming frantic.

"No Twilight, that thing is not a part of you, strictly speaking...."

"Uh, strictly speakin'? An what's that supposed to mean?" Applejack interjected rather rudely.

"I mean it is a part of all of us equally, but held in check by happiness and friendship" Celestia replied "It is the foundation of depression and insanity, the absolute loss of hope, for even a moment can give it sway over your entire mind"

"Then how did it infect me?" Twilight now looked frightened, like she wanted to crawl down a hole and hide forever.

"There is another way for it to gain sway over your mind, the way you Twilight succumbed to its influence" Celestia turned to look at Twilight, her eyes radiating kindness and sympathy. "You see, the only other way is for you to acknowledge that it is a present force within you"

"You see Twilight, in reading that book, you gained knowledge, and that knowledge sat and infested your mind, feeding your insanity"

"Umm, Princess, I'd like to ask, if that's OK with you, but if it gains power when we learn of it, why are you telling us this? It seems like that wouldn't be such a good idea" Fluttershy spoke up from the back of the room.

"Well, my dearest Fluttershy, against an opponent whose strategy is to infect and destroy the sane part of your mind, the best way to defend yourself is to knowingly defend against it" Celestia replied. "If i told you right now that if you didn't defend your mind you will go insane, but didn't specify what or how this thing might attack, you will not be able to defend yourself properly"

"Oh, ok.." Fluttershy responded quietly.

"Well Princess" Twilight spoke up from the bed "Defending ourselves against this is certainly very important, but what exactly are we going to do to resolve the problem?" Twilight was very concerned at this point, the being they were fighting was not something she'd ever read about or heard of in any way. The way Celestia put it was that this thing had no body, it was simply a part of everypony, in which case, now that it was here, there was no getting rid of it.

"Well the only way to stop something that has no form is to give it form" Celestia responded confidently.

"And how are we supposed to do THAT exactly?" Rainbow Dash piped up from the back. "You've told us a lot of useful information and all, but none of it gives us any idea on how to do what your asking"

"RAINBOW" Applejack turned to her "Ah'm pretty sure the Princess is gettin' to that"

"Thank you Applejack, indeed I was" Celestia replied with a smile "From what I know about this, this Insanity, the only host you can successfully trap it in, is it's original host, it's point of origin"

There was complete silence in the room here. Then name was on everypony's mind, yet they refused to admit it. They had never thought it would come to this. They had been together for so long, faced so much evil together, how could this break them apart. They have finally been beaten, split apart, the Elements of Harmony were no longer existent.

"Rarity..."

Spooky!

The chapter is a little shorter than i would have liked, but I feel like there should be a break between here and the next part. The next chapter I'm hoping will be over 3000 or at least very close.

Psyduck! waddlewaddlewaddle