Paranoia Ingredient

{----- [[[[[-Prelude to a Prologue-]]]]] -----}

...Trixie had already abandoned the presence of the girls and I.

I mean, it's kind of funny; There was no way to calculate the time exactly, but I could assume it's only been two hours since I met up with her, and she's already strutting around a huge crowd of ponies, those of which were...

Running...?

"What are you three doing?!" randomly screamed the only filly who wasn't following the horde of ponies, not since I saw her silhouette in the distance. I knew she was directing her words to me and the girls.

"Uuuggggh-"Trixie failed to attract the attention of any of the fleeing ponies. If anything, they were threatening to trample her, and the already injured and helpless Trixie just complained.

"God, doesn't anyone here know the Great and Powerful Trixie?! Do I need to set up a performance here too?"

Obviously, she was rambling aimlessly, and it would last a while too, if no one stopped her.

"Fluttershy?" Sweetie Belle was coming to; she had fallen unconscious during Trixie's little 'magic' act.

However, she was cut off when the contrasting filly quickly approached us. Her red eyes stared straight into my eyes.

They were like rubies... No.

More like...the perfectly mixed color of rich, royal blood.

"Do you want to die?! I'm already anticipating your answer." She spoke quite frantically, frightening the newly awakened Apple Bloom, and confusing Sweetie Belle.

"Who are you?" said Apple Bloom. The roaring of thousands of hooves grew to a volume of unbearability. "Fluttershy?"

"Likewise. Who are you two?" Questioned the filly, whose eyes were glimmering, even in the dead of night.

Well, now she knows my name.

I didn't know quite how to respond. "Why is everypony running away? Is something wrong??"

"Damn it all, Fluttershy! Why do you always have to make a fool of yourself?"

The filly, who I now observed would most probably be classified by a mare, gave me an extremely disappointed look.

She simply responded with haste. "You know what, nevermind! Whoever you are-!"

The mare immediately used her unicorn horn (that of which I noticed upon its action) to initiate movement in all four of my legs, even my two, injured back legs.

She then picked Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle from the ground and laid them both on my back, releasing them as she did.

"Just keep up with me!"

The girls and I were traveling at a pretty high speed now, thanks to the mysterious horned pony. We joined the giant herd of fleeing fillies and colts.

"B-but... How can I trust you?" I tried my best to throw my voice with enough force to reach the mare, but the ever-growing sound of terror among all the ponies soon became too much to hear even myself speak.

"WHO ARE YOU?!"

"Just keep up with me!!" The unicorn didn't hear my words. She released me of her inanimate grasp, but stayed by my side as I continued to move ever forward.

There, apparently, was no other option. I had no idea what could have had all of Equestria's residents running away, but itcouldn't be anything good.

The night everlasted throughout the past few days, it seemed, yet the moon was absent from its position, even still. The stormclouds, thunder and lightning made themselves present again, I felt.

I heard.

And I saw.

...I felt the rain pouring on the bodies of the suffering girls, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. They couldn't speak, even if they wanted to; they were giving all their best efforts to keep their hooves glued to the veins in my neck. I was giving all of my best efforts as well to keep up with the mysterious mare, whom of which never really took her eyes off of me, except to point out hazards that would be otherwise invisible from my sight, hindered by the thickening darkness.

She called out to me, as I was anticipating already. "I'm clear, Get behind me!" she commanded.

The roaring of all the crashing hooves falling to the ground helped in my realization:

This isn't a dream; I had to participate in the events that were taking place. "Got it!" Without any problems whatsoever, and with the knowledge of what I should have done a split second ago, I quickly, yet slightly, shifted my direction so that I was right on the mysterious mare's tail. It sparkled vigorously, even as the rain endlessly crashed down on it.

In fact, it almost acted as a sort of beacon, which was providing such a use, as briefly described. The path was becoming a bit clearer now.

I heard... Aside from a newly emanated sound of yet another voice I could not understand, so many fillies and colts behind me were falling back; I couldn't see them though, but they were screaming bloody murder, as if someone well... well, performing a bloody murder. Some of them sounded as if they were being dragged across the ground. I could only guess it was horrifying, but there was no time to worry about some other pony that I may never see again anyway.

"Man, even the way I'm thinking is starting to change dramatically."  Normally, I wouldn't even dare to place myself above other pony's needs, but what can I say? If I stop moving ahead, the girls and I are done for.

...After about a good thirty minutes, everypony, including the 'Mysterious Mare' (a temporary nickname I gave her), started to merge numbers across what looked like a large amount of land on both my left, and my right.

An artificial source of light soon emanated, as well as the voice I could barely understand. They became clear.

Lightning struck the very ground I had trampled over at the same time.

"ATTENTION, ALL RESIDENTS OF EQUESTRIA!" The aforementioned voice boomed over a loud intercom, somehow performing the act of surrounding my range of hearing.

I continued my pursuit, confirming what I was able to see on both sides of me along the way.

"HEAR ME OUT. OUR LAND IS QUICKLY BEING SWALLOWED BY AN OMINOUS FORCE OF DARKNESS." Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were still clinging to the tendons in my neck, their grasp got dramatically weaker. The two haven't said a word since we arrived in whatever part of Equestria we were in.

"I still hope Trixie's okay, though..."

Actually, now that I think about it, disregarding the literal blood, sweat and tears I was sharing with the moist earth, the voice sounded very familiar to-

"Princess...Celestia!" I was running out of breath faster than I could even come to the realization.

And upon thinking about these kinds of things...

"Girls?" I forgot all about them riding on my back.

"GIRLS?!!" I didn't feel any extra weight slowing me down anymore.

..............

Fluttershy...you failed. You failed miserably.

Now the girls are more than likely dead.

"I TOOK THOSE TWO TO THE CASTLE! THEY'RE FINE!!" exclaimed the mysterious mare. "IN FACT, WE'RE ALMOST THERE, JUST TRY TO KEEP UP!!!"

"SAFETY FROM THIS THREAT IS KEPT IN THE CASTLE. ALL PONIES HEADED THIS WAY; THE CASTLE BRIDGE IS BEING LOWERED, BUT HURRY!!"

..........................................

All this reassurance clearly stating that Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were 'fine' at the castle made me worry a little less, but a strong trace of love still remained.

And it forever shall.

And I also saw... I began to see the drawbridge to the castle, and as it lowered, it seemed to have the intention of crushing everypony in its wake. I had never seen the bridge held up, rather than being lowered.

"STILL WITH ME?!" The mysterious mare answered her own question when she gave me a relieved look, that of which always lifted my spirits through this whole ordeal. She had been by my side the entire (estimate) five hours.

The night was still young, and Princess Luna's moon still remained that of a distant recluse.

Lightning struck again, only this time at the vast above structure, the Great Canterlot Castle. The burst struck the fastest moving structure that was currently active on the exterior of the castle-

Now, guess what it had to be, why don't you?

"NO, GOD DAMN IT!"

So, yeah...  When the chains that were in the process of lowering the drawbridge had become severely weakened from the elemental attack, sparks flickered in all sorts of directions, producing a very helpful light source that would last for about ten minutes.

I know this because...the clouds above the castle:

They were visible, but only because of all the elemental activity that was transpiring within them. I noticed this when the aforementioned fluttering sparks began to protrude from the machine's outer limbs. It's possible that those alone were the cause of the intense stream of light.

It was also as if the stream was pushing me away as I followed the mysterious mare, who started to slow her pace dramatically.

"This isn't good." the mare spoke, stating the obvious. "At all." She made her voice sound desperate and hopeless.

I mean, so what if the drawbridge came to a complete halt. That doesn't mean we should give up!

I was panting heavily. "Come on, now...

...There's always a way..." Nothing would stop me now.

The action was only slightly dying down, but that didn't mean it was the time to stop moving, as the mare did just that.

"...Hold on..." the mare said, pausing dramatically as she did. "I'll...be a while..."

What she was actually trying to do, I had no clue, but my thoughts found a way to my mouth.

"WHAT?! Are you crazy??!" Well said...

She didn't respond:

Her eyes...they were nothing but white spheres now, Kind of creepy, really. (But then again, I am frightened by even the littlest things.)

But that would soon change, after all...

"Oh, God, I wish I could still fly..." I began to pray to a God that didn't exist; never has and never will.

I simply refused to remember the incident, the reason my wings were to forever remain inert.

...But it would forever haunt me, for it was, in fact, unforgettable.

But either way, flying over the somewhat downed walkway would only get me killed, either by...that, or lightning could strike me while I would be in midair, and we all know how much pegasi fear lightning.

The sound of roaring hooves disappeared almost immediately, and I don't know why.

But I could guess it was because the enormous dark shadows that were quickly approaching me and the unnamed mare.

I gasped as soon as I saw it; it was like... It was exactly like...

I couldn't run from the story anymore. It was another thing that would haunt me for the rest of my life.

"N-Nightmare...MOON!" I screamed out in terror, and made haste toward the preoccupied mare. I was unsure if it was at all possible, but... "But...how?"

The public lack of Luna's moon would most likely mean that she was absent from her position, as if she was, in fact in danger.

But there was no time to wonder.

The white eyed mare quickly acquired her red eyes again, just when the approaching shadows grew extremely close to both of us. She was breathing as heavy as I was a few minutes ago.

"Celestia..." she said with no emotion whatsoever. I looked at her face, and she looked exhausted.

And I mean that when I say it. It was hard to tell at first, but she was definitely bleeding out from her eye slits.

She soon fell to the ground, acting lifeless, not moving an inch, even. The darkness was also slowing down a bit (or possibly toying with us, but I don't see why anything hell bent on 'making other ponies disappear' would hesitate from the manner of bringing forth death.)

Well, that's what it was doing! When I first got taken here by Trixie, there were thousands of ponies galloping towards the castle. Now, the mare I stood by, and the very same one I would probably share my last moment with, was the only other pony I saw.

"Nnnghh..." The mare to my right finally reacted to the situation, however feebly.

"N... Now..."

As the wave of darkness surrounded me and the bleeding mare, and all hope was definitely lost, death was upon us.

When suddenly, light produced from an unknown source behind us, near the entrance to the castle. I could barely see it due to the level of brightness (even from behind, it still slightly blinded me), but the tsunami of shadows stopped in a sudden act of restraint, kind of like a dog on a leash.

"Fluttershy, just stand still and realize that your girls are fine." It wasn't just me; the mare at my side heard it too.

My...girls...

My children...

"Listen...to the Princess..."

This was princess Celestia giving me a direct order, and I couldn't just disobey. Even the littlest command or request she would ask of me, I wouldn't dare ignore princess Celestia.

"Princess" I talked to her, but I didn't know if she could even hear me. "I hear you, loud and clear!"

The wave of shadows that lurked inches away from me and the highly weakened mare gave up on its desire, and swam away using the earth as its swimming pool.

"You poor, brave mares. I'll take you inside."

And with that one statement, she fulfilled it. In an instant (literally), we were taken from the dark and bloody outskirts of the Canterlot Castle, and taken into its exterior.

"That was...cool."

Everywhere I looked (if I ever managed to reach my destination), there was a pony. Ponies of all sizes. Unicorns and Pegasi were lingering throughout every part of the room I realized I was now in, and this wasn't even half a quarter of the entire castle!

"Meet me in my quarters when you get everything sorted out, Fluttershy." The princess spoke to me personally. Either that, or the other mare chose not to respond.

That was most likely the case when she simply nodded. She then flipped her mane around and proceeded to circumvent the swarm of ponies in the center of the room.

I decided to react to the princess's words in the same manner as my 'friend' (her new nickname, assuming we would see each other again). I nodded my head and observed my surroundings, hoping to find anypony who looked even remotely familiar.

The room was the same one from before, only this time, it was lit with candles, and a good number of unicorn ponies were using their magic to illuminate a small portion of the room with their horns. Not much changed from before; it looked the way it did after the events of last year's Grand Galloping Gala, when my friends and I jovially attended.

It didn't really turn out to be much of a 'happily ever after' synopsis, ironically enough.

Pinkie Pie, another 'old' friend of mine, told me about much of the castle while we were here last year, and I'm actually surprised that I remembered what she said:

Besides, what she told me was correct. "Let's see, um..." She would describe the room to the left of the crowd of ponies I took into consideration, that of which I proceeded through upon reciting.

'The room was neatly decorated with vinyl; kind of scarlet shaded curtains draped along the big windows' is the part that I remembered the most.

... I scanned the room only slightly.

"What do you know, Pinkie, you were right!" I spoke to myself out loud; other ponies could hear me, but I didn't really care. "Maybe with her information," I continued. "I could find my way around here."

"Though I wouldn't doubt her at all; in all the time I knew her, she wasn't clumsy with information even once."

"...Hell, with all this talk about my friends I've been having recently, they're probably around here somewhere!"  My face intensified with joy upon the thought of the probable experience.

But I still haven't seen any signs of Trixie..."

The following chamber was not holding the presence of too many ponies. This room was, more or less one of the main corridors that simplified the castle's interior complex. There really wasn't much to it; more candles lit the way through what looked like a thirty foot hallway.

A couple of unfamiliar ponies along the baseboards of the room writhed in agony and despair. The two resembled each other, they could have been a family, torn apart by this...this madness.

"Good Lord, please have mercy on our little Vinyl..." Must be their child or something.

I felt extremely horrible, for I knew my child (or actually, children) were, as well as their status, though not detailed, but I managed to forget about the devastated couple and move on.

"You can't go back to being who you were before, Fluttershy."

As I continued to walk along the room without dividing my attention from my main objective-

"I think your randomness is getting the best of you, Pinkie Pie."

'Pinkie Pie'

Pinkie Pie was all I truly comprehended, and that voice...

'Randomness'

It's Rainbow Dash! Her voice was coming from the next chamber!!

"Yeah, I guess that's true, but ask yourself: doesn't randomness make the world go 'round?"

I had the strongest desire to meet up with (all?) of my friends before I would negotiate with princess Celestia, but the couple of ponies I noticed before came up to me, with nothing but hopelessness in the expressions they gave me.

"You're going to put an end to all this, aren't you?" The colt spoke, while the female remained silent while staring at me with her hazel eyes. What was the colt referring to?

"Put a stop to?" I became puzzled in mid-sentence, as I felt the same while he proposed the words. "A stop to what?"

"You'll find out in due time, dear." The filly followed up.

The male turned back and walked away from the scene; he went back to where he lay before. The female didn't say anything until her partner was far enough away, and said, "Now go see your friends. They seem like they've been dying for your arrival."

With a questionable wink and smile, the female turned and joined her partner, but they didn't sound troubled at all when they were talking to me. Before they were praying to the Lord that died a long time ago. A 'Lord', besides princess Celestia, no longer exists, if there ever was any.

Figuring out what to do next, I quickly concluded that brief thought with an answer.

I need to rendezvous with my friends. I needed to see their (hopefully) smiling faces again, talk to them again. Were they all there?

My current aim was to find out.