Second Harvest Moon, Day 10, the year 1025 Anno Reginarum.
It’s been two months since Princess Celestia has made an appearance, an address, or been able to take visitors. We grow worried for her in her court. This is entirely unlike her. Whispers in the castle corridors speak chilling tales of a grave task she hath beset upon herself, cloistering within her subterranean study. None but her personal guard is allowed in the cavernous way down, and if old tales are to be believed, only they can navigate the pitch dark catacombs deep beneath our feet. Surely she will relieve herself of this duty by months end. Business is piling up behind her absenteeism.
Second Blue Moon, Day 8, year 1025 Anno Reginarum.
The Annual Running of The Leaves has come and gone in Ponyville, and still no sign of the Princess. Never before has she missed the event, and often proclaimed it her favorite delight of the season. More disturbing however, are the claims pouring in from ponies across Equestria. And indeed, these reports would be incredulous had I not witnessed evidence with my own eyes! The Pegasi have come forward with troubles with the clouds. They are becoming less pliable and more resistant by the day. And it takes weather ponies of higher and higher skill each rain to correctly gather the clouds and press them for rain. The unicorns confess that our magic is fading as well. I can grievously attest to this, as we all can. Simple levitation and kinetic acts remain simple in their right, but require a portion of concentration now, rather than being merely instinct and reflexes. More complex spells are harder and harder to cast, with the magic retreating to the far flung corners of our very piths, were we must dredge further into ourselves each time. The Earth Ponies have the most unsettling reports of all, however. They say the earth is becoming protestant in itself! The Everfree forest has shown signs of expanding. Its denizens have become emboldened, venturing to its very brink, so that the farmers on its breach may see the golden shimmer of their eyes and hear the haunting cries and snarls of the Timber Wolves.
Equestria is rising. We must take action, or take shelter.
Second Blue Moon, Day 26, year 1025 Anno Reginarum
The unthinkable has happened. The Princesses are gone. To where, no pony knows. Luna is not in her keep, and the Guard emerged from Celestia’s lair without her. They needn’t say a word, and they didn’t. Without the Regal Sisters, the Sun no longer rises, nor does the moon. No, instead the both hang just above the horizon, peeking out from behind the world, teetering back and forth in a shifting but unending twilight.
I’m not sure who to beseech for help, or how. But somepony somewhere must save us. I pray for all of us.
-from the diaries of The Royal Historian, Scribus
Twilight Sparkle had been locked in her library for nearly a week and a half. She refused company, denied herself any more food than needed to live, and lived in her books almost entirely. She was searching for something, that much everypony knew. But what she was searching for was a mystery? Her friends knew it had to have something to do with the Princess. The loss of Celestia had dealt a mortal blow to the unicorn. No longer did she laugh or smile or even attempt to venture forth in search of her lost matron saint like so many others. No, she believed, she knew that the circumstances surrounding their keepers disappearance was arcane. But try as she might, no matter how may dusty tomes and esoteric codex’s she delved into, she couldn’t find an answer. Some of the more eldritch volumes described spells that involved complex battles of will and cunning that would banish their casters should they lose. Twilight knew that Celestia’s magic would never fail against such daemons or curses. Not to mention the fact that there was no conceivable reason for the Princess to attempt such an incantation. Something was missing.
Again with the banging. Every now and and again a concerned pony would come pound on her door, trying to coax her out of seclusion. She never paid them much heed. She had a solemn duty to carry out! But this time, she recognized the voice immediately.
“Twilight! Please, come out! It’s AJ, your friend! Your best friend! Please, Twilight, we need your help, please!” Twilight heard the desperation through the thick drawls of Applejack’s accent. After a brief internal dissent, the mare abandoned her book to answer the call.
Applejack stood on the doorstep, bags beneath her eyes, drenched in sweat, new only covering up the old that had dried and gave her a ragged appearance. Her breathing was heavy, and those intense, normally joyful eyes held instead a look of raw fear and uncertainty. It wasn’t uncommon to feel this way these days, but of all the ponies Twilight knew, Applejack was by far the best at making out a horrible situation as a passing rough in the fields.
“Applejack? What’s wrong? What are you doing here? What happened to you? You look awful.” Twilight observed. She knew she couldn’t look much better. Not after the days and nights on end she had spent in her study.
“Sweet Apple Acres, Twi. Its bein’ overrun! The wolves are coming out almost nightly, and it’s getting right dangerous to be out there! We’ve been tryin’ to reinforce the fences, but it just ain’t happenin’ fast enough! Every time we build, it gets a’torn down again that night. We need some help here, Twilight.”
Twilight gave her friend a puzzled look. “Why me? Wouldn’t Rainbow Dash be a better pony for the job? She’s much faster, and let’s face it, way more athletic than I am.”
“You don’t know, do you?” Applejack said softly, almost to herself, “Rainbow Dash has gone back to Cloudsdale to help with their cloud troubles. Fluttershy has been busy helping the animals get to shelter, and evicting the ones that turn feral. Rarity has been designing a new swath for the Seekers, and Pinkie Pie…well, she’s being Pinkie Pie. She’s been helping hold down the fort at Sugarcube Corner, keeping the town supplied with food.” Applejack sighed, “Twilight, your magic could really help us get the fences up before the next wave of Timbers comes through.”
The word “magic” had sent a pang of longing through Twilight. Magic was her talent, her true calling in life. The fact that it was a labor to cast even mildly complicated spells had felt like a personal affront to her by Fate. “You know I don’t have nearly as much magic as I did a month ago, and barely a fraction of the power I had three months ago. But, I’ll come, Applejack. I’ll see what I can do.” She said with an only slightly defeated tone.
The walk to Sweet Apple Acres was a somber one. The once crowded and cheerful streets were almost empty. Ponies still went about their business for the most part, but there were no friendly smiles or jovial waves. It was a much needed reality check for Twilight. The vanishing of the Sisters had affected everypony, not just those in the business of magic or weather-making. To a total stranger, it would look like a prison yard. Twilight couldn’t help but recall their bout with Discord, and how gray and desolate the world was. Now it was much the same, except that nothing was really out of place except for their hearts and minds.
“Welp, here we are.” Applejack said flatly.
Twilight was awestruck by how far the orchard had gone downhill in the two weeks since she had seen it last. The trees sagged, their leaves growing darker, turning brown and dying. They looked ravaged and torn in some places. Their foliage balding and bark shredded. The apples were sparse, not nearly as decadent as they had been only a month ago. And quite a few, even over half of them perhaps, had grown in withered and unfit to eat. The pair walked slowly through the orchard. Not because they were admiring the scenery as they had used to, but because they lamented the loss of such scenic beauty and serenity.
“What…Applejack, I don’t understand. What happened here?”
“I wish I knew sugarcube.” Applejack said softly, “We just can’t grow them in like we used to. The Zap Apple trees have all fallen, too. What with the Timber Wolves coming in here and sackin’ the place almost nightly, we can hardly keep a buckin’ goin’. That’s why we need this fence done A-S-A-P.”
Big Macintosh was already hammering nails into enormous planks of wood. The new fence looked more like a wall than an actual picket fence. What was even more interesting was the way he hammered the nails into the boards. Face-out, so that they protruded from the wood on the outside. Anything trying to scale the wall would probably suffer severe injuries.
Twilight did what she could, telekinetically holding the boards and nails in place while Applejack and Macintosh hammered them in with their hooves. The work was far more exhausting for her than it should have been. Only a year ago, she had helped the Apple Family pick apples when Big Macintosh had been injured. At that point, she could use her magic to pick dozens of trees at once with minimal effort. Now just building a fence was laborious. By the time they had finished, the sun had dipped below the skyline again, leaving only a faint horizon glow. Twilight took pause to ponder how the sun and the moon still somewhat rose and fell without the Princesses, even if they didn’t make anything close to an orbit. She was cut short by a piercing chorus of howls from behind the fence.
“Everybody inside!” Shouted Big Macintosh.
The trio ran to the farm, and as they did they heard the pounding of paws from behind the wall. Twilight hoped desperately that their structure would hold. She recalled at that moment their encounter with a Manticore the first time they journeyed into the forest, and the Cockatrice that had turned her to stone later that year. Everfree Forest was home to dangerous denizens large and small, from Ursas to Dragons to the very Timber Wolves they fled now. Since ponies were fillies they were taught to fear the wild bramble beyond the city, with good reason, too. Behind her she heard the sounds of claws on wood, howls of pain and rage, and wood splintering beneath crushing force. Her flanks were cramping, her veins felt like they pumped lye and acid, and she could feel her heart trying to batter its way out of her chest. She didn’t dare turn and look behind her. A resounding crack told her that the wolves had breached their brand new barrier. The farm was just a few more meters up the hill, she was almost there. She tried for a burst of speed, powered by a Haste spell. The effort of spellcasting coupled with running for her life was too much. Her vision swam and binding lights flashed before her eyes.
“Twilight! C’mon sugarcube, move!”
And it was dark for a time.
Eventually, the mare became somewhat conscious. She hadn’t the strength to open her eyes yet. In fact, she wasn’t even sure she had eyes. Or what eyes were for that matter. A subtle panic fell about her momentarily. What was her name? She knew she was supposed to know her own name. Or maybe you aren’t supposed to know these things after you die? But what was her name?
Twilight?
Yeah, that’s it! Twilight…Twilight Something. Something to do with glittering, or shimmering, or being shiny and magical? What was that word?
Twilight Sparkle...
Sparkle! There we go! At this point, the notion she was dead flew out the window. Being dead shouldn't hurt nearly this much. And hurt she did. Every unnameable part of her body ached and cramped and stung. And there was that voice, still. Calling her name. It was about something important, some thing familiar and urgent...
Twilight Sparkle, wake up! Don’t leave us now, sugarcube, the whole world needs you. I need you. We all do.
Applejack!
Twilight’s eyes flared open as she tried to sit bolt upright. This of course sent down a shower of agony on her entire body. Her spasms of pain reflexively triggered more spasms of pain, and those in turn sent her writhing back onto the floor, and those also made her cringe and twitch and spasm, and et cetera. All in all, it took her several long and sordid minutes to calm her body and relax enough to dull the sharp knives into dull aches. It felt like days to Twilight, though. Her eyes burned from the sweat trickling down her face and hair. Her throat hurt. She assumed she had been screaming. Applejack and Macintosh gently lifted her into a sitting position, leaning her against a stack of hay. She smiled weakly at them.
“Twilight, hon, are you alright?” Applejack asked with a pale and worried look, “You took a terrible fall running up here. We had to drag you inside.”
Twilight gave herself as much of a once-over as she could manage. Her entire midsection, front right leg, and rear left leg were heavily bandaged. Minor abrasions and lacerations covered the rest of her. “Yeah, I suppose I’m doing alright, all things considered…” she said hoarsely. And then a notion occurred to her, and it was a terrible one. “Wait, where’s Applebloom? And Granny Smith?” she asked hurriedly.
“Not to worry. Applebloom is in Manehattan with the Oranges. Granny went down to Appaloosa, where things have been going just about the same as usual. Except for the new view, of course.”
“Ok, good…for a moment I was worried that…” Twilight let her voice trail away, not wanting to speak was everyone knew was a true possibility. They sat in silence, listening to the downpour outside. The strangely soothing patter of torrential rain on the glass window high above. Applejack watched the silhouette of water rushing down the window in endless waves and eddies of distorted light. It soothed them, the serenity they found in a moment together during crisis. The eye of the storm, as it occurred to Twilight.
“So, what’s the plan, then?” Applejack said abruptly.
“Plan?” Twilight replied, somewhat incredulously.
“Yes, the plan! How do we fix this? How do we take Equestria back? The Elements of Harmony? You always have a plan. Always. I know you do, you have to.” Applejack pleaded, her eyes betraying her feelings of desperation and helplessness.
“I…I don’t know. I really don’t. I’ve not found anything even remotely helpful in my Library, and I have no idea on where to start next. The only thing I know is that no matter what else we do, we have to find Luna and Celestia. I don’t think we can do anything for Equestria without them. I don’t think anypony can.”
“Sweetie, you sure are a bundle of optimism, you know that?” a smile creaked weakly across Applejacks face.
“Welp, I know one thing for certain, and that’s that ya’ll two has a better get gone and figure somethin’ out quick. Ponyville can’t last too much longer in this state of affairs.” Big Macintosh interjected.
Twilight was astounded. As rude as it was, she sometimes forgot Big Mac could say anything other than “Eeeyup” and “Nnnope”. Nevertheless, he was absolutely right. Something had to be done, and generally speaking, when the situation arises, it was done by them. Before she can even agree with the cinnamon-colored pony, though, Applejack throws up a protest.
“Now hold on there just a minute, Big Mac! What about you? You can’t hold this fort down on your own! That’s a death wish!”
“Eeeyup. It sure is. That’s why I’ll be leaving too. Ole Sweet Apple Acres can’t survive long now whether or not we stay or go. No sense in trying to save a dead plantation, AJ.”
“But…Big Mac…we grew up here.” Applejack’s voice grew soft “Don’t you remember any of that? This is our home, and home is where the heart is, and…” the rest was lost as Applejack’s voice cracked. Her eyes misted over, and a tear trickled down her cheek. It was all she could do to shake her head and beg for there to be another way.
“I know, AJ, I know. When it’s all over, we can come back and rebuild everything. As a family. But right now, you gots a job to do, and that comes first.”
Applejack bit her lip and squeezed her eyes closed. “You’re right,” she finally choked out “we need to figure out where to go from here. Twilight, if your Library’s no good, then we’ll need to talk to some pony who knows a thing or two about all this magical-ness.”
Twilight considered for a moment, pondering their options. Only one came immediately to mind. And it pointed in a very perilous direction. Twilight and Applejacks gaze met, and they both knew they were on the same page.
“Zecora.” They whispered in unison.
The zebra lived just inside the Everfree Forest, and had a wealth of knowledge on the eldritch and obscure magics of old and far away. The journey would be fraught with peril just for the act of entering the forest, but such was the price of progress. And it was progress they direly needed to get started.
“When the rain lets up, We’ll go to Zecora’s hut and see what she knows, or if she knows of any pony who might. Then Big Macintosh can get out and head to Ponyville. Macintosh, if you need to, you can stay in my Library. Spike is still there, and he’ll help you with whatever you need help with.” Twilight said authoritively. She tried to stant up, but ultimately failed. Her injuries, while fairly minor, still hurt.
“I dunno, Twilight. You’re still pretty banged up. Let’s all head back into town first, then we can head out when you’re healed” suggested Applejack. Big Macintosh nodded in agreement.
“No, we haven’t any time for that. When we make it to Zecora’s she can heal me there, or at the very least, we can regroup in her hut.”
“Well...alright then. I suppose it’s settled. We'll head for the forest.” Something between a sigh and a shudder escaped from Applejack, “We best be getting’ some sleep. One of us will have to stay up in shifts. I’ll take the first one.”
They all nodded in agreement, and lied down to weather out the storm. As Twilight Sparkle drifted to sleep, her dreams were filled with the wild images of fever dreams.
The rain had stopped, leaving the air humid and the ill-fairing grounds of Sweet Apple Acres a muddy quagmire. Twilight still had a pronounced limp which made it necessary for Applejack to slow down and assist her along the path. Twilight’s dreams the night before had been disturbing. She was plagued with visions of monoliths shaped in unnatural patterns, creatures formed of rock and stone and wood and glass, and of an endless staircase, winding in its tight coil up into the void above. The images lingered still, if only as haunting silhouettes. She remained bandaged; both the Apple siblings had insisted on keeping the pressure applied. She hadn’t the strength to argue.
“Twilight, sugar? We’re here.” Stated Applejack flatly. The gravity in her voice was at best unsettling. At worst, downright frightening.
The purple mare looked up at the daunting scene before them. The Everfree Forest, sinister in stature. Even the new ambient light of the sun and moon in tangent seemed scared to enter.
“Zecora’s hut is only a few hundred yards inward. Hopefully, the wolves won’t attack while theres so much sunlight still out.” Twilight observed.
“We don’t know that, now. Shoot, we don’t rightly know anything these days for sure these days, Twilight.” Applejack retorted cautiously.
“Well, it isn’t like we have much of choice, is it?”
“Sure ‘nough, I suppose…”
The walk through the nightmarish forest was mind crushingly stressful. The canopy seemed to be alive with faint rustling and hoarse whispers, but upon silencing themselves, the two fillies heard nothing but oppressing and creeping silence. The underbrush was moist with dew and dense with foliage. Vines overtook the trees around them, smothering their bark under a blanket of grasping tendrils. One felt that if they watched long enough, they could see it grow. Twilight was in fact almost certain she witnessed this on several occasions. She cleared the notion from her head, though. Knowing that the woods themselves could very well be after them was perturbing in itself. Knowing also that she could barely defend herself only compounded her mounting fear.
The smell of spices and exotic smoke drifted faintly in the air. They knew they were close. Only a couple more yards, and they should be there. Just around the bend in the animal trail. Every step sent chills of pain through Twilights ragged body. Weeks of immobility did not transition well into such strenuous activity. The meters seemed to stretch into miles, minutes into hours and Applejack practically carried her to the front of the hut.
“We made it, and with no incident, too!” Applejack exclaimed proudly.
“And no small miracle.” Twilight sighed. Thanking anyone for anything seemed moot by this time.
The companions entered, only to find the bamboo bungalow empty. A cloying scent filled the room, and Applejack wrinkled her face at the smell while she sat her injured friend down on a cushion.
“Where do you think she is?”
“Where else? Gathering herbs and spices. Perhaps creating wards? She managed to stay safe living out here so far. She must know what she’s doing.”
Worry crossed Applejacks face. “Yeah, but what if the ‘safe’ doesn’t apply anymore? What if she left? Or what if…you know?”
“If anyone can survive out here, it’s Zecora. And if not, then I doubt there was ever much hope for ponies like ourselves in the first place.” Twilight replied gravely. Applejacks eyes flushed with panic, her ears pressed firmly back. Twilight had become increasingly cynical since the Vanishing.
They laid their heads down and listened to the outside world. Their stomachs knotted with pent-up adrenaline, ready to bolt at any moment. The scraping and rustling was almost constant, if subtle. Sometimes they could swear they could hear something breathing it was close to the windows. They dared not look up to confirm their deepest fear. With every bump and far-off screech or howl they felt their hearts palpitate. It was an eternity.
And then, it stopped. As quickly as the noises had closed in, they fled. The two ponies held their breath, eyes screwed shut, waiting for the inevitable end to descend upon them. But it never came. After long seconds, they both carefully raised their eyes, looking at each other, too afraid to speak.
The door flew open, slamming against the wall behind it. Both ponies jumped up in an instant, all fatigue and injury forgotten. They stood ready to flee out the window, the door, the wall. Anywhere but right there, right then.
“Why hello there, my little ponies.”
Twilight stared unable to speak. Applejack, however, had no such restrictions.
“Zecora? Where have you been? What were you doing? Why aren’t you speakin all rhyming?”
The zebra chuckled. “That, my friends is a long story. And we may tell it yet. It is not safe to leave during the blacker hours.”
Twilight finally found her voice. “Why, though? Why is this happening, Zecora? I can’t find anything in my Library. Nothing like this or even comparable has ever happened in recorded history! And there’s no logical explanation for it!”
“Sit, Twilight Sparkle. You are wounded, and we must care to those injuries. I will tell you all I know, although I fear you are far from your destination.”
Twilight started to protest, but the tension and exertion from the last several hours were finally taking their toll, and it felt like every nerve moaned in exhaustion and pain. She sighed and half sat, half collapsed onto a velvety cushion.
“Here,” Zecora cooed, removing Twilights bandages and smearing a sweet smelling poultice over her lacerations. “Relax now, this place is safe. And we have much to discuss.”
The ponies shuffled about, trying to put their minds at ease. Applejack was the first to break the uncomfortable silence.
“How is this place so safe? What have you been doing to keep them monsters and whatnot away? We tried everything at Sweet Apple Acres.”
“We Zebras have passed our magic down through the generations. We do not rely on the same power as the Unicorns. Ours comes from the bones of the world Herself. But even that is different now. It is erratic, unruly, it’s will unrelenting. We speak in our rhymes to help us keep the rhythm of the world in ourselves. That rhythm is gone now, and we must use the Old Magic. We call for the help of our ancestors, who are sacred to us, and the spiritual realm, which we cannot explain through mortal words.” Zecora explained with a longing tone, as if the absence of her magic was something stolen from her. Twilight empathized all too well.
“So, your shamanic powers, they’re gone too? But why?” Twilight was at a loss.
Zecora sat, looking at the ground. When she spoke, it was as if she had to consider her words carefully, unsure if they conveyed what she meant. “It is almost as if Equestria has been sleeping. And now She stirs, stretching just as we do in the morning sun.”
Applejack was incredulous. “Asleep? Nonsense! Me and my family tended to that soil every day for our entire lives! It was as lively and plentiful as could be!” She rebutted.
“No, Applejack,” Twilight interjected, “I think she means like a consciousness. An awareness that it didn’t have before. Is that right?”
Zecora only nodded. “I know nothing else, though. I can make for you talismans that will help you get home without fear of this forests residents. Or you may choose to go deeper in.”
Twilight felt a knot form in her throat. “Deeper in?” she asked.
“Why in tarnation would we want to go deeper?” Applejack demanded.
“Because if you want to save the Princesses, you must journey into the heart of the forest. Beyond the Sanctuary where you fought Nightmare Moon and restored order once before. To the Old Temple. The Shrine of Sun and Moon. There you may be given the way to salvation.” Zecora spoke in a tone that carried all the weight that entailed saving the world. It pierced the two ponies hearts, filling them with dread.
Twilight sighed. She had resigned herself to her course. “We have to go back to Ponyville. We’ll need everyone for this.”
“This wont be easy, you know. And this time, some of us may not come back to tell the tale.” Applejack reminded her grimly.
Twilight said nothing. She didn’t need to.
“We don’t have a choice. Tomorrow we trek into Everfree.”
Author's Note
The triumphant return!
Honestly, I almost forgot this existed. But with all the time I've found on my hands, I've decided to return to working on this story.
I still don't have any proofreaders, and I'm taking volunteers. This is my foray into the FiM fanfic world, and frankly, I wanna make a good impression.
Anyways, enjoy!
Oh, and sorry if the chapter seems short. I didn't wanna make it too fluffy. And this just kinda seems right, you know?
