Twilight screamed in terror, leaping upwards in a desperate struggle escape the darkness. She breathed heavily as she noticed beams of light coming toward her. Looking to the right, she realized that she was no longer falling into an endless pit. She was in her room, back in the library. She panted heavily as she looked around, making sure that she was really safe. After a few seconds of evaluation, she gave a sigh of relief and rested her forehead against her hooves.
"Just a dream... It was just a dream..." She said as she slowly started to calm down. The sound of the busy town outside helped ease her nerves, as she heard fast and frantic footsteps coming to her door. The door flew open, a familiar purple dragon rushing inside.
"Twilight! Are you okay? I-I heard a scream coming from your room and I..." Spike started to say.
"I'm fine Spike... It was just a.. a bad dream..." Twilight said as she rubbed her forehead. Throwing aside her covers, Twilight sighed as she stepped down onto the wooden floor of her home. She yawned and walked over to the mirror, taking a look at herself in the mirror. Well... It clearly showed on her appearance that she had suffered from a nightmare. Her mane was ruffled badly, her ears had red marks, probably from rubbing against the bed so much when she was tossing and turning, and she had very large bags under her eyes.
"Well... I can think of worse hair days..." She thought to herself as she sighed in real life. Using her magic, she levitated her brush at the top of her mane and pulled down.
"Are you sure? You sounded really bad." Spike said as he walked next to her. Twilight nodded.
"Don't worry about it Spike. We have things that need to be done." She said as she finished brushing her mane. Spike gave a salute and hurried downstairs. Turning, Twilight also made her way out of the door, into the hallway leading to the staircase into the library's check out/return section. Most of the library was in order, with the bookcases neatly sorted into the bookshelves and the shelves themselves recently dusted. Unfortunately, it didn't take long for Twilight to notice something out of the ordinary. Fluttershy was standing outside of one of the windows of the library, a bird on her hoof who she seemed to be speaking with. Slightly to the right of the window was a white splat, and she already knew what that meant.
"Spike, why don't you make sure the books that were supposed to be returned are back, I'm going to talk to Fluttershy." Twilight said as she turned to the door.
"You got it." Spike said back as he made his way over to the book return. Twilight opened the door to the library, instantly greeted by the scent of fresh food and the sound of ponies chatting with one another. Just another day in Ponyville. Looking to the right, she could see Fluttershy saying something to the bird she had on her foreleg. Smiling, Twilight walked over to her.
"Morning Fluttershy, what brings you here?" She asked as she trotted up to her. Fluttershy made a quick shriek and jumped slightly at the sound of her voice, which was enough to make the bird fly away. The timid pegasus reached out a hoof and told the bird to wait, but the bird would not listen. Twilight watched the bird fly away, feeling responsible for it.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to..."
"Oh... It's okay Twilight," Fluttershy said as she turned to her friend. "Blossom's been flying all over town for the past few days now. This is so unlike her..." She said as her ears flattened and hid behind the back of her head. Twilight smiled and looked back to the direction the bird went.
"Well, maybe later today I can help you get her back?" She asked. Fluttershy shook her head.
"No, I couldn't ask that of you, I can take care of it myself.." She said. Twilight chuckled.
"It's no big deal Fluttershy. I can work that into my schedule." She said as she walked over. Fluttershy glanced sideways for a moment, then back up to her friend.
"Are you sure it wouldn't be too much trouble?" She asked, her voice getting somewhat quieter. Twilight kept her smile and nodded.
"Of course. Just let me know what works for you, and I'll make the necessary adjustments." She said in a matter of fact tone. Fluttershy smiled, and perked up, her ears no longer flattened out.
"Thank you Twilight. Is... Is this afternoon okay?." She asked. Twilight nodded.
"That works, I'll just cut down on my study time a little bit." She said back. Twilight wished her friend a good day, and walked back inside the library, welcomed by the sight of Spike looking through the returned books.
"I'll handle that from here Spike, I have another task I need you to do." She said. Spike looked up to her, then to the window. His expression soured, and he gave a disgusted noise.
"I think I like this job better." He said. Twilight giggled.
"It won't take that long Spike." She said back to him. Spike mumbled something to himself, then hopped down off of the chair at the book return. As Spike walked into the kitchen to get some cleaning supplies, Twilight made her way over to where he had used to be. Behind the book return was four drawers on either side, most for supplies, but one had her schedule for the day. That was part of the routine. Before she went to bed, she would store the schedule for the next day in the third drawer to the right, that way she knew where it was.
Pulling open the drawer containing the schedule, she brought it to the center of the desk and observed it, looking for the part of the schedule that was marked Afternoon. There were several different time managements in each part of the day, and so far, half the afternoon was filled up with the word study.Twilight brought her hoof to her lip as she debated what time spot she should help Fluttershy get her bird. Should she help her before she started studying, and push studying a little later into the day, or the other way around?
Break away. Loosen up. A voice suddenly said. Twilight raised an eyebrow, and looked around the library for a moment. The main lobby was empty, so nopony there said it. Looking into the kitchen, Twilight wondered if it was Spike. It certainly hadn't sounded like him, but maybe she just hadn't heard him clearly.
"Spike?" She asked.
"I'm going Twi, I just can't find a washcloth!"
"No, not that, did you say something?" Spike walked out from behind the wall, his eye raised.
"Not until just know, why?" He replied. Twilight looked away for a moment, puzzled by this. If Spike hadn't said that, and clearly something in the library hadn't, then who had said that? Shaking her head, she sighed and told Spike not to worry about it. Spike looked at her for a moment, then shrugged and went back into the kitchen. Twilight tried to throw this out of her head, but she couldn't. Those words were the exact same ones she had heard in her nightmare, and that spooked her a little bit.
The game had started. His targets were set, and they were the so called "heroes" of Equestria. These mares had saved their home from disaster time and time again, but when it came to their own minds, that was another story. He had witnessed every single one writhe in the realms of fear, and partial insanity. Even those who must show courage have a breaking point. And he intended to find those points, and break them.
Slow and steady won the race, he would start small. This was his home, his domain, and he was going to use every advantage he had in the book. The first victim was ready.
...
Twilight's eyes refused to cooperate, staying closed despite her wishes. Her breathing was slow, and rhythmic, but she couldn't remember how she had fallen asleep. One minute she was studying in the library, and the next she felt some sort of force hit her from behind. Then she was out. Shaking her head, she forced herself awake as she groaned at the sudden pain in the back of her head. She grit her teeth as she held onto the back of her head, unsure of just what was going on. After opening her eyes, she froze. This was not the library. It wasn't even Ponyville. At least... It didn't LOOK like it.
The room surrounding her was made up of a grayish color, with no windows lining the walls. Most of the room was covered in a thick layer of darkness, the only exception being the small perimeter of light created by a candle next to her. There was silence inside the room, but not a normal kind of quiet. It felt... Unnatural. Twilight shook her head and tried to figure out what was going on. Was this some sort of spell gone wrong? No... It couldn't be. The consequences of her failing a spell had never been anything like this.
Standing up, she looked around some more, still only seeing the blackness that surrounded her. Somewhat frightened by the events occurring, she carefully used her magic to hold the candle.
"Where am I?" She wondered aloud, not bothering to try and hide the shakiness in her voice. Walking forward, she noticed the candle begin to illuminate what looked like a door on the far side of the room. The door had no handle or knob of any sort, and seemed to have been carved out of some sort of giant stone.
Well? What are you waiting for? Open it.
A unfamiliar voice suddenly said out of nowhere. Twilight let loose a loud shriek as she jumped back and nearly dropped the candle. She shook and breathed heavily as she looked around the room, desperate to find the source of the voice. Only emptiness met her, both in the darkness, and the small circle of light from the candle. This didn't make sense, where had the voice come from? Nothingness cannot speak.
"Hello?" She said loudly, her head darting back and forth to every corner of the room. Her head was spinning, and her breath grew heavier as she continued to receive no response. Gulping, she slowly turned back around to face the door, but was unsure of whether or not to open it. Could she trust this strange voice that seemed to come from nowhere? If this was one of Pinkie's pranks, it was going way too far. Trying to calm down and breathe easily, she slowly trotted over to the door, the candle revealing more of the door's features. She could now see her cutie mark engraved onto it, which both confused and frightened her. How could it have been on the door? Why would it be on the door? Full of questions, she shakily reached her hoof out to push the door, doing so slowly when she touched it.
The door gave a low grinding noise as it slid against the ground, opening up into a dimly lit room, with only a few candles lighting the interior. Like the last one, the walls and floors were comprised of a grey color, with no windows decorating any of them. There was, however, one difference. At the far end of the room, Twilight could see a small brown table, illuminated by two candles on opposite ends of it. A book was opened up, fixed on a certain page. Breathing a little more easily now, she opened the door a little more quickly, revealing a little more of the room. To the left was a book case, also illuminated by candles on either side.
Go to the Desk.
She ducked and looked around the room when she heard the voice again, genuinely scared of it. Where was it coming from? Why did it want her to do these things? Cautiously, she looked back to the desk, the door now fully opened. A moment of hesitation filled her before she put her first hoof forward. Breathing slowly, she lifted the candle higher, trying to see more of the room, but to no avail. It was almost as if the candle couldn't light up anything that wasn't in the direct path to the desk. Unnerved by this, she shuddered as she lowered the candle back in front of her, lighting up the path in front of her again. There was no way this was a prank. When she made it to the small piece of furniture, she could see that the item on the desk was not a book, but rather a planner. Setting the candle down next to it, she observed it.
Morning: Awaken
Noon: Find Door
Afternoon: Open Door
Dusk: Find Planner
Evening: Read Planner
Twilight stood frozen, momentarily frozen. Was this some sort of coincidence? Or had it been written like this intentionally for what she was going through? What kind of sick joke was this? Calming down, Twilight tried to evaluate the situation. Why would somepony do something like that? There was no reason for it, it just didn't make any sense. Her fear was getting the better of her. Taking one deep breath, she flipped to the next page, which made her eyes grow wide, and her mouth begin to tremble. This page was completely blank, except for two words.
Midnight: Stay Alive
What... Why would anypony write that? Why would anyone want to write that? Terror began to fill her bones as a deep rumbling began to fill her ears. This snapped her out of her trance long enough to see the room begin to shake. The candles on the side of the table fell of the desk, going out as they came into contact with the floor. Twilight let out a panicked cry as she took the candle with her magic and turned around, her heart pounding inside of her chest. She could only go to the bookcase, however, as she saw the ground fall away into what looked like a forever free fall. Screaming, she turned around and ran back to the desk.
To her horror, the ground in front of her also began to give way, crumbling into oblivion anywhere except the desk. She screeched to a halt, breathing heavily as she desperately looked around her, trying to find a way out. Her brow produced large amounts of perspiration as the ground around her became smaller and smaller.
Oh, poor Twilight. Something happen that wasn't a part of the schedule?
Twilight screamed, horrified by what was happening. Panicking, she looked around the room, desperate to find the voice. But there was nothing there, it was only the quickly disappearing floor and darkness.
"WHERE ARE YOU?!" She screamed in horror, begging for whoever this was to hear her, and help her out of this nightmare.
You seem like a mare who plans and prioritizes far too much...
Twilight stumbled as the ground she had been standing on began to vanish, crumbling into the dark abyss below. Desperate, Twilight took one last look at the desk, which was still supported by sturdy ground. She had to get over there. Using every ounce of strength she had, she launched herself as hard as she could. A breeze flew past her face as she sailed through the air, the desk getting closer and closer.
Giving a cry of fear, she managed to grab onto the edges of the ground, which, thankfully, supported her weight. Twilight gave a relieved sigh as she began to pull herself up. But before she could, she felt something lift her hooves off the ground. Her head darted upwards, and for a moment, she didn't breathe. She was too afraid too. In the desk's place was a hooded figure, standing on only two legs, and what looked like metal claws wrapped around her forelegs, levitating her over the emptiness. But the thing that stood out most was the eyes. They glowed a frightening red color, and were the only thing that emanated from the blackness inside the hood. What was this thing? It moved it's head closer to hers, gaining a frightened whimper from her.
You want my opinion?
The figure said as it lowered Twilight into the formless abyss. She began to panic, thrashing and screaming for help as she tried to escape his grasp. The figure's grip on her forelegs tightened painfully, forcing her to give out a pitiful cry, as a single tear strolled down her face.
You need to break away from the schedule.
The figure said. It stared at her with no emotion, frightening her to no end. She trembled as it once again tightened it's grip on her, it's red eyes piercing into her very soul.
You need to loosen up.
It said. With those words, it released her, and Twilight screamed in horror as she fell into the abyss...
