A Tangled Web.............................................................................Vol. I: The Fall

A lie told once can go unmarked,

told twice or thrice unseen.

While countless fictions foul minds

with one fell truth; they are wiped clean.

Chapter Two- Collapse

Twilight had never been one for hospitals. Sanitary, cold, they never seemed to have any life to them. Even in the dankness of this cave, the idea of being poked and prodded, even with magic, was unsettling at best.

“Now this will only hurt for a moment,” cooed nurse Tenderheart, softly swabbing Twilight’s flank with wet cotton.

“EYOWCH!” cried Twilight, flinching violently.

“Uh, Twi... Y’know she hasn’t stuck you yet, right?” Rainbow Dash noted with a giggle.

A blush rose to Twilight’s cheeks, as she began to relax. Millennia of magical medicine, she thought to herself, the cure for every major disease known to pony-kind, and yet the only way we can draw a bit of blood... is with needles. She cringed as she felt the prick, and feeling a bit woozy, turned back towards nurse Tenderheart.

“All done,” Tenderheart sighed, the sample she’d taken spinning rapidly above her. “And you are good to go!”

“She’ll be OK, nurse?” Rainbow asked.

“Couple of bruised ribs, but no sign of infection. You take it easy, young lady, you’ll be fine.”

“Thank you, nurse,” Twilight sighed, allowing herself to relax as an orderly began to wrap a brace around her chest. “and thank you, Rainbow. You saved my life back there. I’m sorry I was so...”

“Don’t mention it,” Rainbow spat, a bit more quickly than she might’ve liked. “I..t was nothin’, really. Rough night, all around. If you’re gonna be OK, I really gotta get back to AJ, check on evac, y’know...”

“I understand,” Twilight smiled softly. “You go, I’m in good hooves here.”

Issuing a small salute, Rainbow Dash turned tail and trotted towards the mouth of the cave. A pre-flight sniff, and a few bars of rainbow trailed behind her as she gave a mighty flap of her wings.

Twilight lay silently on the make-shift cot, staring through the roof of the peaty cave. She’d recognized it instantly when she arrived, as it had once been the home of a very greedy dragon, and a very scary night. Shifting her thoughts from Spike, she began to contemplate the events that brought her to this place. The smoldering ruins of Canterlot, the strange visions in the smoke of her library... there were so many puzzle pieces. Seeing discretion as the better part of valour, Twilight noted with a deep yawn that perhaps she’d be better fit to consider these things with a bit of rest...

…..........................................

“Twilight,” nurse Redheart whispered urgently. “Twilight, sweetie, I’m sorry to wake you, but there’s something you need to see.”

“gghgh...wha?” Twilight gurgled, her head swimming a bit. “How long was I out?”

“Only about an hour... as I said, I’m sorry to disturb your rest, but we....we’ve got a bit of a situation.”

Slowly returning to her senses, Twilight noted that the cave had gone eerily hushed, no orderlies bustling, no carts clattering. Lifting her head from the cot, she saw a herd of ponies dumbstruck, staring reverently towards the back of the cave. Tenderly rising to her hooves, she checked her balance, and began to limp softly behind Nurse Redheart.

“She just wandered in, like it was nothing!” Redheart explained. “Honestly it took us a moment to realize who it was, and by the time we did, she’d just... passed out!”

“Who exactly are we talking about, nurse?” Twilight asked dryly. “If it’s so important, why...” Twilight stopped cold. Before her lay an unconscious alicorn, velvet as the night, bearing a cutie mark that resembled a crescent moon...

“Princess Luna?”

******************************************************************************

For all the weirdness this evening had brought, Rainbow Dash felt, if only for a moment, a bit more normal. Soaring high above the Everfree forest, she sighed contentedly, finally able to stretch her wings. It wasn’t like she didn’t want to help twilight, it was just... a bit uncomfortable, all that emotional stuff; up here, though, everything was much clearer. Darting and wheeling through the night sky, she felt as though she could see all of equestria, all her problems laid bare.

Settling down a bit, she dared fly a bit closer to the trees, scanning the forest floor. She’d flown this route before, many times, but lit as it was by the various flames, it seemed... off. There was a strange sense of movement on the ground, like rats scurrying about just before you flick on the lights. Dash thought it might just be the heat playing tricks on her eyes, and squinting against the wind, it was almost as though bits of the forest were getting closer.

Yelping loudly as a bolt of flame whisked past her right ear, Rainbow dipped sharply, cutting one wing to a heavy yaw. She threw both wings out harshly, shedding speed, and flapped to a steady hover. Scanning the forest floor, several points of light sped towards her new position, and she quickly set into a dive. Soaring past sharp spears of flame, she picked up, pulling out just below the canopy.

Dodging trees, she did her best to hide her trail, but each time she changed direction, a new volley of flaming arrows seemed to renew their pursuit. Diving further into the brush, a hot streak of pain ripped across her left flank. Cursing as she lost altitude, she pulled out once more, alighting softly on a thick branch of one of the larger trees in the canopy.

The throbbing in her leg subsiding, Rainbow Dash sat perched near a small knot of branches. Absentmindedly rubbing her wounded leg, her ears pricked sharply for any hint of movement.

Quiet. Short of the crackles and light mist that had begun to settle on the leaves, she could scarcely hear a sound. Heaving a sigh, she laid her back against the tree.

“Come on, Rainbow, think!” Rainbow Dash whispered softly, catching her breath. From this vantage point, she could see the forest floor spread wide beneath her, the various passages seemingly open. “But if I can see them, so can they.” Whoever they are... she thought to herself. A loud THUNK broke her concentration, and slowly twisting her head, she saw a flaming arrow not two inches from her face, stuck deeply into the trunk of the old growth.

“No more thinking, MOVE!” She exclaimed, springing from the branch. Soaring straight into the sky, Rainbow whipped back around, and spotting the edge of the forest, made a straight shot of it, as a new volley of fiery arrows and darts peppered the sky.

******************************************************************************

The long silence ended with a clamour of activity, as a new mass of injured ponies burst into the cave, and the nursing staff rushed back to work. Standing alone, Twilight eyed the Princess carefully, studying her features. Her breathing seemed normal, her eyes quite still, if closed. She didn’t appear to be sleeping, she just... wasn’t all there. Twilight moved to shift the hair out of the Regent’s face when a familiar voice stole her concentration.

“Good heavens, Twilight, what happened to your... well, everything?”

“Rarity!” Twilight said, lifting her good hoof in embrace, “Thank goodness you’re ok!” Stepping back, she looked sheepishly at the stains that still marked her fetlocks. “I... suppose nearly getting crushed by a tree doesn’t exactly suit me,” she continued with a sly grin, “and beige really isn’t my color.”

“I should think not darling, though I suppose in a pinch...” Rarity hesitated, glancing past Twilight at the felled princess... “Is that...?”

“That’s her, alright...” Twilight said with a shrug. “No idea how she got here. The nurses say her vital signs are normal, they can’t explain why she won’t wake up.”

“Oh my, that is truly bizarre.” said Rarity, dropping to a whisper, “it’s not the only bit of strangeness I’ve come across this evening...”

“Oh?”

“Well, back in ponyville before Pinkie very nearly took me down, I happened upon two very suspicious ponies, one of whom I could have sworn looked just like....”

“Wait, Pinkie?” Twilight interrupted, “Is she with you? Is she alright?”

Grimacing lightly, Rarity was for a moment taken aback. “Y..yes, she is, and Fluttershy as well...” Sliding back onto her haunches, she took a breath. “There’s... been a...”

“Rarity,” Twilight started, “what happened?”

As Rarity began to tell the story of how they found Fluttershy, Twilight’s throat began to swell. Knowing how sensitive the demure little pony was already, she couldn’t imagine what a shock like this would do to her, on top of everything else that had happened. Unsure of what to say, the two stood in uncomfortable silence. Around them, the make-shift hospital moved mechanically, seemingly unaware of the unfairness of it all.

“Twilight,” Rarity said, breaking the lull, “We’re going to bu...”

A stir rose from the front of the cave, and above it all, a flurry of words rang out.

“CANTERLOT! PRINCESS, run, RUN! fall, broken, HELP!”

“SPIKE!” Twilight screamed, galloping to the source of the commotion, nearly slamming the baby dragon into the dirt with a relieved hug. “Spike, you’re ok!”

Catching his breath, the purple dragon returned the hug, similarly relieved, and stepped back to see the entire cave staring him down. He gulped lightly.

“I’m OK, Twilight, but we’re not.”

Twilight stared at him, confusion washing over her face. “What do you mean, Spike? What’s going on, where’s the Princess?”

A wave of concurrence rose from the crowd, all wondering the same thing. Spike began to shake a bit, and tears began to form. Closing his eyes, he looked away from the expectant ponies, and clearing his throat, spoke.

******************************************************************************

In the cellar of what used to be Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack gimped wearily across the floor, nearly an hour of bucking the wrought iron doors had taken their toll. Slumping in the far corner, she rested her head against the footlocker that the caravan had left behind. Too heavy, Mac had said. She supposed he was right; but filled as it was with so many memories, it was all she had at the moment.

Fiddling with the lock, AJ deftly opened the chest, taking out a few photographs. They were aged, but they told a story. A story of triumph, of disaster, of feast and famine. It was her story; but so too was it the story of her family, and her kin. A grainy picture of Granny Smith, a very young Granny, she chuckled to herself, locked in a dance with her Grandpa Golden, holding their first daughter: Sweet Apple. Wiping a tear that had wet the surface of the old picture, she pulled out another memory. Lost in time, a sharp scratching at the cellar door snapped her back to reality.

“AJ, you in there?”

“Yeah, I’m here, Rainbow, s’that you?”

“No, it’s Pinkie Pie...”

“...Pinkie? Well, Run and get some help, I’m kinda stuck down here...”

Applejack heard a thud, followed by a word she was sure Pinkie would never use. “Are you sure you ain’t Rainbow Dash?” She inquired.

…

“Yes, AJ, it’s me, Rainbow...”

“Well why didn’t you say so?”

“AJ, I swear... look, I cleared the door, but I can’t get the lock unstuck, it’s busted or something. You got anything down there you could brace it with?”

Glancing around the dimly lit cellar, she couldn’t see anything that sturdy, unless...“Dash, you said the door is clear?” Applejack shouted, pulling the hope chest up against the metal hatch.

“Yeah, but...”

“Stand back!” AJ roared, rearing up and bucking down on the end of the chest. Slamming open, the chest flew out the now open entryway, crashing into the ground several meters away, the contents scattered over the distance.

Bursting out into the open, Applejack took a deep breath of air, and looking about, called to her friend.

“Dash... Where’dja...go?”

“I’m right here,” came the muffled reply, under a pile of old clothes and picture books.

“Ah,” Applejack chuckled, “Sorry ‘bout that...”

“No problem,” Dash replied dryly, rising to her hooves, “After what it took to get here, I guess some old cloth is the least of m...”

“Land sakes, girl, what happened to you?”

“I’m fine, I’ll tell you on the way, but right now we’ve got to get back to the Everfree Forest and figure out what we’re gonna do about all this...”

“Sorry, Rainbow, but the only way I’m headin’ is thata’way.”

“Out west?” said Rainbow, incredulous. “AJ, come on, our friends are hurt, I still don’t know where half of them are, and they need our help. I need your help. I came out here to find you and help with gettin’ everypony else out, but that’s done and we gotta go. NOW.”

“Rainbow, I done told you, I gotta go get back with my kin.” I don’t have time t’...”

“Time to what? Time to help us fix this mess? Time to help your friends?”

Applejack sighed. “Look. I appreciate you commin’ t’get me. I understand that we might be able to help, but I gotta look after my family. You know they come first.” She sniffed the air, looking away. “They always come first.”

Frustrated, Rainbow Dash kicked the pile of clothes that once lay atop her. Looking a bit more closely, she saw something glittering in the darkness, seeming to have it’s own light.

“Then don’t do it for our friends, AJ. Don’t do it for me, heck, don’t even do it for your family.” Reaching into the pile, she picked up a jeweled necklace, bearing a large red apple, and tossed it at AJ’s hooves. “We got a duty, Applejack. Not to ourselves, not to our friends. To Equestria. To Celestia.”

Applejack sighed heavily. “Look, I...”

“AJ, Whatever this is, this insanity, it’s got Twilight and her egghead magic written all over it. She needs you... She needs all of us.”

AJ stared down at the necklace. The element of honesty; her element. Padding it softly, she lifted the pendant out of the dirt. It pulsed lightly in her hoof, the faint glow calling to her. Applejack closed her eyes, and a soft tear slipped the breach, rolling down her cheeks and wetting the dirt below.

“I reckon you’re right, Dash,” She sighed wearily, turning back towards Rainbow, “but you promise me, right here, right now, that as soon as we can, we head out to Appleloosa to check on everypony?”

Rainbow held up a hoof, and hocked a wad of spit on it, holding it out with a sly grin. “As soon as we can, sister.”

Returning the spit-shake, AJ cracked a smile. “Let’s do this.”

******************************************************************************

Twilight’s ears rung with a deafening tone; her sight blurred and dizzy, she fell back awkwardly onto her haunches. Spike’s voice ran through her mind in rapid repetition, as the world narrowed to a singular point of light.

“...dead...” he had said. Celestia, bringer of the sun, Goddess of an empire... her personal friend and mentor... was dead.

She wasn’t sure what one was supposed to feel at a moment like this, but she was entirely sure she was doing it wrong. There was no sadness, no anger, no sickening sense of... anything. She was numb, from head to toe, empty.

Around her, the gasps and cries had fallen to a simmer. The nurses slowly returned to their duties, but most ponies just lay in shock.

Rising to her hooves, Twilight wandered aimlessly down rows of spent ponies, some with broken limbs, others with broken ribs- all with broken hearts. Soft sobs still echoed through the damp corners of the cave. Some painful, most mournful, the pitiful sounds lingered heavily on the peaty walls. The soft clatter of medical routine began to return as Rarity slowly approached her.

"Twilight…" Rarity whispered softly, "I… I truly have no words. I know how close…"

"Don't." Twilight rasped, a subtle anger edging her words, more than she'd have

liked. "I… Thank you, Rarity” she sighed, “I just don't think I'll be of any use right now.”

Rarity took a step back. She had been unsure of how to approach Twilight, but then she wasn't sure of anything anymore. Nopony was. She pressed on, "I understand darling, though I was wondering if you'd be up to helping us bury Angel. It... would mean the world to the poor dear, I'm sure."

Twilight stared blankly past Rarity for a moment, then nodded to nopony in particular. Trotting towards the entrance of the cave, the familiar scent of peat and decay greeted them as they stepped out into the forest. Gazing towards the skies, Rarity noted that the firestorm had all but ceased, for now, but she was anxious to get on with it. Much as she wanted to be there for her friend, she knew this night was far from over.

Stopping at the edge of a small hole, Rarity nodded towards Spike, who reverently laid the small rabbit neatly at the bottom of the grave. Sobbing softly, Fluttershy gently pushed a bit of dirt over Angel, as Pinkie tamped it down into a neat mound.

Hushed, the group stood silent for a moment, as Fluttershy knelt at the foot of the grave, periodically rubbing her eyes. Soft sniffles circled around, and Spike lightly scuffed his feet against the damp soil. Rarity coughed lightly, and Fluttershy, peering up at her friends, ambled slowly to her hooves. With tears in her voice, she began to speak.

“um... th..thank you all.” Fluttershy croaked weakly, “I... um... I’ve lost little friends before, working with creatures often comes with that... problem. But...Angel was different. He...” Fluttershy faltered. New tears rose unbidden to her cheeks as she tried to continue... “He was my friend when nopony came out to the cottage... he... was my first... friend...” Fluttershy collapsed under the weight of the task she was performing. Rarity and Pinkie Pie rushed quickly to her side, leaving Twilight alone at the far corner of the grave.

Trotting slowly around the resting site, she nuzzled Fluttershy’s cheek, softly whispering words of comfort. “Rarity, I...I’m going to go check on the Princess, will you all be alright out here for a bit?” Rarity nodded solmnly, brushing a gentle hoof down Fluttershy’s mane.

Leaving her friends at the graveside, Twilight limped towards the back of the cave. The initial shock had begun to wear down, but the numbness remained; it was all that seemed to remain. She’d try to cry, but no tears would come, be angry but no ire. Frustrated, she sat with a huff at the back of the cave, facing away from the felled Princess. Staring blankly towards the forest, she could see Pinkie and the others helping Fluttershy to her hooves, as they began to slowly trot inside.

“Well, Princess, I’m lost.” Twilight started. “Your sister is gone, Canterlot is in ruins, my friends are in pain, and I don’t know how to help any of them. Honestly, how could things get any wors...”

Interrupted by a sharp rustle behind her, she turned to investigate. Princess Luna stood looming against the shadows of the cave. Her eyes were impossibly wide, and moist with tears, dark pupils narrowed to a fine point. Her horn began to glow white with heat, as energetic motes of light sparked off in every direction. As the two ponies blinked out of existence, a single sentence lingered in the ether...

“I’m not a Princess,” said Luna.

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