Marked

by Eisen

Chapter 6: Restless Night

Twilight's eyes blinked open slowly, and she sat up in her bed. It was dark, and fairly quiet, but that made her uneasy.

She strained her ear to listen hard for anything she could and... ah! There, in the hallway, what sounded like whispers. Probably the night guards... she thought to herself calmly, but was a little shaken in this concept, as she noted some glowing lights passing the door, yet no hoof steps.

Twilight listened for a few more minutes, the whispers growing slightly, but not intelligible. After considering her options, she decided that, given her status and her defense proficiency, she could risk peering out the door. So, after quietly slipping out of bed and stealthily trotting over to the door, she listened close.

The whispers were still difficult to make out, prompting her to open the door slowly. "Can't a girl get some rest around here?" she asked the guards tiredly, only to find that they were nowhere to be found. "Strange..." she whispered to herself, looking down the hall to the left: nothing there. She looked to the right, however, and saw a faint glow at the end of the hallway.

Deciding she had nothing to lose, Twilight calmly trotted along the lengthy hallway, careful to keep her steps light and quiet. She looked at some of the paintings on the walls, and was surprised to see that they were each portraits of the Cutie Marks of famous individuals. She actually stopped a moment and chuckled nervously. She wasn't sure whether it was more unsettling or ironic, but at any rate, she pressed onward, until she reached the end of the hallway, which led into one of the palace's grand chambers.

She gasped as she looked around the room, discovering the source of the glow to be dozens of floating Marks, each one moving circularly and being levitated by an unknown force. Twilight stood in the center of the room, and finally began to hear the whispers. "Mistake..." one lamented. "Failure..." another croaked quietly.

"Alright, who's there?" she asked, looking around. The doors to the chamber slammed shut, and the Marks lowered to swirl around her. "Glimmer! I recognize your tricks!" she yelled. It was a stab in the dark really, but the only pony Twilight had ever seen manipulate Cutie Marks was Starlight Glimmer, the equality-mandating leader of a small town.

Her yell went unanswered, at least from any pony, as the marks seemed to grow in number, and swirl about her at a quicker pace. "Turn away..." one pleaded. "Seek us not..." Another agreed, less of a whisper this time.

"Cadence? Haha, very funny..." Twilight tried, hoping it was a prank. This much skill of illusion was something that would require great power, and great power was something Cadence certainly had, but still, no answer.

The Marks were speaking at a regular volume now, surrounding her completely on all sides, and closing up above. Twilight had to fly up a bit to avoid some that were sweeping under her now. "Stop." "Halt your search." "Leave us alone," they stated, multiplying rapidly.

"Stop it! Whoever you are, stop it!" Twilight shouted, then gasped in surprise as her own mark glowed.

"You shouldn't have looked for us!" her familiar star yelled at her, warranting a shriek from the princess. The Marks were all she could see now, everywhere, hundreds of them! Twilight plugged her ears, and flapped desperately to stay in the middle of it all. Wait... I'm flapping...

Her wing was fine, and for that matter her saddlebag was gone! She quickly touched her formerly bruised side only to find it perfectly unscathed. Twilight rationalized quickly and uttered a small whisper amongst the loud chorus of voices. "This is a dream."

Quickly, armed with the new realization, she slammed herself headfirst through the side of the swirling marks and into a field of fluctuating darkness. She heard a surprised gasp from behind, and quickly whipped around--

Twilight awoke with a jolt, looking about to see sunlight streaming in through the crystalline window, reflecting off of the pale blue floor. Her brow furrowed in thought. Why would she have a dream like that? Had her paranoia gotten the best of her? Or... had she been manipulated?

She was feeling uneasy, and jumped up as the door swung open. The princess sprung to action, charging a powerful horn blast and aiming it straight at the door!

"GHA!" Exclaimed the servant stallion who had walked in. Twilight panted slightly as she looked up at him. The startled young boy shakily delivered his next words. "Th-the princess sent me t-to inform you that breakfast is ready." He quickly left the room, leaving her behind as she sighed and powered down the horn.

"Already off to a great start," she muttered to herself, as she walked to the dining room.

Comments

[Hillbe]

pre09.deviantart.net/c3a6/th/pre/i/2015/243/0/2/main_six_by_hillbe-d97ygbz.jpg

Call for the reinforcements
hiper confusion
stare control
boom boom
buck buck
sew sew
flame on
I have a plan

[Procrastinator5798]

Getting really interesting now.

[ferret]

Cadance, some random pegasus, Celestia... just how many ponies are in on this cutie mark conspiracy?

[The Portal Passer]

(puts on tin foil hat)