//------------------------------// // VIII // Story: The Influence // by GMBlackjack //------------------------------// Twilight Sparkle stood, frozen, her mind reeling from the recent import. "WHAT!?" She screamed. "WHAT!? Are you... Ponygood what the heck is wrong with you! How on- That can't be! There's no, no way, not at all... But it makes sense... Nickel and Josh commented on it, and it they disagreed... But... No can't be - but they were all dancing around something... They all talked like it was through the Interent... Lots of creating worlds... What Key was saying makes sense now... Heh... Hehehheh...." She started laughing. "This is crazy. This is just stupid. But it makes so much sense! Why would all of you want to torment me? Cause I'm a story! Why would you keep things from me? Why would you lie? Why would you do all those things that made no sense and talk about FOOD and make SOUND EFFECTS? Story! I'm nothing to you, just some escape for entertainment..." She twitched, trying to walk out of the platform, but it kept her in, demanding to know who she wished to talk to. She was about to cast an explosion spell on the area when she got an idea. "I want to talk to Ponygood. Now. Bring him here." >Out of Range< Twilight twitched. "Zen?" >Out of Range< Twilight glowered. "G. M. Blackjack." >Out of Range< She groaned, putting her hooves over her head. "Why... Why does this all happen... Why..." She shivered, trying to regain control of herself. There was just too much - and the more she thought, the more Ponygood's explanation didn't answer everything. If she was nothing but a fictional character, why did she feel so real? Was it all an illusion - or were their stories really glances into another universe? Or was the imagination a powerful tool? The line between fiction and reality could be blurred with the correct spells... She rubbed her temples - she couldn't think this deeply. She suspected there wasn't an answer... Ponygood seemed to insist he still cared about her, Josh was worried about her mental state, and Nickel had offered some help on the issue... And then there was Key - or, well, Shutter now she guessed. This was all just too much to take in... She needed a place to think about it. ...She needed somepony she could talk too. Who could she contact? ...If Zen was right, and she was in the past, she didn't know anypony - or, at least, they didn't know her. Calling Celestia or Luna or any being alive right now wouldn't help... But, she could try to contact one of her friends. They'd know her. Or the machine would say 'out of range' and she'd know all she needed to know. She thought. It was hard to think right now. "...My friends." >Singular Entities Only< Twilight twitched. "Only one!? Come on! I..." She sighed. Okay... Who did she want to talk to right now? Who could help her? Starlight knew the most about magic and time... Spike could help her organize her thoughts... So could Rarity... Shining was worried... ...Twilight didn't really want to talk to Pinkie right now... ...Fluttershy. That... She'd be the best to talk to right now. "Fluttershy." Twilight said. The magic field around the platform vanished for an instant, and suddenly Fluttershy was there, blinking, and a little confused. Twilight had hardly noticed any magic sparking at all. "...Huh?" the buttery yellow pegasus said, looking around confused. "Where- Twilight!?" Twilight started crying with a smile on her face. "...Fluttershy. Hi." Fluttershy gasped. "We've been so worried about you!" She rushed her into a hug. "I... I... Fluttershy I... Everything's going wrong..." She buried her face in Fluttershy's mane. "Shhhh.... I'm here now. Don't worry. I, uh, don't really understand what's going on right now, but I'll do what I can. What... What happened?" "I... I woke up in a room after the ceremony... And this... EYE fixed itself to my chest... And it's kept pumping things... voices... into my mind... They all think I'm some sort of... Of story! And... I destroyed something... I... I don't know anymore..." She hugged Fluttershy tighter. "I... Wait." "...What is it?" "How am I touching you?" "...Cause I'm here?" "...This is just supposed to be a communication thing, you're not actually supposed to be here." Twilight bit her lip, looking around. The ancient technology had dulled its glow - as if it was done. "No..." Twilight said, panicking. She flew up to one of the outer spires, flooding it with her magic, trying to activate it - and getting nothing. "No..." She rushed to another pillar, then another, then the platform itself. Fluttershy grabbed her. "Twilight! Stop! Just stop!" "I... I've gotten you stuck here with me..." Fluttershy hugged her closer. "You needed me. I... I'll be fine. Okay?" Twilight collapsed into tears again, unable to take it. Fluttershy just held her close, "Shh... Shh..." The two sat and hugged in the center of a magitech altar... ~~~ Twilight didn't know how much time passed before she felt like she could talk. "Okay... I'm calm now." Fluttershy nodded, looking at Twilight with her deep, wide eyes. "...Can you tell me what's happening now?" "I... Think so." She told Fluttershy everything - from the moment she woke up in the room, to the stars at the edge of her vision, to the town, to the forest itself, the creature she had to kill, and the Witch's Eye - and the Influence themselves. "This Influence told you that you were a fictional character?" Fluttershy said, frowning. "Yeah... And... I think they believe what they're saying." "They've been wrong before, haven't they? You said so." "...Yeah. But this is different..." She sighed. "I guess I'll just have to live with it." "Yeah..." Fluttershy smiled. "But you can still live with it, I think. Whether it's right or not, you still live your life. And understand them better." "...Thank you Fluttershy," Twilight said. "I... I needed this." Fluttershy nodded, hugging her again. "I know." "If.... If I hadn't called you..." "Don't think about it," Fluttershy said. Twilight beamed, a bright smile coming to her face. "You know... despite this, I feel like everything's going to be fine now. It feels... bright." Fluttershy smiled. "I'm glad." "We should head to town. I've got some poines I want to introduce you too." "Pebbleton? It sounds like a nice place. Though... that Prancey sounds odd." "...Think I should get her that powder she wants?" Fluttershy pondered this. "Might as well." Twilight grabbed one of the flowers with her telekinesis and ground it into a powder. Then she took off into the sky, Fluttershy right behind her. "Town's over there." "I can see it," Fluttershy said. She started lazily flying in that direction, humming to herself. Twilight smiled - Fluttershy was a lot stronger than Twilight gave her credit for. Though... Now everypony at home was now worried about two missing ponies... They'd just have to find a way back soon. If the machine found Fluttershy, there was definitely a way to get back. She just had to find it. "...What are they like?" Fluttershy asked. "Huh?" "The voices. The Influence. You told me what they told you, what are they like?" Twilight blinked. "...Well, let's see... Zen is the nicest, and most reasonable, he seems the most interested in my success. Then there's Key... who... I'm not sure what's going on with him. He seems terrified and angry of things nobody else is, and I keep thinking it seems... forced, like he's either exaggerating or not right in the head. Course, he's just been replaced by someone new, Shutter, and I don't know what to make of them. Akumakami is also nice, though a bit long winded and sometimes says odd things. I... Don't know what to make of Ponygood. He wants to tell me... A lot of weird things, and he seems convinced we're on an island. Then there's Duke, who's pretty reasonable, though doesn't show up as often. Josh is... Kinda just there. I should probably pay more attention to him... Oh! Afizah and Eris, sisters, both of whom are crazy. Afizah seems to speak random things and Eris seems to want me dead. Then..." She stopped flying forward, eyes widening. "...I heard someone that sounded a lot like... me last update... Hey! Other me! Uh... Sorry I didn't say anything yet. I'm Twilight as well, and... I really don't know what to say. Can you tell me how you're talking to me?" "...They can all just hear you?" Fluttershy asked. "Hear my thoughts as well," Twilight said. "Do you have any privacy?" "Nope. It's a bit... Annoying." "I can imagine." They landed in Pebbleton, drawing a few glances. The town itself had calmed down from the moment with the sun earlier that day. Prancey ran up to them. "Oh my gosh another new pony who are you how are you?" "Fluttter-" Fluttershy began. Twilight nudged her. "Flutter... Skii. Flutterskii. That's her name," Twilight said, blinking. Prancey narrowed her eyes. "...Oooookay. Did you get the stuff!?" "Yes. Though I want to know what you're going to use it for." "To drug my boss, duh, what else would I use it for?" Fluttershy blinked. "That not very nice." "Oh, he likes it." Twilight smirked. "...I'll give it to you if you can get me a cloak to hid my wings and Eye, and a map." Prancey grinned, running off to get those things. Twilight blinked. "Well then..." Fluttershy shrugged. "At least you'll get what you need." Wound Dream ran up to Twilight. "You might want to make yourself discrete." Twilight blinked. "Huh? Why?" "Because-" "AHA!" A high-pitched voice rang out. "FOUND YOU!" Fluttershy and Twilight turned to see a white unicorn with a red and pink mane running at them. She stopped right next to Twilight, lighting her horn, and lifting up her wing. "They're real alright..." Twilight pulled her wing back. "Uh... Who are you?" "Infinity. I run the library." She grinned. "I must say you're absolutely fascinating! Want to come with me to do some tests!?" "Uh... No thanks," Twilight said, backing up. It was at this moment Prancey returned, throwing a deep purple cloak on Twilight, covering everything but her face. Annoyed, Twilight took off the hood, but left the rest on. She looked to her sides, examining it closely - she couldn't see her wings unless she moved them. Good. Infinity gasped. "Oh that's a brilliant idea! Hide the wings! Nopony would be the wiser!" "Here's a map!" Prancey said, shoving a piece of paper in front of Twilight. It was labeled 'The Known World' and showed a continent she didn't recognize. They were inside the largest nation sown, Peran, towards the northern border. To the southeast, on a peninsula jutting out into the ocean, was Peran's capital, marked as Chalak. To the south, there was a large swath of land called the Ice Shelf, and a small archipelago called Troisha. The southern oceans were labeled with iceberg icons. The east ocean was marked as Kraken Territory. To the northwest was another nation, Moissan, along with mountains that spilled off until the edge of the map. "Here be savage dragons" was written on the northern edge of Moissan. To the northeast was an area called the Lost Desert. Twilight blinked. "...Huh. This... Helps, and at the same time it doesn't." "How so?" Infinity insisted, grinning. It was at this moment Twilight felt the Witch's Eye activate again. "...Great."