//------------------------------// // CHAPTER 2 // Story: EntiQuest [OLD] // by Sputniik //------------------------------// It hadn't been too long before the two arrived to their destination. It was a portal, of course, like the many portals that gave the barrier dimension it's purpose. It was silver, and already looked dull and depressing. Twilight took a wary side glance into the green abyss, then again, her eyes soon returning to the portal, almost... Unsatisfied. She sighed, almost silently. "...We're here..." It simply came out unsettlingly. Her horn faded as the bubble dissolved into the air. Danny narrowed his eyes. "Funny. I thought you said you'd never been here before?" There was a short silence. Then the mare shrugged. "I'm not too sure myself. I feel like it's uh.. instinct or something.." Then, shook her head briskly. "..now listen, we go in, out- I just.. need to gather a few things." It almost sounded more of a question than a statement. Then, without waiting for a reply, the mare disappeared into the swirling, silver mass. Knowing at some point, he hadn't had any say, the teen rolled his eyes and followed after. They had arrived. The place seemed... Awful-- like a run down village in the middle of nowhere, after a terrible storm. It wasn't too unbelievable, though. The pale, cyan sky was open, glaring down miserably at the small-- what seemed to once be-- town in the middle of a lush, green forest. But it's flowerless branches were pale and dry, and as the slightest breeze blew, a few dead leaves broke off and soared with the wind. They stared blankly at the bleak, empty clearing, until eyes met the dark shadows over at the trees. But something was... different about this darkness. One tentative hoof touched the ground, but it flinched back, as a ripple of bright energy swept the ground, and once the shadows touched, it faded. Twilight sharply inhaled, and it was over with fast, as she swiftly leapt into this new surface. Like a hawk, her wings flailed out cautiously, eyes scanning the area, and ears perking up when her pupils landed on a pair of mangled glass doors belonging to a broken down building. She glanced back at him, her eyes filled with both impatience and nervousness. The lavender mare swirled around, and trotted almost confidently into the distance-- and mist was slowly forming, which clouded out the Alicorn after she'd gotten a bit far. Snapping back to reality, Danny hesitantly followed after. The doors... Twilight bit her tongue; it only helped her remember how twisted this pace felt. Nothing here seemed normal, nothing felt quite right... The doors were unmoving, and dead-like; one of them hung on a single hinge, the bottom corner of the door dug into the hardened mud over time. How long had it been? Brushing aside her thoughts, Twilight teleported inside. The sudden darkness of the room startled her, and she instinctively shut her eyes. But she could sense a warmth nearby. Opening an eye, she glanced across the blurry room. Something glowing. Slightly relieved to witness the light again, Twilight cautiously made her way towards the wall. There was a glass chamber, and in it was a glowing substance- a neon blue color. As she grew closer, her attention caught a label, carved in what smelled like rusted metal. Straining to read the engraved words, her vision slowly adjusted to the little light in the building. Subject XXXX1 Status: Uncured Recovery: Failed The rest, including the date, and everything else, was faded out or rusted over. Her ears pressed against her skull, as an eerie sensation crept up her spine. Someone else had been there... It was cold, and growing colder and closer; it was following her. There was almost no sound, except for her shuddered breaths. She felt it echo in the back of her mind, bounding around, but shocked to stillness, suddenly fearing for her life. As if she could never turn her back on anyone-- "I... don't like this place--" Twilight swiveled around with a yelp, and backed against the small wall space between the glass chamber and the desk. Eyes flicked over in front of her as her stomach heaved in and out. Then... Everything was okay... No... No it wasn't. As her eyes met with faintly glowing green ones, her heart removed itself from her throat. The Alicorn held her chest and caught up with her breathing. "Y-you..." Her dotted vision cleared away, as she took a final round of inhales and exhales. "...you scared me to death!" Her eyes were still somewhat in shock, while the halfa seemed almost disturbed. He also seemed sincerely apologetic for the startle, and if he really was, a word wasn't said about it. Unconsciously, his fingers gripped the ends of luminous white hair. "Ugh.. look, can we please get out of here? I really don't--" ..RRRRRR.. The sound was deep enough to vibrate the floor. Twilight shrunk down, ears flat against her head once again. "...A ghost?" As of on cue, from both sides of the room, from two hallways, emerged 3 ferocious creatures. Subjects. "No... No, it can't be-- I haven't --" unable to choke out the rest of his sentence, a wisp of glowing blue mist escaped. Not having much time to complain, Twilight started dependently towards the exit. Her quivering hooves and blurring vision hadn't made her attempt to escape the building to easy. The mare suddenly stopped dead in her tracks as a loud, menacing rumble sounded from the roof. Backing up slowly, eyes glued to the ceiling, she felt a cold surface brush against her flank. She'd backed into a counter. Danny found his fingers twitching anxiously, as if there was something that could have been done, like the solution was just barely out of reach. Suddenly, a bar over head hung loose off it's hinges and clanged to the floor with an ear piercing crackle. The exit was only partially blocked, Twilight being the first to notice this. Her ears perked up, eyes brightened. "T-the exit... we can-" As if to tease, dust began to rain from the ceiling, as flakes, and soon, chunks of the wall started crashing down. A distant sound of a roar of pain came from beneath the rubble. Both exchanged frightened glances. "Y-You go! I'll catch up!" Danny called out, voice barely over the sound of the building falling apart, crashing and clanking to the floor like thunder. "Are you insane? You're gonna get--" "Just go! Trust me!" Without another word, Twilight gritted her teeth, and sprinted out, through a small gap where the rubble hadn't fallen. The rumbling only got louder, and louder, allowing her hooves to take her as fast as possible. The door was almost there, she had almost made it... A blade of glass slipped from the ceiling, and made contact with the floor in seconds. There was a loud sound, as if lightning had struck glass, and shards flew. Shielding herself with a wing, Twilight waited in agony, before she could muster up the courage to remove her 'shield'. She stared back, Danny completely out of sight. Then she ran. Focus was something that she had no control of whatsoever, and as she grew just inches from the glass door, she broke through it, head first. Nothing was clear anymore. Nothing made sense; all it was now was just a blur and a bundle of confusion. Then she was red-- dark, crimson, red. It was everywhere-- all over the dirt, splattered as if someone had been brutally murdered. She couldn't see the sky anymore. It was gone. Like it had been torn out from the sky itself, and it was all just a black abyss. It was melting. Then Twilight looked down and saw the the world was melting, too. The ground had dropped from underneath her, and she was falling. Her head spun, wanting to scream, but she couldn't open her mouth. She was dead, and so was everyone else. He had won. Then she stopped falling, and at the sudden hault, the sound of a thunderous crash sounded, then it was over. But the war had yet to begun.