Author's Note: While I'm finishing up with this story, I'm also working on the first Twilight Sparkle: The First Element. It may be the first in a franchise that I like to think of as the Avengers of the MLP world.
Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic or The Number 23, the cool movie this story is based on.
The Number 22
Chapter 18
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Rarity, unbeknownst to me, had gotten hold of Dr. Whooves' ID card and was headed for the address: Ponyville's abandoned asylum.
"What will I find here? Will it help Twilght...or bring her more suffering?"
She arrived at the sanatarium, most likely nervous. I mean, how often do you see the town's fashionista walking into a loony bin? It was probably a new experience to her....Since the place was abandoned, she wouldn't have any trouble dealing with any kind of guards....But, as many ponies who explore abandoned asylums always say, the voices of the past residents can still be heard no matter how long the place has been closed. I read about it in a book.....Though, ever since the curse started, I haven't really been able to enjoy books anymore.....She got in with no trouble at all, the door's lock rusted away. The dark, deserted hallways sent chills up her spine as she slowly made her way to the room at the end. Looking at the empty cells, her mind went wild as she pictured the past residents banging against the bars, screaming to be let out. She finally arrived at her destination: the main office, shared in the past by the Whooves brothers.
"Okay, Rarity,...you're here.....Now, whatever you might find,....I don't want you to panic...."
She opened the door ever so slowly, not knowing what she might run into.....or what might run into her.
"Wait! This-This can't be right!"
It was just a regular-looking office....Nothing odd about it....Nothing stood out whatsoever...It was as if it was mocking her, daring her to look around only to come up with nothing.
"This can't be the right office!...Maybe I'm at the wrong asylum..."
But, no....She wasn't mistaken. She was in the right place....The place just didn't have the right answer.....But, determined to find something, she still decided to take a small look around....But, just a small look....The dust that had gathered in the room was starting to creep her out.....I swear, she could be such a wuss sometimes.
"Ugh...This room could certainly use a woman's touch!"
She tried the desk drawers, but found them locked. She tried to use her magic, but it had no effect. The Whooves had placed a spell on the locksfor them so that nopony could access them but them.
"Darn...You'd think he would have given me the keys since he was, after all, dying!"
Suddenly, she noticed a small bulge in the rug. Being the careful and clean person she was, she just couldn't let it stick up like it was. She used her magic, not wanting to touch it with her hooves, to try and straighten it out, but found it was attached to the floor. She picked up the dusty rug, still using her magic, and set it down gently on the other side of the room, not wanting to kick up a massive dust cloud in the room. When she looked back at the floor, she found the bulge to be a handle....attached to a small door in the floor.
"What's this?! Could it lead to the basement?"
She found it to be locked too, but, curious to see what was down there, slammed her hooves hard onto the door. Being old and worn-out wood, it broke with ease. She quickly regained her balance to keep from falling through. Unfortunately, the kick had brought up a large cloud of dust.
"AH! Dreadful dust! Ugh, I hate you!...Hate you!!"
She quickly hurried down through the door, desperate to get away from the dirty office. As soon as she got down the steps, she came to a metal door. It had a large metal lock on it. It was emitting a pinkish glow, which meant that it was, like the drawers, enchanted. However, this was a much more powerful enchantment.
"Darn it! I came down here just to find the door locked! Damn it!.....NO! I will not let Twilight down! Doctor Whooves had to have given me something!"
It turns out he had. He may not have given her the keys to the drawers, but he did give her the key to the door.
"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!!"
After unlocking the door, she opened it and entered the room. She flicked the light switch on, thankful that it still worked,....and gasped at what she saw.
"What the....?!"
It was totally different from the first room. For starters, it wasn't a rooom...It was a cell.....A single bulb,...a blood-red bulb, cast an eerie, hellish glow around the room, making shadows dance over the walls as if they were demons....There was no type of furniture whatsoever, not even a desk. And, oddest of all,...the walls were covered in writing. Upon closer inspection, Rarity found it all to be equations,.....equations that all equalled 22.
"Not that number! What could Doctor Whooves possibly want me to gain from seeing all this?!"
She then found that the problems weren't all in the same handwriting.....Two different ponies were in here together....Plus, the problems weren't written very neatly....Some of them overlapped each other, some were written very quickly, and some were a lot bigger than the others.
"Who could be this obsessed with it?!.....Wait a minute!....It had to be....the Whooves!.....But,....how?.....How did they come in contact with the curse?!....And why would they grow so obsessed withi it that they would lock themselves in their own cell?!!"
A million questions were probably flashing through her head and the room was most likely freaking her out every minute more that she was in there.....It was then that she noticed the box.
"Huh? What could that be for?"
It was very odd for a box to just be sitting in the middle of a cell. She expected it to be one of the Whooves' lunchboxes....But, when she picked it up,....she was shocked at what it said.
"Twilight?!!"
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Chapter 18
Upon Closer Inspection
Yes, I know....I said that I should be out trying to figure out the number and that I shouldn't just be sitting around reading the book,...but I really didn't no where else to start...So, I just came back to the book of hell itself.
What could these visions mean?!!...What are they trying to tell me?!!"
"Oh, don't worry about it. They mean nothing to you.....They're just popping up in your head because the curse has gotten you all stressed out-"
"SHUT UP!! I'm not relying on you to answer my questions!!"
"....Think of them as "hallucinations."
"YOU'RE NOT EVEN LISTENING TO ME!!"
"I am listening to you, Twilight, but I thought you didn't want my opinion on what you did."
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!"
"....You know,....you can't keep resisting us forever....Pretty soon, you're gonna have to give in and, when you do, we'll be right there to guide you to the afterlife..."
"You're messing with my mind! You're trying to distract me from my main goals!"
"And what are your main goals, Twilight?"
".....Well,....um...."
"That is,....if you have any main goals..."
He was onto something there....I didn't know what to do....I was completely stumped on how to respond to my previous visions.....and I was alone.
"I have no one....."
"Aw....You'll always have us, Twilight."
"No....No, I won't!! I'm gonna find a way to destroy this curse once and for all! And, when I do, you'll be the one going into the afterlife!!"
"Such a bold threat....Can you back it up?..."
I had no idea.....What was I going to do?.....Then it hit me.
"I know exactly what to do!"
It had just hit me. Since I was a long-time researcher, the curse had to mess with me with the main thing my life had been about: books. I had an old list stored in my room, a list of every single book I had ever read in my life."
"Woah! The book knows about my list!"
I had known it would come in handy someday,....but I never imagined it would help me with this.....I pulled out the incredibly long piece of old parchment, written on by many types of ink, old and new, and skipped to the piece of information I was looking for.
"The 22nd book I've read in my life!....My Life: The Story of Celestia."
Luckily, I still had that old book and I found it on one of my shelves easily. I opened it quickly and began scanning the pages.
"If I'm right,....every 22nd word on every 22nd page should spell out a message."
And it did.
"Now, then....If I put all these words together,....I will get....this!....Go to Celestia's Park and you'll find your answer. I warn you, though, Twilight, death awaits you there. Go if you dare."
I remember when I was a little filly. My daddy would always tell me lessons to remember....I remember one very clearly....."You'll find your answers back where you began."
"Oh, great, now the book's even referencing Discord!"
"Now that statement's being put to use. Celestia's great-granddaughter was Lady Gumdrops....The one who got me hooked on researching!.....And Celestia is the reason I got started on learning magic!.."
The curse wanted me to go to a place I had never heard of when it had just gotten through taunting me that I wasn't gonna make it through this....I had a feeling not to trust it.....But what other choice did I have?
"This is crazy! The book's referencing Discord, and talking about not only a secret list that I keep, but a book that I have!"
I decided to go check out the book....I was gonna try the same thing Hoofling,..or rather "Twilight," did....When I finished circling the words, I found it to read the exact same message.
"I've got to go there. It's the only lead I have.....Rarity, wherever you are,....wish us luck..."
End of Chapter 18!
Author's Note: I'm almost finished with this. But, since I'm working on my other story, I may not make as many regular updates as I used to. Just a few more chapters....And remember, ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN!!