Hasty Notes sat in his office, he was exhausted. The time was approaching midnight, and Hasty wanted nothing more than to go home and rest. Only he couldn't, not since he was on that cursed ship...
Hasty wasn't sure what to do, was he sick? Overworked? Or was he really possessed? Maybe he was just going mad, but that didn't explain everything happening to him. The voice had been with him since he opened that urn on the ship. It started out as whispers, and then he would get blackouts. Now, he was having full on conversations with this voice, with his reflection even.
While Hasty wanted nothing more than to declare it stress related, he knew in his heart of hearts that the voice had a mind of its own...
"It's time..."
The voice said in his head. It was creepy, cunning, like a snake in the tall grass, it seemed to slitter into his thoughts without him even noticing. Now that it was there and had made itself known, he felt as if roots were growing inside his mind. Dark thoughts seeped into his head as the voice spoke.
"Leave me alone..." Hasty Notes said, rubbing his forehead.
"All in good time, Hasty. However I'm afraid I still require your services."
The voice sounded amused, which only irritated Hasty even more. "You're not real, you're just..." He hesitated. "My imagination."
"That didn't sound convincing." The voice actually chuckled. It was a dry and cold chuckle, and it sent shivers up Hasty's spine. "It does not matter, you are going to help me, even if you don't want to."
"Shut up..."
"Look at me!" The voice suddenly demanded, and Hasty felt how his body acted on its own, turning towards an old mirror on the wall. Hasty gasped, seeing himself smiling back at himself, his eyes glowing red. "Do you think you have any choice in the matter? No, from the moment you opened that urn, you became my puppet."
The mirror image smiled, but Hasty could feel that he himself did not smile. "What are you?"
"Something sealed away for a long time." The voice replied. "My spirit is still weak, but that will change in due time. Until then, I need you to run some errands for me."
"A spirit?" Hasty couldn't believe his own ears. Has he been cursed?? Why did he even open that stupid urn!? His eyes went wide as he suddenly realized something. "The urns, where are they?"
"I discarded them, they were no longer needed." The voice replied.
"But there were two, what was in the other?"
His reflection narrowed his eyes. "A nuisance, nothing you need to concern yourself with." Hasty wanted to protest, and demand an answer, but the voice continued before he had a chance to do so. "And we have work to do. The artifacts you collected, are they here at the museum?"
Hasty nodded. "Yes, but the professor has some scrolls on him, and he won't be back before next week."
His reflection glared. "No matter, we'll make do without them for now. Until then we can prepare."
"Prepare what? I don't understand."
"Nor will, scholar, not yet anyway. The only thing you need to know now is this. I do not intend to inhabit your body forever, but it will do as my vessel for now. I need a new body, but it will be better than the mortal body I had in the old days. But to get a new body, I need a few helpers, and you are going to help me get those helpers."
Hasty didn't like the sound of that. "Who are you going to call to help you, and what will you do once you get a new body?"
"That is not your concern, scholar."
"I think it is, and I'm not going to help you if yo-ARGH!!"
Hasty screamed, his head, it felt like it was going to split open. His mind, it was on fire, or at least it felt like it. Hasty fell to the floor, screaming in pain. Above him in the mirror, his reflection still stood calmly and looked down at him with disgust.
"Let me be clear with you, scholar." The voice said, his voice dripping with poison. "I am not asking for your help, I am demanding it. I can kill you, and I will if you defy me."
"Arggghh! STOP! PLEASE! ARGHHHhhhhh!!"
"That pain you're feeling now, it is nothing compared with what I will make you go through next time. I will kill you, but it will be slow, and you will be begging for death long before the first hour has passed." He smirked, almost looking amused as Hasty squirmed on the floor. "Unless you pledge yourself to me, do as I ask, and do not fail me. If you do that, I will let you live, and I'll even reward you. But, you don't..."
To his horror, Hasty felt the pain worsen, if that was even possible. It was like he could feel every vein in his body suddenly stretch, his muscles burning, and his throat closing, cutting off his air. His screams became this pathetic little croak. He couldn't move, or scream, he could only look up at his own demonic reflection, smiling back at him.
"Do we have an understanding, scholar?"
Somehow, maybe because the voice allowed it, Hasty nodded, and instantly he felt the pain stop. It was as if some sort of force had been holding him from within, he could feel the grip loosen, then vanish. Hasty gasped, panting as he laid there, too shocked to cry, or whine. He was beyond terrified, there were no words to describe what he was feeling.
His reflection smirked. "Now then, let's get to work."
Hasty wanted nothing more than to run away, but he knew it was hopeless. He could try to get help, but he'd likely be dead before he could even utter a word to anypony. He knew for certain that this spirit, whatever it was, whoever it was, would not loosen his grip on him before he had done its bidding. Likely he would kill him, if he did, then hopefully it would be done quickly and without pain...
By the stars, what horror had he unleashed..?