Chapter 8: Dark Temptation
Nick was the first to step into the entry below the obelisk, and onto the stairway, covered with sand. "Careful," he cautioned, helping Twilight and Fluttershy enter. "It's a bit slick," he said as Pinkie slid in, being caught by Twilight.befor she could fall too far down. "Can anypony light the way?" he asked, helping Pinkie to her hooves.
"I got it," said Twilight, whose horn illuminated suddenly. With a flash, the walls seemed to illuminate a bit, marking their path clearly.
"I suppose that works, too..." chortled Nick.
They made their way slowly down the stairs, Twilight first, then Fluttershy, followed by Nick, and finally Pinkie. After what Nick said was five minutes, the staircase opened into a rather large hallway. at the end sat a short pillar, topped with a plaque of silver. Beyond that, a pit that seemed to go on for eternity. At the very center of this pit, stood a pedestal, bearing an ebony statue. Twilight, being in front, read the plaque aloud to the other three.
My treasure is not yours for the taking. First, you must go through a challenge of my choosing. This is what I have deemed as a worthy challenge to test your will. Only one who may rival my darkest minion may have any chance of success.
"Probably just a warning to frighten off the supersti--" started Twilight, but was interrupted by a loud screech emanating from the wall. A small, dim light ran up the wall, then splt into two that headed in opposing directions, then headed downward, until it touched the floor, where it stopped screeching. A dim circle began to glow above it,, grey on the border, but black inside, to match the wall.
"I suppose that's just superstition, then?" joked Pinkie, walking over to it and opening the door, for it was a door being carved into the wall that had made the screeching noises.
"Very funny," growled Twilight, taking her place as leader again. Below the door, there was a small patch of text, glowing dimmer than the walls, and easy to miss, which they all did. It read, 'keep morality in mind.'
The moment the four had entered the door, it slammed shut. Pinkie giggled a bit, but Fluttershy crouched and froze. After some comforting words, she was back on her feet, though, and ready to go on. They walked for about five minutes before Twilight suddenly spun around.
"SHUT UP!!!" she shouted, Fluttershy getting the brunt of her voice. This froze Fluttershy to the ground, and she started weeping in fear. Twilight stormed off ahead, growling under her breath about talking behind her back. Pinkie rushed after her, wanting an explanation for the uncalled for outburst, while Nick stayed behind to comfort Fluttershy.
"I'm sure she didn't mean anything by it, Shy. She was probably stressed from walking all day yesterday, and over this whole event."
"I know, but..." Fluttershy said between sobs. "Why would she even say that?"
Nick pulled Fluttershy into a hug, rubbing her back, trying to calm her down. "Shhh, it's probably nothing to worry about. Pinkie's going to talk to her, and sort out this whole mess."
Fluttershy leaned into Nick, who had sat down with his back against the wall. She lay down her neck on his lap, her tears flowing into his jeans. Nick continued to rub at her back and forelegs, rocking back and forth to help calm her down. Her crying turned to soft sobs, which grew farther apart as time went on.
'Violate her.'
Nick could have sworn someone was behind him, even though his back was against the wall. He looked up and down the long hallway, which seemed to stretch forever in either direction, but saw nothing either way. Then he heard the voice speak again.
'There's no one here to see. Violate her.'
It was louder his time. He could distinguish it as a male voice, but not quite human or pony. It seemed to growl at him as it spoke.
'She won't say anything. She trusts you completely. Not to mention her weak emotional status right now. No one would ever know.'
Nick spun his head around, trying to move as little as possible, so as not to disturb Fluttershy.'It just wouldn't be right' he reasoned.
'Who cares about right and wrong? You desire her. You must have her!' shouted the voice.
'I refuse to do so!' shouted Nick in his mind.
'Fine. If you refuse,' sad the voice with a snarl, 'Then I will!' A black tendril burst from the wall behind him and coiled around his right wrist, pulling it toward Fluttershy's flanks. Nick pulled back, seemingly with sheer willpower alone.
'It's wrong!' he shouted, pulling back as hard as he could.
'Wrong and right are illusions. There is only personal gain!' shouted the voice right back. Five minutes did they do battle, before Pinkie and Twilight came back, and the tendril was disspelled, allowing Nick to release the tension in his arm.
"Fluttershy?" said Twilight, looking as if she were on the brink of tears herself. Flutterhy looked up at Twilight, but said nothing. "I'm sorry for shouting at you earlier. Something came over me, and I just lashed out at you. I'm so very sorry. Will you ever forgive me?"
Fluttershy, without a word, stood up and walked over to Twilight. There was a calm on her face that was beyond description, and she stopped about a foot away from where Twilight stood. The two ponies just stared at one another for a short moment, before Fluttershy jumped at Twilight, embracing her in a tight hug. Tears streamed down both of their faces, happy to have forgiven, and been granted forgiveness in return. "I already have," was all that Fluttershy said.
"So what was wrong with Twilight?" Nick asked Pinkie, as he stood up.
"Can you believe it? She said she was hearing a voice in her head. A voice! Isn't that the silliest thing you've ever heard?"
"Yeah.. Silly..." Nick said, scratching the back of his head.
"Well, well, well..." Said the voice in Nick's head, though this time, all present could hear it.
"That was the voice!" shouted Twilight, cowering down right alongside Fluttershy.
"It seems that you've been able to exceed the will of my greatest follower." An entity seemed to float out of the floor in front of them. It was humanoid in structure, but only his arms were visible beneath his cloak. Black feathers grew from them in differing sizes. Inside his hood, there seemed to be two glowing yellow eyes, directly above a snout protruding from the end. Its lips were twisted into a malicious smile, showing its maw, laden with razor-sharp teeth. "Very well. I grant you passage. But beware. There are darker deities than simply myself to do battle with. They will not be so easy."
"Do you have any information on where the others are?" vasked Nick, forcing his question onto the savage-looking entity.
"Now, now, young sinner." said the creature. "I do know of the others, but it is ot my will to tell. Now, I grow weary of this world. Mayhap I'll find some stronger followers in another." He slowly descended through the floor again. "And, Twilight, when you next see Princess Luna, tell her Shumbra sends his regards." At he very end of the sentence, a door suddenly snapped to right behind where he had been standing It swung open, revealing the black statue atop its pedestal, a bridge now connecting it to the main hallway, where they had entered.Nick picked it up, and lead the others down the path, and back up the stairs, out of that dark place, once and for all. It had been quite taxing, and had seemed to alter the minds of any that stepped into it. Turns out, some stories prove true.
They arrived back at the camp, and, though Nick's watch read four in the morning, Braeburn was standing in the middle of the camp, looking calm, yet angry at the same time. "What the Hay were you thinking?" he scolded. "Going in there without any knowledge of the place? No idea what to expect, having been warned about the evil that emanates from there, and you still went in. You're a danger to everypony around you now. I'm afraid you can't go back to Apploosa."
He pulled a pair of hoofcuffs from his vest and approached Twilight, strapping hers on first, then Pinkie, then Fluttershy. When he approached Nick, he stared at his wrists. They weren't thae same as hooves. Could the same rules apply? Then he noticed Nick's hands. His right wrist was bound in black, and his left index finger had a line running from his fingertip to the palm of his hand. "What're those?" he asked, pointing them out to Nick, who had only just seen them himself.
"I'm not sure. They're recent though." was Nick's only reply. Braeburn nodded. He then decided to try the hoofcuffs on Nick, and later remove them, if need be. He attached the left one with ease, but when he tried the right, the black band came to life, ripping at the metal, causing Braeburn to stumble backward as the chain dissolved in front of him. He tried again, with a different pair of cuffs. Same result.
"It seems I can't very well take you in." said Braeburn, scratching his head. "I guess that means I have ta follow you around and make sure you don't get into any more trouble." With that, he undid the locks on Fluttershy and Pinkie, while Twilight used a lockpicking spell from Akaitora's notes to undo her own, warranting a scowl from Braeburn, who just started packing up the camp. Since everypony was already up, they might as well get moving.
The time was just after nine when they reached where they had left the cart. Thankfully, it was still there, undisturbed.
"So where's our next destination? asked Twilight, prompting Nick to pull out the map of Equestria. Before he could unroll it though, There was a sudden outburst from an unlikely source.
"The Everfree Forest." said Fluttershy assertively. This caused Twilight to double back in surprise.
"Zecora already gave us all the information she had, Shy. She doesn't have any more."
"Well, um... " Fluttershy fiddled with her hair for a moment, then pulled out the note she had recieved the night before coming out. "Here."
Twilight grabbed it with her aura and opened it, reading it top to bottom. "When did you get this?" she asked.
"Um, the night before last, when Nick was over. He didn't leave anything else, as far as I could find."
Twilight pretended to consider it for a moment, then jovially agreed, soliciting a sigh from Braeburn. It was time for Twilight and Fluttershy to get reacquainted, as well as introduce Nick, Pinkie, and now, Braeburn. Nick curled into the cart, and was hauled off to the train station by Twilight and Fluttershy, accompanied by their two wards.