Daniel pressed his hand against the large, grey doorknob.
"It's finally coming to an end..." He mumbled, the Shadow grumbled behind him, as if impatient for him to finish off Alexander. He opened the door, walked inside, and a strong gust shut the door behind him. There he was, the man he hated so badly, floating in the air, Alexander.
"I was wondering if you were going to show up." He said, Daniel glared at him.
"I see Agrippa convinced you to run some 'errands'- tell me, is everything nice and clear now? Am I the villain?" Daniel stopped glaring at him, and looked down at the floor in guilt. Thinking of the things he had done, how many lives he had taken to save his own skin.
"-Good, and evil... such comforting concepts, but hardly applicable." Alexander continued, Daniel looked up at him.
"-are you so blind, that you see no good in me, or evil in Agrippa?" Alexander said, accusingly. Daniel looked down at Agrippa's severed head- still alive, somehow. His hollow eyes moving under his bald forehead. He let out a "Ummph!" to Daniel. Daniel had promised to free Agrippa, earlier; he had to sever his head to do so, ironically. Daniel looked around the orb chamber, looking for the ancient blue artifact. There, on a pedestal, being zapped by three pylons, was the damned thing he brought back from Africa. Suddenly, one of the pylons gave a burst, Daniel jumped slightly. He walked towards it- and knocked it over.
"No, don't do that!" Alexander said, Daniel glared up at him again. Alexander's expression softened- almost to that of a pastor in his church.
"I realize you doubt my intentions- why would I take such extreme measures to save your life? Maybe, I'm saving mine to." He said, then, everything became clear to Daniel: what he stood to gain. Why he helped Daniel to the extent of killing people. Why he tricked him into doing these wicked things... He looked down at the floor, it felt like hours to him. His shoulders hurt- not from holding Agrippa, but from the weight of the cruel world pressing down on him... he realized it was his fault. Not Alexander's... Was it?
"Do you see it Daniel?" Alexander asked- and a ring of blue light appeared above the orb.
"A whole other world! Isn't it beautiful? I can finally return- home..." Alexander said. The ring collapsed in on itself and became this swirling blue mess of energy- a portal. Daniel stared in awe.
"-But you..." Alexander continued, Daniel looked up at him.
"I am sorry, Daniel. You won't be able to enter. You are still tainted -branded by the shadow. It will consume you either way." Alexander said, then, voices played back in Daniel's mind:
"I'm Innocent!"
"No! Get away from me!"
"No! Please don't take me- nobody ever returns!"
"No! Please I beg you!"
"No... no please! I'll do anything! Whatever you want! Anything...! I'll do anything...! I'm Innocent!
Then, his rage and shame got the best of him. He hurled Agrippa into the portal, the shadow roared.
"No, you fool! You have ruined us!" He yelled, the shadow roared and began to sink into the inner sanctum. Alexander screamed in pain- then, exploded into mist. Daniel felt triumph- but not for so long. The shadow roared again, and approached Daniel, the slime began to consume his leg.
"AH! NO! AHHHHH!" Daniel shouted, but his screams were silenced- and the shadow consumed him... he fell into darkness... then, Daniel saw lights in the distance.
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Twilight's Library
Twilight skimmed through page after page, her horn glowing constantly. She had received multiple books from Celestia the other day as gifts. She was intrigued by the legends that they spoke of; they were of ancient artifacts simply known as the "Orbs". She wanted to learn more about there origins and if there were any in Equestria. The curious thing about them was there presence in Equestrian history- in ancient times, they were held by alicorns as a symbol of their power. She closed the book as a knock at the door sounded. She walked downstairs to the door. At the door were her five friends: Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy. She invited them in.
"So, thanks for invitin' us for this sleepover, Twi!" Applejack said. They walked in.
"Yes. Thank you." Fluttershy said, smiling.
"Well, I'm glad to invite you! Come on, Let's get some lunch." They sat down and ate the salad Twilight had prepared for them.
"Your cooking skills are unmatched, Twilight. I'm impressed!" Rarity remarked, Twilight's face went red.
"Thank you." She said. Suddenly, the room became slightly dark.
"Hmm?" Rainbow dash said, still chewing on a bite of her salad. A barrage of dark clouds were forming outside.
"That's strange. I thought you said we weren't due for a storm today." Twilight said.
"I did! That's not coming from the factory... for that matter, that doesn't look natural at all..." She said, thunder and lightning roared in the clouds, the clouds formed a large circle in the afternoon sky, then, one, two, three lightning bolts struck down in the center of town, a large light could be seen from the distance. Everyone gasped, got up, and ran as fast as the could to town center.
A ball of blue, spiraling, fiery light had appeared. Everyone in town stared at it in awe. Then, it imploded on itself and opened up into a tall portal, the height of a sky scraper and the width of a house. But it was quiet. It didn't make a noise as it spread to it's full size. Then, they saw a shadow in the far corner of the portal... It was standing upright... it wasn't one of the residents. Orb-shaped balls of light floated around the entry to the portal, then, they heard a voice.
"There he is.... Do you see him, Weyer? He deserves so much more..." Everyone stood back, and the shadow started to walk towards them. They heard a muffled male's voice.
"Please, help him, I know you can." The voice continued. The shadow got very close to the entry, and revealed itself as a human, half asleep and badly injured.
"Don't worry, Daniel. It will be all right." The voice finished, the portal collapsed as did the human to the ground. The human was holding something about the size of a large apple- a blue stone orb. The crowd grew silent, all eyes were on the man laying there. This human wasn't from beyond the crystal mirror...
"I-is that a human?" One said, breaking the silence, and the crowd rambled. The man coughed violently.
"Someone, call the hospital!" Twilight yelled. As the Man was lifted into a hospital carriage, he clung onto the orb, as if his life depended on it.