//------------------------------// // The darkness within... // Story: One Trip We Didn't Plan // by That Pegasus Over There //------------------------------// One Trip We Didn't Plan Chapter 19 Kevin and Celestia waited outside the dungeon cell where Luna and Doug were. Kevin was concerned for his friend and he couldn't tell what Celestia thought of the situation. She had been relatively quiet the entire way to the dungeon. Then they heard it. Doug's scream as the mane six used the Elements of Harmony on him. The rainbow of colors shone under the door as the two stood by with the guards. "What is she doing to him?!" "Thank you Discord..." Celestia muttered under her breath. "Twilight and her friends are purging Doug of any chaos that may lie within him by using the Elements of Harmony. Hence the rainbow lights." She motioned with a hoof to the spectrum of light spilling forth underneath the heavy dungeon door. "It sounds like they're killing him." Kevin said worried. "They probably are." Discord quipped from Celestia's pastel mane. He poked his small head out. "You know, Celestia, it probably wasn't the smartest thing to use one of the most magical artifacts in all of Equestria on a species thats never interacted with magic." "I'm sure he'll be fine, Discord. He was very receptive to Luna's spell." "That's why we're here in the first place!" Kevin shouted. "You princesses know nothing about us! You think you're all-wise and all-powerful, but you don't know shit!" Kevin glared at Celestia. "I'm going to go see my friend, whether you like it or not." He walked up to the heavy door and oped it. The guards were about to stop him, but Celestia waved them off. As Kevin opened the door he was greeted by a bright white light. "Doug?! You alright?" As the light faded, Kevin saw Doug unconscious on the floor. Twilight and her friends were huddled around him while Luna was in a corner. She appeared to be sleeping. "What did you do to him!?!" "We just used the Elements of Harmony on him." Twilight responded nervously. "Its never had this effect before, sugercube. Did we do somethin' wrong?" "It sounds like you killed him!" Kevin screamed. He brought himself to his full height over the ponies who cowered away from his friend. "w-we're sorry. W-we d-didn't know i-it would do that." Fluttershy sobbed. "Alright!" Rainbow Dash flew up to Kevin's face and belted at him. "You can be upset about your friend, but don't pick on mine!" "I don't think he is dead, darling. He is still breathing." Rarity insisted. "Just look at his chest." "Rarity is right, he's still alive!" Twilight exclaimed. "But what you did to him sounded excruciating. You're lucky he's okay." "Is that a threat?" Celestia poked her head in the doorway. "I'd hate to see something happen to you in a land full of magic." Kevin understood what Celestia said: an unspoken warning. "Yes. Ma'am." "Would you all be quiet! I'm trying to hear what's going on!" Pinkie Pie remarked. She had pulled another bucket of popcorn from seemingly nothing. "It's about to get really good!" Everyone shrugged off Pinkie's comment as Pinkie just being Pinkie. Celestia noticed Luna sitting in the corner. "I believe we'll have our answers soon, my little ponies." :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Doug ran down a hallway being chased by a tidal wave of white liquid. A cane in hand, he was dressed in a top hat and suit that looked like it should've been in back 1850's and not on him. The end of the hallway was in sight. Two large doors sat at the end and were his only hope for escaping the milky flood chasing him. Almost there...just a little more... He pushed open the doors with ease and closed them again. He used his cane to lock the doors together just as the flood hit. The doors bent outwards, but did not let any of the substance through. As Doug sighed with relief, he drew the hidden sword from its cane-sheath and walked onwards into the room. It was a circular room with large window panes looking out into space. As Doug stepped closer to the center he could have sworn that he had seen it before. As he looked back at the doors he had come from, they had disappeared and been replaced with a singular window identical to the other ones in the room. "I know this place, but what's it from? I swear its in a game or something." Doug said puzzled. He looked outside at the beautiful colors of galaxies and nebulas. The beauty of space did not last. A dark mist pooled in front of the windows effectively blocking out the gorgeous view. The mist seeped through the windows and pooled on the ground in front of Doug. Five other black pools formed at other windows. Doug backed to the center of the room as each of the misty pools formed silhouetted humans. The only color in each of them was their eyes: purple, white, cyan, yellow, orange, and pink. "Fan freaking-tastic. Shadows." He reached into his coat and pulled out an old six-shot revolver in his left hand. "You want me? Come and get me." The shadow monstrosities leaped at him. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Luna watched from the ceiling as Doug battled the shadow beasts. Weaving and bobbing between them, using his sword to slice the beasts, seldom firing a shot from the strange L-shaped device. Every time it looked like he had bested one of the creatures though, it evaporated and reformed a few paces away. The battle raged on for a few minutes, and Doug was growing tired. Luna could see his once crisp movements growing sloppy and his strikes wild. At this point, Doug had used the strange device five times. The six shadows surrounded him and leaped upon him all at once. They effectively brought him to the floor and covered him in a tar-like substance before amalgamating into one being and standing back up. "It's been fun, but I think it's time we end this. It's been going on for far too long." The shadow kneeled down into Doug's back and he screamed. It merged with him, putting its legs where his were and its arms where his were. As it melded with him, a light shone from the ceiling next to Luna. Each of the six melded into him. A figure clad in white hooded robes and a broadsword descended from a bright light in the ceiling. "You run from Harmony but to what? Your demons and chaos?" The figure asked. It sounded familiar to Luna, but she couldn't place it. "Yesss..." The shadow-Doug responded as it stood up. "You don't know how it feels to be human. To have to constantly fight your impulses day in and day out." "We do know. And we will set you free!" The figure spun its sword around and stabbed at Doug, but it hit nothing but black mist. The shadow reformed Doug away from the figure sword and revolver in hand. "You're going to have to do a lot better if you want him." Luna noted that Doug didn't look or sound the same when he reformed from the smoke. His eyes glowed and back streaks ran down his arms like tattoos. His voice sounded deeper and scratchier. What happened to him? What is he? Luna thought to herself. "You forget, humans are animals. Animals without mercy!" The nega-Doug raised the revolver and fired at the white figure hitting it square in its head. The figure fell to its knees before collapsing. Its hood fell from its face to reveal a natural Doug- one without the black marks and glowing eyes. "n-no..." "Yesss." "I-I just shot..." "Yourssself. Yes." Luna watched in shock as the thing argued with itself. Its voice switching between Doug's and the shadow's. Then Luna realized it, why the white figure's voice sounded so familiar. It was Twilight and all her friends. But she couldn't help but wonder why they were coming from and embodiment of the human boy. Could it be the Elements? "GET OUT OF ME!" Doug screamed as he tore at the black markings on his arms. To Luna's surprise, he pulled them off like a sticker and threw them against a wall where they made a copy of exactly how he was. "Oh, come now boy." A shadowy sword forming in its hand, "do you really think you can best me? Even after you killed the elements within you?" "Get out..." "Excussse me?" "I said, 'GET OUT!' " Doug charged the shadow of himself. He fought with renewed vigor and anger; his eyes glowing blue. Luna had no doubt that the slitted pupils were there as well. She had to end this nightmare needed to end before things got any worse. But before she could do anything, the two were fighting. Doug started with an overhead strike which was easily deflected by the doppleganger. Doug drew his sword close to deflect a counter strike and lunged forward. The clone blocked the jab with by rotating its sword downward and knocking Doug's sword away. "Game. Set. Match. You lose, boy." The doppleganger held out its left hand as if to fire a spell when the room shook violently. The glass cracked and the floor started to give way to a void. "Tootaloo~" The doppleganger shot Doug with a burst of magic from its hand. As Doug fell into the void, he felt nothing but pain. A burning pain that spread over his entire body. With a jolt, he was awake. Staring up at the ceiling at Kevin. "Hey man. How ya feel?"