Chapter 6
I'd never seen Pinkie Pie so... somber. It was a little worrying, and considering the last twenty-four hours of my life, worrying was exactly what I didn't need. The rest of Twilight's friends, Zecora and I all gathered in the waiting room, making a small circle out of the seats. Everyone seemed to be focused on Zecora, but I was more inclined to watch Pinkie Pie for a while longer. She didn't seem to have the same twitchy feeling that I did, which was, hopefully, a good sign.
“I'm sure I don't need to tell you this; but something with Twilight is quite amiss. Young Pinkie Pie came straight to me; after your meeting with miss Ditzy,” Zecora explained.
“I was wonderin' why you'd off and ran out the door when things started getting' weird, Pinkie,” interjected Applejack. “Why didn't you say anythin' to us?”
Pinkie Pie looked up in surprise. “I did! I mean, I am! This is me saying the thing that you think I didn't say about going to see Zecora and finding out about all the weird creeptastic stuff going on!” She looked like she was going to say more, but Zecora raised a hoof, and she fell silent.
Ok, now I was really worried. It usually took food or a hoof in the mouth to stop Pinkie's verbal freight train.
The zebra continued, “In truth the delay was all my fault; It took quite some time to explore my vault. I'd heard, of course, of the troubles at hand; but those stories come from a distant land.”
I was waiting for her to finish her story, when Rainbow Dash interjected. “Wait, wait, wait. A vault?! You have a freakin' vault?! What for?!”
“It's what she calls her library,” said Fluttershy. I jumped a little, mainly because she was right beside me, and I forget she's there. She noticed my startled movement, and in true doormat fashion, apologized. “Oh, I'm sorry.”
There was some commotion as the group got sidetracked with the fact Zecora had a secret library stashed somewhere, and Fluttershy new about it. So much so that I got a little twitchy. “Will you all shut up?! I think we have more important things to discuss, like, I don't know, your friend in the hospital?!”
The guards gave me a look, and started walking towards me, but seeing as how everyone came to the consensus of “solve the problem” and settled down, they stopped halfway. Of course they just sat there and stared at us. Nothing creepy about that, boys.
Our Everfree native cleared her throat, and pressed on. “The stories come from a time long ago; they speak of madness and things below. The answers you seek are better left unsaid; be careful the things you let into your head. But it does not mean that help does not exist; it simply lies in the things betwixt. I can and would take to to where a 'cure' rests; but not all of you may come. It is for the best.”
Half the girls looked like they had headaches just from listening to her talk. Dash, especially. Since nopony else was saying anything right away, I asked, “Can I come?”
Zecora considered me for a moment, then shook her head. “It is best you avoid the realms that we travel; if not, then your mind may further unravel. I would take them to where these hidden beasts dwell. To avoid further contact, you would do well.”
After the three seconds it took to decipher that, I sunk further into my seat. “Don't poke the hornets nest after you're already stung. Got it.”
She just nodded, and smiled slightly. Then Rarity spoke up. “So why is it that only a few of us can go with you? We all want to help Twilight!”
Rainbow Dash jumped into the air. “That's right! I'm not leaving my friend hangin' when I can do something about it!”
“I don't think you should go, Dashie,” said Pinkie Pie. Everypony just kind of looked at her for a moment, Dash especially. The pegasus' mouth hung open in surprise. “Look, this... thing that Twilight's going through. Zecora explained some of it to me. I didn't get most of it, but the basic gist is... she's dying.” A collective gasp shook the room, and even the guards turned a paler shade of white. Of course, my first thought was “Well, FUCK”. But I didn't say that out loud. Pinkie pressed on. “Somepony needs to stay here and watch her. There's some... stuff you're gonna need to do, and I don't think any of us can do it. Well, maybe. I don't know. Like I said, I don't understand all of it, really. But something's... after Twilight. It's trying to kill her, and from what I can tell it's doing a really good job. We need somepony here to keep her alive. And sane. And you're probably the best for the job. For a few reasons.”
Either they'd never heard her say so many words at once they could actually understand, or the words “She's dying” actually started to sink in. One way or the other, everypony seemed to be getting the basic idea that this was not going to be a grand epic adventure. Rainbow Dash just fell to the ground, slowly, and sunk into her chair with a nod. It took a moment for anypony to say anything, and I was honestly surprised when it was me. “Ok, so who is going?”
Zecora looked around, nodded at a few ponies, and then looked to Pinkie Pie. “Me and Flutters and Zecora, I guess. Applejack and Rarity, I'm super sorry, but there's not a lot you can do. Maybe just try to keep Spike's head above ground? He can't be handling this any better than we are.”
The two mares in question nodded. “Of course,” Rarity said. “We'll keep an eye on little Spikey-Wikey.”
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After the little pow-wow we all had, the girls kind of huddled together to discuss the finer points of... whatever the hell they were planning. I found myself just kind of sitting back and watching everything, like usual.
It was starting to become a really annoying pattern. Whenever something major happened, it was always these girls that went off and fixed it. Everypony else just kind of sat side-saddle or did what they were told. Mind you, I'm not exactly jealous of having to face down ravenous monsters and insane gods and beasts from other worlds, but this time, I was kind of involved. And it didn't seem like I was doing much of anything, myself. So I decided to make myself involved.
“Zecora? Is there anything I can be doing? I mean, I know I can't go with them, but... well, I'm kind of involved now. Which I'm guessing you've already figured out.”
She nodded. “Indeed, I had pieced together your plight; I expect these events gave you quite a fright. I understand your need to act... and I have a task for you, matter of fact.”
My ears perked up. A small spark of hope flared in my stomach. Finally, a chance to be proactive about this whole “not losing my mind” thing. “Yeah? What's that?”
“The task I have is of importance most dire; for you, there is no priority higher. Now heed my words, and they will ease your strife; I daresay they may even save your life,” she said, taking a step towards me.
“Y-yes?” I said shakily. Somehow I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to be proactive anymore.
She stood muzzle to muzzle with me, and grabbed the back of my head with a hoof. Pulling her mouth to my ear, she said:
“Don't. Go. Home”