Six Ways, Book 2: Duty

by the_bioXpony_guy

Chapter 1: Dwelling Spirit

"Onward!" cried Pinkie, bouncing through the grassy fields. "To the mythical island of Okoto!"

And then silence.

Twilight raised an eyebrow, as did Spike. The two Equestrians exchanged a nervous glance, since nobody else seemed to hear what Pinkie had just said. Breaking the awkward silence, Twilight sauntered up to Pinkie's side and asked, "Uh—Pinkie Pie?"

The pink pony ceased hopping. "Yeah, Twilight?"

"I know we've been over this approximately—" She took a moment to count the times. “—no, exactly eighty-three times, but we're going to Mata-Nui, not to these places you keep saying.

A dash of red flowed to Pinkie's face. "Hehe—sorry! But that wasn't just some place I made up; it was some place I dreamed about."

Hearing such absurdity, some of the other ponies in the group listened in.

"A dream, huh?" wondered Applejack with a smile, coming to her friend's side. "So you're sayin' you dreamt about a fantasy land last night?" In an instant, she turned her gaze down to the ground. Her smile flipped into a frown as she mumbled, "I knew I shouldn't've given them that cider last night."

Of all ponies, Fluttershy came stepping toward Pinkie when she said, "I had a dream not that long ago—yet it feels like it's been forever since I last saw my Teridax."

Again, Fluttershy? thought Twilight. She had prayed for Fluttershy's talk of Teridax to end after a week, but apparently he still haunted her dreams. I hope the effects of that rock wear off soon—and the sooner the better! The last thing we need on this journey is for one of us to fall into madness... again.

"—hey Twilight, hellooooo!" It was Rainbow Dash.

Seeing the blue pony's face pop into her field of view brought Twilight back to reality with a start. "Ah!" she yelped. "Oh—Rainbow, don't startle me like that!"

A brief "Sorry," escaped the pegasus before she asked, "So—how're you liking that book?"

"Actually," began Twilight, using her magic to pull the red record from her bag. "I haven't really properly read through it yet. At this point, all I've done is skim." Almost subconsciously, she passed it to the pegasus' open hooves.

Rainbow Dash snorted. Pretty much sums up how I read it.

At that moment, Spike awoke from his two-hour nap, finding himself perfectly balanced on Twilight’s flank. "Huh—what about a book?" He rubbed his eyes and witnessed the crimson box in Dash's hooves. "What's the book about?"

Hmm…how to explain this to a kid? Thinking about that made the pegasus purse her lips and shake her head. After a small pause, she sighed and said, "Boring stuff, Spike. Boring stuff."

As the group of ponies pushed further forward through the field, they found themselves passing one hill after another, wondering every time what would be on the other side of every hill. Every time they reached a peak, they hoped to find the supposed entrance to this new world. Most of the time they found little more than a bunch of grass. But at one point or another, the lot of them found themselves standing before what looked like a broken Stonehenge.

"Whoa!" gasped Rainbow Dash. "It doesn't look like anybody's been living here since Celestia was born, am I right?"

But rather than reply to the witty remark, Twilight stopped right here she was. There's that feeling again. For what felt like the first time in a century, she felt her entire body freeze. Every bone in her body came to a halt, every joint stiffened, every muscle suddenly ached; everything around the unicorn saw her as an open target.

The demons of her past, present, and future watched intently as Twilight left herself open to an attack. With every breath she took, the air around her seemed to grow colder and colder; though she couldn’t move her head, Twilight could twitch her ears and sense the evil in her life floating around like spores in the wind.

In her vulnerable state, the pony sensed a light tingle running up the side of her neck. Pointed, vaporous fingers poked and tickled her exposed skin—and as much as she wanted to smack away the creatures doing so, she couldn’t muster the strength to fight back.

This is a little game of ours, called an unfamiliar voice.We see how long it takes before you lose. It’s very simple for us, but very much a different story if you’re it.

This isn’t happening! thought Twilight, attempting to shake and remove herself from the horrifying aura surrounding her. I’ve got to get out!

With a snap back to reality, Twilight shook her head blinked a few times. The vision came to a close, but she wouldn’t be satisfied with just that. She took a few steps—all the while praying her visions would never come back. Just thinking of them made her ears fold back. Those things—they’re like the Teridax rock, but even worse!

Her mind poisoned, Twilight witnessed as Rarity shuddered—as if an ice-cold snake had slithered down her spine. “Oh dear,” she said. “Oh dear—I feel something…something I haven’t felt since Fluttershy—” Rarity let out a gasp and turned toward her friend. Almost immediately she began to witness as images of that dreadful morning came rushing back. She, like Twilight, found herself backpedaling.

It didn’t take long for the lot of them to stop moving forward; not much longer still, all of them stopped pursuing the rocky area and merely stood back—as if waiting for the ruined Stonehenge to come to life and crush the ponies beneath its weight.

After a long moment of silence, Fluttershy—of all the ponies in the world—pushed onward. Onward, she pushed through the invisible force field keeping the others away, onward and toward the rocks.

Oh no, thought Twilight.

Just as those thoughts entered Twilight’s head, Fluttershy’s ears perked. She turned just enough to see Twilight from the corner of her eye when she asked, “What is it, Twilight?”

At that, the unicorn found herself frozen again. Uh oh—was that out loud?

Apparently, Fluttershy didn’t notice the lack of movement in Twilight’s jaw—for she merely proceeded to say, “Yes, Twilight—that was out loud. Don’t be rude; just follow me.”

Sweat began draining down the side of Twilight’s face. “But—but I didn’t say anything, Fluttershy!”

“She’s right, Sugarcube,” added Applejack as she came up to Twilight’s side. “I think it’s just the aftereffects of cider.”

Now Fluttershy noticed that she, too, had sweat building along her brow. "B-but," she began to stammer, "but I know what I heard! Twilight, didn't you just say, 'oh no?'"

Unsure how to respond, Twilight found herself stammering, as well. "Well, I mean—I guess I said it in my thoughts." The pony raised an eyebrow when she asked, "How did you hear it, though?"

Before Fluttershy had any chance to respond, that familiar voice crawled back into her head. Let me guide you, Fluttershy.

Teridax? she asked, her pupils dilated. It was as if her ex-spouse had returned to remarry her. What are you still doing in my head?

I have always been in your head, he replied. Only now my presence is stronger than ever before.

Already Fluttershy could hear the stifled tears begging to escape from her eyes. What do you want from me? she said, her breath growing heavier and heavier by the second.

A low chuckle seemed to rumble from within the depths of the pony’s mind. Only this, he began. Know that now you are with me, and now that you have proven your worth to me, I have given you the ability to look into the hearts and minds of those around you—so you can finally see what they think of you.

Fluttershy gasped. That’s why I could hear Twilight when she said “oh no;” it’s because of you!

Be ignorant no more, my little pony!