Wishing Well

by Nobrains

Book Two: Chapter Eleven

Book Two: Chapter Eleven

It was like breathing darkness. What had you just become a part of? You weren't sure if you were even yourself anymore. Was this all worth it? It had to be... You were still thinking for yourself right now, weren't you?

You attempted to move what should have been where your limb was, but you felt no response. It wasn't like anything was there anyways. Still, you were going to make an attempt to figure out where you were. Even if you weren't... well, you, you were still an independent entity amongst this wall of black. You wondered for how long though.

Your mind went to Saddleworth and the people in it. You had been so busy asking endless questions, that you had forgotten all about what was likely happening after your jump into the Kalahiri. Was the town still standing? Likely not, what you did might have been even selfish, or perhaps the others of this town were already joining within this black mass.

But there was a reason you had done it... yes... Twilight. You began to thrash your mind about, fighting against this twisting darkness. If you were here... in mind, perhaps Twilight was still in here as well. You had seen her shape outside after all.

Your efforts did nothing, and yet you continued, pressing further, feeling your essence swirling and colliding with a substance that was eternal. If this was all eternal, why couldn't you be? You would fight until there was nothing left of you, you had to wrench yourself free from this... it was the only way to search.

And then... something slipped. A piece of you... your heart, your soul separated from yourself. It was utter agony. You had no way to express this pain, for you had no mouth and no body, but it was as if all you knew was pain for this short instant. Something that was a part of you was now gone, and yet... you felt renewed as well. What could it mean?

The pain had made you stop your protest, but you began again against everything that surrounded this essence of you, and again, the pain began, another feeling of separation overtaking your ethereal self.

You fractured now, like a piece of glass hit with a hard object. As you attempted it again, fighting and flailing, you asked yourself why you were doing this, and you answered yourself with nothing but an image. An image of Twilight. It was an unclear picture, but you knew it was here, and to see that with your eyes, if you still had them, made a world of sense to you.

It was then that you realized what you were doing. With each little bit that broke off of you, your mind, your heart, your soul, you were moving, piece by piece. You were doing it, you were fighting against it all with maximum effort and getting the minimal reward, but you still kept at it, until you could feel yourself in another place, more whole than you had been before. You had made it, but to what?

You were somewhere else, but you didn't know where. You were still just thoughts, feelings and memories. You couldn't see beyond this, and all that remained was darkness. You wanted to cry, you wanted to cry with no eyes. What hope was there if you were just this searching soul amongst a sea of indescribable emptiness? You could thrash about again, moving to another spot, facing the pain again and again and still not know if you had made it, or even traveled more than a miniscule amount along this sea.

Thinking like that wouldn’t get you anywhere though. If anything, you were going to exert the effort. You were about to begin your masochistic movement once more when a voice seemed to come from nowhere.

“No need to lose yourself in this mess. Your journeys almost over.”

Your mind seemed to clench like a muscle, and you could feel something intruding upon your consciousness. You weren’t able to struggle much against this, and you felt yourself slipping, losing your self awareness. It didn’t take long after that to go docile.

**********************************

Cold, cold and hard, the only things you felt. But wait, how was that possible? You weren’t in your own body. Or maybe you were…

You could feel your chest breathing, and what sounded like the slight dripping of water. Wherever you were now it was stuffy. What had that voice done to you? He must have brought you somewhere, but why? How were you even recognized? You had been just a speck within that horrid mass.

A light pressure seemed to be growing on what you recognized as your hand. It felt like a hoof, but certainly not Twilight’s. You began to stir from wherever you laid. The pressure lifted from your hand not long after.

“That’s a good sign. Surprised there was still so much of you distinguishable from all of that,” the voice was familiar, but it wasn’t Twilight’s.

“...nng… wha…” Were all you managed out from your position on the hard ground.

“Open your eyes, sonny.”

You did know that voice… but how? You were a part of the Kalahiri now. You slowly forced your eyes open, trying to discern your surroundings. It was dark, dark and gray, but nowhere near the blackness you previously knew just shortly before.

Your eyes adjusted and you could make out cracked stone carvings, they reminded you of Twilight, though you weren’t exactly sure why that was. You knew you were laying in some tunnel underground… wait… You struggled up, pushing against the wall nearest to you to support your ascension.

The second you stood, you staggered, but one glance down the hall told you where you were. It was some gray, colorless version of the halls under the monastery you and Twilight had went to. Where you had last seen her…

You frowned, forcing yourself to stand back up without the help of any support this time. It took a long moment, but you managed to do it, and you stood looking down the hallway, a complete copy of the one you had last seen your beloved Twilight in.

“Ah, so you do know where you are,” the thoughtful voice said behind you.

You had completely forgotten about who had seemingly plucked you from tendrils of darkness. You turned to look at person who saved you, and were left utterly shocked by who stood before you. “Sp-Spry?” There the old stallion stood before you, looking about as energetic as ever, but with a more knowing look in his eyes. Something had changed about him.

He answered with a simple nod. “She said you’d be coming.”

“Who’s she?” You asked. Could it be Twilight?

Spry just gave you knowing grin. He wasn’t particularly acting like himself, but it was still him and you felt as if you could trust him. “Why am I back here?” You asked him, putting a hand on the wall, almost unbelieving that you could be back here.

“We’ve passed through the mass of the Kalahiri, we are at its very heart, he began to explain while trotting over to your side. “As the body lays siege to Saddleworth, the heart stayed behind, beating, the last bit of purity within, well until now.”

“Uhh,” you said, confused. “How are we standing here? I mean, I was just swallowed up by that thing…”

“Because she wills it,” he answered, begin to go down the hallway you had last seen Twilight. “It’s time to go see her.”

You didn’t particularly have anywhere else to go, and your mind ran rampant with questions and hypothetical answers, so you started after him, stepping past the spot where Twilight had said those words to you. “I love you,” you repeated to yourself, that awful image playing over and over in your mind.

Your path lead further down and the ground you walked upon seemed to grow more and more convoluted. At one point, you didn’t even realize you had been descending a gradual slope. Dark roots stretched across the walls and the air seemed much more humid.

Was this going to go on forever? After what felt like an endless array of minutes you finally decided to make conversation with Spry, hoping he could feel the void. “How are you here?” Was your first question.

“I went to the Kalahiri willingly,” he spoke. “It beckoned for me and I came.”

“Are you saying you just… jumped into it?” You weren’t sure what to make of this. He was very different indeed.

“It needed me for its voice. It needed me and your unicorn friend as well, though I think for a different purpose.”

He was talking about Twilight. He was talking about Twilight! “Is she okay? You’ve seen her?”

“... Yes, yes I have.”

You wanted to cry out in relief right on the spot, but the way he said it made you pause your reaction. After a long moment of thought, you finally decided to smile to yourself and continued to walk with him. A slight humming could be heard ahead now as you traveled down a larger hallway. It almost sounded like something electric, but you knew better.

“We are near,” Spry announced as you stopped before two stone doors, the markings on them drowned out in the black veins that grew across its surface. You took a deep breath as Spry stepped forward and pushed the doors open one by one with a grunt.

Beyond was something that you couldn’t possibly have fathomed. All the black veins, all the tendrils, ran to the center of the monstrous chamber ahead where a giant black orb laid, and not just from where you both came, these lines of darkness crept the entirety of the chamber and went out into different pathways, all disappearing into their own respective hall. You were entering some sort of master chamber.

The orb stood on some sort of platform as darkness swirled within it. You could see that it pulsed with life as it hummed. Spry lead you into the chamber slowly, and against your better judgement, you allowed him to take you right up to the living thing. You looked at Spry, waiting for him to give you some sort of information on what you were even doing, but he didn’t respond, instead, giving you a nod.

Turning back to the orb, you stared into its swirling innerworkings for a long while before you think you saw something else stir from beneath. You took a step back in shock and nearly fell over. A sense of dread was building up from within as you stared at the thing. It just seemed wrong, as if its existence was an agony to the world.

“She scared me just like that as well.”

You choked on your own breath as you heard those words. That voice. You looked around, and simply saw Spry looking at you with anticipation. Unless Spry suddenly had a feminine voice, then there was no doubt what you heard.

You almost croaked out her name when she stepped out from behind the orb, revealing herself to be on the other side of it. There she was, mulberry coat, violet eyes, that mirrored look of relief on her face that you now both shared. You could see the tears forming under her eyes as well.

It was as if a cord tugging on your heart had finally been cut, and before you knew it, you held her in your arms, apologizing for everything that had happened and how you had let her get taken by the Kalahiri.

“It’s okay, really,” she told you, kissing you lightly on the head. “She wanted it to be like this.”

There was the she again. If Spry had not been referring to Twilight, then who could he be talking about? You finally pulled away from her and looked into her pretty orbs. “Who are you talking about? Honestly?”

She gave you a sad smile and immediately buried her face into your shoulder. Should you not have asked? You could feel the hot tears coming through your battered clothing and you feared you had somehow offended her by not knowing who she had been mentioning. “Twilight, I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to-”

“No,” she spoke into your shoulder. “It’s okay… I just… you’ll need to see…”

“This?” You jerked a thumb towards the black orb, though you knew she couldn’t see. “This thing in here?”

“Yes,” she breathed out, warming your chest. She suddenly left your arms to go trot up to the orb once more. She gave it a sorrowful glance. “You know who this is,” she finally announced.

You stood up and walked to Twilight’s side. If she was comfortable getting this close to it… well then it must not have meant any harm to you. “Twilight, I don’t know how any of this is going on. Please, clarify for me.”

She didn’t speak or answer your request. She stared out at space for a few moments, an elegy seeming to play on through her mind. Everything seemed to be so surreal for you here ever since you had arrived. Even Twilight was acting a bit strange. Still, it was her. You just knew it was.

Her staring ceased finally and she offered no words, but one action that made you immediately flinch. She reached out to the swirling darkness of the orb and touched it. You rushed up to her and grabbed her, pulling her away. “What are you doing?!”

“She’s simply calling her,” Spry said. “Calm down. You needn’t feel fear here. You, in fact, have all the power here.”

“He’s right,” Twilight said as you held her. “Don’t be scared for me,” you placed her down and she thanked you, heading back up to the orb. You held your breath as she touched the mass once more, this time for a longer length.

The darkness seemed to grow even more cloudy, but in this action, they began to recede, all moving away from the part of the orb that faced you, revealing everything to be contained in some sort of magical field. You caught a glimpse of white, and another until you could see a shape behind the receding shadows.

It was a pony, taller, more slender. Twilight was right, you did know who this was. You held your breath as the shadows fell farther back away, revealing more white and a once prismatic mane, now barely able to show any distinction from its grayish colors. She stood there as she held the shadows back, appearing silent and distant despite her current situation. It was as if she was barely there at all.

“Celestia…” You said. The princess that had given you a choice not long back. The choice to return to Earth, or remain in Equestria. You wondered if she still believed you had made the right choice. You thought she had disappeared though, afraid she would endanger you all. If this is what had happened, then the Kalahiri was a product of the princess… there was no denying that.

You stared at her in silence, as if waiting for her to speak, but no words ever came and you realized that she likely couldn’t. She could only look on, but then how did anyone know what her intentions were? You thought back to what Twilight had done. You reached out to the surface of the magical field brushed your fingers across it. A series of images flooded your mind, some unknown to you, completely distant and beyond your comprehension of a goddess, others were more recent and you thought you saw yourself more than once. Lastly, as if instantly you could hear the fraction of a word in her voice, but it was lost in that second your contact with the magical field stopped. She had been speaking to you through that.

Reaching out again, you told yourself you would hold on longer this time, hear what she had to say. You held your hand on the surface now, blocking out the images that came to, just trying to focus on Celestia’s voice. You thought you could make out a little bit now.

It… is good to see you, little human.

You wanted to speak out in answer, but you doubt that would help. You closed your eyes and simply focused more on her words as she continued to speak to you through the field.

I’ve already told Twilight what must be done. She understands, human. There is… little more I can say. I have not let this corruption take me yet, but I fear it won’t matter what I do, as the darkness inside me razes the lands I once protected. I thought I could contain it, but I was wrong, and who would have known that the Zebras knew this was going to happen… at least to an fair enough accuracy. They called you Kuulu… what a funny name, and they thought this had happened before… it has not, at least not to me or my sister. Then again, I know very little about zebras or their culture apparently… strange how I felt myself compelled to come here...

It amazes me what the other races of the world can contribute to us all, that includes you as well now human, don’t worry. I have not forgotten our talk… I may have done a bit more than just send you back to the body you now inhabit. Twilight can tell you more. Go to her now.

You step back, releasing your hand from the field. You look up to Celestia to see she holds a mournful smile across her face. She had said to talk to Twilight, and what must be done. You didn’t like the sound of that. You approached Twilight who had been watching you. Before you could ask her anything though, she began to speak with a cracking voice.

“I cried for a long time when she told me,” she said. “I guess she couldn’t fight what the Hellspawn had done to her. I didn’t want to believe… but look at what’s happened now. Look at what it has caused. I don’t even know if my brother is okay… or Cadence… but you…” She reached out her hoof, and you brought it into your hand. “You are at least okay. I just wish things didn’t have to be this way."

“What’s going to happen, Twilight?” You asked. It was time things began to make sense to you.

You could hear her breath. She seemed to be growing more tense by the second. Whatever she was going to say wasn’t going to be good. You had to hear though, everything had to depend on you hearing what was to come.

“Celestia… she… she left part of herself in you when you came back. I know what happened after the hellspawn now… some of her light is in you, but that’s what likely let this happen as well, but we don’t know that for sure. She did this in case this would happen,”

“Wh-what? She’s a part of me?” So you were the cause of this. Again. Those zebras were right to call you Kuulu then apparently…

“No!” Twilight was quick to shout out to you, causing you to pull back slightly. She pulled you back closer with a slight tug of her magic. “None of this is your fault. This was Celestia taking precautions, and no, she is not a part of you. Only part of what kept her pure is in you, and it’s what makes you the only one that can do what will come next…”

“What do I do, Twilight?” You were ready. You wanted to help repay Celestia for what she had done for you. You wanted to shed the hateful title of Kuluu and rid the land of the Kalahiri. You wanted to do what was right. Celestia knew you could do this, though you didn’t feel any different, whatever was in you was her salvation.

“You…” Twilight paused and took a deep breath. “You have to kill Celestia.”

Wait... what?!

Author's Note:

I'm already working on the next chapter, so that will be the next thing of mine to churn out, much quicker than half a year... Hope you guys like this. If there are any inaccuracies at all, be sure to tell me, it's been so freaking long since I last updated this, I'm going to be freaking out all day that I messed up somewhere. Hopefully that isn't the case.

Comments

[Uranium Plastic Cup]

Sweet mother Teresa on the hood of a Mercedes Benz, I never thought I'd see this get updated.

Good show, mate. Keep up the good work.

[Nobrains]

4616721
You are the faster reader ever.
And thank you!

[Wandering Axioms]

Oh god...

[mrclootis]

Funny thing, last night I decide to re-read the previous chapter, and now the next one is up. Great work!

[Nobrains]

4617106
Thanks man! I can't make you guys wait so long like this anymore...

[Pokemon Pioneer]

“You have to kill Celestia.”

Okay, I'm guessing that this can go one out of two ways. Either the human protagonist finds some way around this and Celestia is ultimately saved, or Celestia is killed off for real and the human risks becoming the pariah of Equestria for killing one of the rulers. If the second scenario does occur and things do go sour, I suggest finding someplace new to live FAST! There are always the dragon territories or the Diamond Dog caves, or maybe even the Everfree Forest, I bet hardly anypony would follow a fugitive there!

Then again, if Princess Luna becomes upset with the protagonist, she would still be able to follow him in his dreams! If that were to happen, there would be no escape! What would the protagonist do?

[Bryan Luna]

Son of a bitch!

[Nobrains]

4618254
I'd imagine if it sadly comes to that, we could keep quiet about it, since everyone might still just think Celestia is gone... but if they ever found out... ... They might understand if you explain it... though that's really really thin ice to be walking on. Some of the blame might go to Twilight as well... a student defending the supposed killing of her own master? Sounds fishy...

Those hiding places are expertly suggested, those would be good places to run off to, I would definitely try the Diamond Dog caves, some place elaborate and underground has got to be a good bet to go with...

As for the dreams, well... Nightmare induced Insomnia is a given from the act towards Celestia alone...

[Verequus]

Killing Celestia might not be that bad. Like when in Avatar the spirit of the moon died, it was revived because a part of it was inside a human. Granted, the human's personality seemed to take over the original and the human's body died. So it wasn't exactly a happy ending there.

Otherwise, that Celestia was at that place was clear since the chapter where it was shown that the broken sun would arrive. The fact that our human was called Kuulu was a clue as well. Too bad I wasn't able to read this story before this chapter was posted already.

[Mr Skeleton]

I love this so very much

[Pokemon Pioneer]

4392859

True, unless the protagonist somehow gained his own superhuman abilities, a direct confrontation against Tirek probably wouldn't be recommended. Heck, Tirek probably could’ve taken on the Hellspawn himself if he were able to drain them of any magical energy they had. On that note, I wouldn’t be too surprised if the human tried handling Tirek the same way Bilbo Baggins handled Smaug the dragon in The Hobbit: by piquing his curiosity.

In such a scenario, the protagonist would first need to be lucky enough to recognize Tirek as the new incarnation of the MLP generation 1 villain. Then, if the protagonist is still lucky, Tirek would become perplexed about how the human is familiar with his name, while the centaur himself does not remember ever encountering the protagonist’s kind before. Then, if the protagonist is REALLY lucky, Tirek may ask the same question Smaug asked Bilbo in both the original novel and the movies:

“Who are you and where do you come from?”

From there, the human protagonist could then try talking through whatever sticky situation he may be in at the time, hopefully…

[Nobrains]

5160764
Now that's a scenario...

I could see that happening, especially with the human's appearance and the way he carried himself.

Oh man I can't wait for the new Hobbit movie...