The Influence

by GMBlackjack

I

There was darkness. A state of being, eternity - that was disturbed. The darkness shifted, adjusting to the altercations. Sounds entered - a swift flow of air, the screaming of fire, and the echoing ring of the cosmos.

Silence again.

Shuffling - pages flipping, high pitched sparking, and then a cracking, static noise.

Then silence once more.

It seemed like the disturbance was temporary, the change to be forgotten. Existence was returning to baseline, to the near-nothing of darkness...

Then there was a click.

Color.

A flash of bright purple color, interspersed with stars and void. Light. Sight. It had never been like this before.

Then the flash stopped, leaving behind a being. Lavender - two eyes, four legs, two wings, horn, mane, and tail. Her eyes were closed, and her face peaceful. She looked as though she had just drifted off into dreamland, that nothing could go wrong. She was at peace.

She fell to the ground, head making contact first with a loud thump.

The headache went right to Twilight Sparkle's consciousness, shattering her beautiful dream. She growled- the pounding of her head preventing her form thinking any coherent thoughts. She fumbled around, groping with her hooves in search of her bed. Finding none, she realized with much trepidation that she'd have to open her eyes.

The first thing she noticed was the wall. Beautiful. It was a deep, dimly lit purple, covered in strange etching of geometric shapes nested within pictographs of birds, mammals, reptiles, squid, and other animals. Surrounding the pictographs were intricate swirls, flowing in, out of, and around the shapes, leading upwards and out of Twilight's field of view. Downward, at the base of the wall, were words in a language Twilight didn't recognize. The letters were sharp, square, and filled with an excessive use of dots. She didn't register, yet, that the letters were glowing a soft yellow - the only visible source of illumination.

Twilight's ears perked - did she hear something slide shut behind her?

Finally able to form coherent questions in her mind, she sat up. The pain in her head continually hacked at her psyche, but she maintained her composure. Still staring at the wall, she narrowed her tired eyes.

Where am I?

having asked the question, it finally sank in. She wasn't in her bedroom. She didn't know where she was at all. She could be foalnapped - or in some other kind of danger. Adrenaline kicked in, banishing the rest of the grogginess form her mind while aggravating the migraine.

"Where am I?" She asked, this time aloud. There was no response to her question. She whirled around, examining her surroundings. The room was round, the wall circling around her with an apparent perfect smoothness, reflecting the soft light throughout the enclosure. The pictographs repeated six times around the wall, and Twilight could make out six arch-like impressions in the wall, evenly spaced.

However, what drew her attention was the center of the room. Sitting atop a plain, purple podium engraved with only a single yellow word, was an shimmering eye. It was crafted from a milky crystal that appeared both pink and white at different angles, the colors marbling together like a solid cloud. The pupil was tall and thin - like a cat's, and forged out of some black metal. The same material ran around the sides of the eye, encasing it. It shone in the dim light, calling out to Twilight, begging her to touch it.

"...No. I've read enough Daring Do to know where this is going." Turning away from the eye, she examined the walls closer, looking for anything she recognized. She found nothing familiar - though she wasn't sure if that was just because of her semi-panicked state, or because this was something she really hadn't seen before. Could that pictograph be a pony? But what about that four pronged glyph - what could that represent?

She pushed one one of the depressions in the wall, hoping it would give way, revealing an exist. Having no such luck, she attempted to bore through it with a magical laser, the only visible result being the wall itself starting to glow faintly. "Okay... Magic doesn't work... Great..."

She looked around for anything - anything - she could use that wasn't that eye artifact. None of the walls had any give to them, and there was nothing in the room besides her, the pedestal, and the artifact. She took a moment to look at the domed roof - and chills were sent down her spine. Imprinted on the ceiling was a six-pointed star. It wasn't identical to the mark on her flank - as it was missing the secondary spines and the smaller starbursts - but the closeness was eerie nonetheless.

Twilight gulped. "Well..." She glanced back at the artifact. "I don't really have a choice do I?" She watched it, circling, observing as close as she could without touching it. The eye was the same on both sides, and the metal running along the edge had a slit all the way around it. For letting something in or out, Twilight couldn't discern. She could feel power radiating off of it, and she hadn't even looked at it with her magic yet.

Not about to touch it, she backed up against the wall. She channeled energy into her horn, aggravating her headache further. Wincing through the pain, she reached out to the eye, touching it lightly with her telekinesis.

It leapt at her, flying off the pedestal. She barely had time to scream before it slammed into the front of her chest, just below her neck. Spires of metal shot out of the slit, extending themselves into Twilight. The pain was sharp and sudden - otherwise, she was unharmed. Her headache stopped in that moment, part of a feeling of wellness that coursed through her. She felt better than she had in a long time - physically that is. Mentally she was having somewhat of a breakdown. A strange artifact had embedded itself into her chest! Who knew what it would do? She began to pull at it with her magic - but it was like trying to remove her own heart.

Further experimentation was put on hold, for at that moment, all six of the archways slid open, pouring sunlight into the room from all sides. Holding up a hoof to shield her eyes, Twilight looked out.

The sun was brilliant, low in the sky - it was either approaching evening, or had only risen a few hours ago. The blue sky greeted her with a warm breeze alongside the melodious sound of birdsong.

She turned, looking through all six archways. She was inside a small, single-roomed building, situated on top of a tall island of some sort, which in turn was situated in a large, round lake with water that was almost perfectly calm. She saw some woods in the distance, what she thought was a town in another direction, and a river flowing past - but not into - the lake. All of these things were separated by a great, expansive sea of tall grass, rippling in the wind as if it were some green ocean.

Twilight let a smile come to her face. She may not know where she was, and she may have a mysterious artifact embedded in her chest... But at least it was beautiful here. She extended her wings, and took it all in.

Then she felt a soft tingling sensation in her chest. She looked down - the eye was glowing a soft white.

"Oh no, that can't be good..."

Her eyes flew open wide, and her mind was flooded...

Author's Note:

Leave a comment. See what happens. I guarantee it'll influence the story.

-GM, master of hints.

Comments

[Keywii_Cookies55]

Twilight immediately becomes aware of an internal compass in her mind now, pointing towards a mountain range far off in the distance to her left. as well as a brief warning against the use of teleportation, for that could cause serious harm.

[JumpingShinyFrogs]

The sea of grass seems inviting, yet dangerous, and the eye seems to be looking in that direction.

[Sonic Rainboom Dash]

A tugging sensation pulls twilight toward the lake in the distance. As she looks at the lake a sudden feeling of longing fills her mind.

[The Wolf]

She can see strange things lingering on the edge of her sight. They were definitely not there a moment ago, but they seem to be beckoning her.

[GamermanZendrelax]

As her eyes pass over the town-like thing in the distance, her thoughts are filled with a faint, incoherent muttering, that gradually fades away as she looks elsewhere.

[Darkus Relling]

I have a sudden craving for pumpkin pie now.

[Nizzy]

A voice whispers to her "The Woods can set you free, Twilight."

[My name is R]

She pushed one one of the depressions in the wall, hoping it would give way, revealing an exist.
I believe that you mean exit?