Time is twisted, and so are fates. After Equestria's apparent fall out and death of the Princesses, Twilight seeks out an old enemy in desperation, and later, even an old friend. But now, everything is okay. Because in the end, Good always prevails
NOW BEING REWRITTEN. AUDIO DRAMA IN PROGRESS
Shortly after the fall of both Equestria and the sustainment of the Polyverse, Twilight Sparkle is burdened with new responsibility as both ruler and mediator as she watches her home fall apart to war before her eyes. Now with no other choice left, she is forced to ally with an old foe who isn't too keen on the quest. But once an old friend tags along, suddenly things don't seem so bad.
Only when her memories are wiped by a mysterious parasite, and the truth is really revealed, does Twilight truly understand the seriousness of the situation.
Infrequent uses of 'light' language; It was wasn't at the level I would feel putting a tag was even necessary.
A long, long time ago, over the land once named Equestria,
There was a great, great war.
Because there were many, many tribes that thrived and suffered, and faded away into the dust. But one of these tribes, were of the Spirits. Vengeful and evil manifestations that swam free about the afterlife, or as they liked to call it, the Other Void.
But the spirits had always suffered. Thought they were free of the chains that were death, they were so very powerless, and empty. And their master was much more displeased of his people's suffering. Because other tribes had taken their joy away from them.
The Tribe of Creatures, later named Equestria, had everything the spirits longed for. Families, sunshine, food, and power. But they had always taken it away from them. Whenever just a slither of the Void world crept in to absorb just an atom of magic, they lost more and more power to the Equestrian's tribe.
It only grew worse and worse as time went on. Because a new princess rose to throne, who had little pity on the spirits, for she believed that they were only a nuisance, and threatened to destroy them, and lock them away, where they could never touch the light again.
But one day, the Spirit's king had struck, and in anger, forged war against the Creature Tribe, most than certain of their victory. But weakened by their loss of power, they were swiftly defeated, and as punishment, the Princess took away their portion of the Polyverse, their only territorial possession that they were so very proud of owning. And now, they wandered, with no place to go.
The Princess made example of them, and locked away many of their men into a castle far away-- so far, they could not even see the outside. And while the tribe had laughed at them and mocked them for their foolishness, their master, Rovii, only grew more angered.
Decades passed, until Rovii had gathered many more sources of spirits from thousands upon thousands of worlds he'd crept into. But now with the Polyverse out of his ownership, he could not kill anyone inside of them again. And only searched for spirits until he'd rebuilt his tribe.
This time, without warning, he struck, more powerful than before, only now the tribe had grown more powerful, but war went on, for days and days, until Rovii and his people had lost yet again. And this time, the Princess locked him away into the Closed World, making sure Rovii and his tribe could never leave and cause mischief again.
But Rovii was never one to loose a battle.
Another few centuries passed, as Rovii laughed and mocked the Creature Tribe to himself everyday. For the Princess had more than overlooked one thing.
The magic used to seal the barrier that kept him beneath the Polyverse faded with every passing day, and the energy-- Rovii absorbed it, and grew with power. He laughed harder everyday, and taunted the ponies in his mind, until he couldn't laugh anymore. Until one day, he ceased his laughter, and thought over how beautiful his revenge would be. And he was angered, yet again. Only this time, Rovii would wait.
He would wait, and fool those creatures, and make them think they'd won. Make them forget about him, even,
A very long time later, had Rovii finally decided to send out the nastiest, most evil monsters, out into Equestria, to find the Princess, and strike her down first. But now there were many more. But given much power from Rovii, the monsters had wiped out every princess they could find, and locked them away, instead.
Rovii watched and waited, as his monsters tore their lands apart, bit by bit. He didn't want all of them dead, though. He wanted to see how long they could suffer, before he finished them off when he was finally ready to reign the Polyverse on his own.
But one of his monsters had returned, reporting of a single princess who they could not touch. Rovii was displeased, but brushed it off. He swore to deal with the rat, himself. And he would enjoy it. Because then, his revenge over the Princesses would finally be complete.
His revenge.
::ENTIQUEST::
CHAPTER 0:
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uor Deemrfo, uor Ndal, uor Proyeprt
I Tawn Ot Ees htme Esuffr
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NOTE 8/23/19:: Please excuse the poor writing in earlier chapters. I was way more inexperienced then, so skipping ahead to more recent chapters is totally fine. If you'd like to know what you missed out on, just let me know; I'll be more than happy to fill you in ^^.
DISCLAIMER: Please note that this fanfic-crossover-au, is not suitable for younger audiences. Topics of heavy violence, occasional gore, horror themes, and PTSD are included in this story. Viewer/reader discretion is advised.
NOTE: Night mode 'Enhances' the experience~
The town was in beautiful chaos. Inhabitants running for their lives, shrieking at the top of their lungs as heavy pairs of feet followed them, threatening to crush them beneath it's pine-needled claws. Occasionally, someone would have claws gracing their back, and just barely miss having their backs sliced open.
But it was only the Armourous.
It roared in some sort of victory, grabbing a sidewalk tree in it's jaws, swinging it's head madly, tossing it carelessly across the road. It spread it's wings in displeasure, letting out a sound that must have shattered glass across the city. Armourous felt so powerful; because these little ants ran away from him, and now he could finally play with the toys they left around.
But a tree was certainly not entertaining enough. So Armourous discarded it with a grumble, stomping through the city, swinging his head about.
He did, soon, glance down to realize the tiny ants pointing silvery sticks at him. They were shouting something, that Armourous couldn't quite hear well enough to even distinguish if these ants in dark blue that matched their evening shadows, were inviting him to play.
But when one of the ants fired something at him, he found himself in pain, and pulled back his lips to snarl a warning at these tiny creatures. Now the ants continued fire, and Armourous was bothered by the tiny ant-pins and fire-stones that poked and pierced his rocky skin. He roared a warning at the ants, before they paused for a long moment, then retreated into one of their machines, and ran off in it.
He locked his jaws around the corner of an apartment building, instead, trying to remove it from the ground, only something buzzed in his ear, that greatly annoyed him.
This one was purple, and yelled something at him from a far, that Armourous certainly couldn't understand. Then he saw another one. This one was orange--or white. Maybe both. It had been confused for a while-- this fly didn't have wings, yet it was buzzing in his ears, too. But confusion gave to annoyance, and the beast roared at the puny flies.
He bat his foreleg at the first one, only having something bright and vibrant touch his palm, that sent a stung across his arm. Armourous roared in fright, briskly shaking his head.
Danny had glared up at her from the ground, who'd been recently escorting people out of the Nowhere. Twilight returned the glare, making it at least even, taking her eyes off the monster for a moment in frustration.
"What? Do you really think I don't know what I'm doing here?"
Armourous glanced at the quarreling duo, before swinging his foreleg at the surely-purple fly, roaring in amusement as it shrieked, slamming into the pavement below Armourous. It got back up a few moments later, barely able to even keep airborne anymore. Armourous had almost swung at it again, but realized he was not entertained by the flies anymore, and decided to go find another pole to tear from the ground.
But then a more violent shock course through his body, as the maybe-orange-maybe-white fly had caused him pain. Armourous shrieked, vibrating the earth beneath them, rising onto two legs flaring his wings and throwing the unsure-orange fly back, and watched him slam into a glass window of a building a few blocks down. The purple fly, though, had snuck up behind and fired at him behind his head, and the world flashed and flickered many colors, before Armourous could no longer stand. He faintly heard a frightened shout from the maybe-white fly that he could almost understand.
"Don't do it."
Twilight yelped, as the spell had backfired. Possibly it had bounced off the armor-like skin of the Armourous, and reflected the magic. She really wished she'd thought it through further. Because a spell at that level could--
"Agh..!" Twilight yelled out in pain, holding her head as she slowly descended next to the monster. "Daniel...! Where in Equestria... are..."
She felt like her mind was slipping into a lucid dream, or maybe just her mind leaving her body, because every sense had faded away, like her nerves were tearing off her skin. And she remembered nothing else except pain, and the flashing of colors before her eyes.
dont... go...
It was all a dream, the voice had said. Twilight believed, because she wanted to understand nothing else.
She'd awoken-- and wasn't sure when. But Daneil was walking ahead of her, glancing back until he decided to stop, furrowing his brows in either worry or confusion. Maybe both.
"Uh…" He
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The Polyverse… she'd always heard of it, but she never thought…
"What? Never been here before?" She spun around, an eyebrow raised. Danny found his fingers threading worriedly through his hair. "I thought you've been here before?" He squinted awkwardly.
"How would you have been able to travel from one universe to another, anyway?" he whisper-yelled, for no reason in particular.
Twilight tapped her chin for a second. "Eh… Teleportation spells, Direct portal transportation?" She motioned to the gadget strapped to Danny's wrist. "Besides, I never had an... Inverse Portal... thingy, anyway. You do know that Equestria is just catching up on technology just now, right?"
YXSTXR?????, 1X:37 XM TOXsty'X SnOXck ShOXck
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--His expression darkened a bit at the thought.
dont believe anything you're reading, do you hear me?
"HEY eht ikcigtn lccko ti uahtls, eth naevr corws, eh eses ierht eman adn otu eh esog! !" He exclaimed, slightly over the sound of music, chatter, and clanging dishes and silverware.
please tell me you can hear me.
But everything after…. Was a messy blur. Something had happened. They all knew it. But it was.... missing? Or maybe it--
i shouldnt be here, but there isnt much time to fret over stupid morals, alright?
A pounding headache began at the back of the alicorn's head. She shut her eyes, and took slow, deep breaths. When they reopened, her violet irises quivered. "W-we're… not going back… No. Not yet." it was barely a whisper, but Danny managed to catch just about every word. He opened his mouth to argue back, but Twilight shook her head. "No. Just… trust me," Twilight quirked an eyebrow as Danny seemed to flinch at her words. "…I just know that there was…. Something….I..."
there are always eyes. I want you to use them.
She trailed off, and sat back on her haunches, as if in either deep thought or question. It felt like both. Her eyes darted about in the endless teal-green abyss, every portal suddenly worth her attention. Her ears flattened against her head in shame, as she realized she truly had no logical explanation for this. Any of this.
A frustrated sigh escaped her lips.
"How long has it been?"
"Hello?"
Nothing.
"Stop ignoring me!"
"Are you even listening? Do you even know where we're going?" Twilight grunted. The retort at the tip of her tongue was killing her, and for the past few hours, she'd had to hold onto it. She bit her lip and exhaled.
"That's it. We're stopping."
can you see him now? no... but you cant see them on this side. take out her eyes, and use his. please. just... trust me.
The Princess tilted her head.
"What?" She mentally slapped herself for even replying. And that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was that Danny had actually seemed pleased with her response. Twilight snarled quietly.
"I said…" Danny refolded his arms. "I'm not moving."
Then the scary thing was that he seemed genuinely serious with his decision. His feet firmly planted to the ground… or, at least, whatever ground this was…
Twilight flashed him a suspicious glare, which he returned, and suddenly, a bit of green visible in his eyes. She raised an eyebrow. He really was serious. Nevertheless, Twilight twisted around, marching off in the opposite direction.
"Stop being so childish." She muttered. Danny smirked.
"Huh, I guess you did need to remind me of my age, after all,"
"You're not moving, are you?" It sounded more of a statement.
"Not a muscle."
In that instant, The alicorn's horn ignited, as the halfa's body was encased in a violet aura. Eyes suddenly wide open, he groaned in protest. Yes, he certainly was moving. Whether he was doing it himself or not.
It hadn't been too long before the two arrived to their destination. It was a portal, of course, like the many portals that gave the barrier dimension it's purpose. It was silver, and already looked dull and depressing.
Twilight took a wary side glance into the green abyss, then again, her eyes soon returning to the portal, almost... Unsatisfied. She sighed, almost silently.
"...We're here..."
It simply came out unsettlingly. Her horn faded as the bubble dissolved into the air. Danny narrowed his eyes. "Funny. I thought you said you'd never been here before?"
There was a short silence.
Then the mare shrugged. "I'm not too sure myself. I feel like it's uh.. instinct or something.."
Then, shook her head briskly.
"..now listen, we go in, out- I just.. need to gather a few things."
It almost sounded more of a question than a statement. Then, without waiting for a reply, the mare disappeared into the swirling, silver mass.
Knowing at some point, he hadn't had any say, the teen rolled his eyes and followed after.
They had arrived.
The place seemed... Awful-- like a run down village in the middle of nowhere, after a terrible storm. It wasn't too unbelievable, though. The pale, cyan sky was open, glaring down miserably at the small-- what seemed to once be-- town in the middle of a lush, green forest. But it's flowerless branches were pale and dry, and as the slightest breeze blew, a few dead leaves broke off and soared with the wind.
They stared blankly at the bleak, empty clearing, until eyes met the dark shadows over at the trees. But something was... different about this darkness.
One tentative hoof touched the ground, but it flinched back, as a ripple of bright energy swept the ground, and once the shadows touched, it faded. Twilight sharply inhaled, and it was over with fast, as she swiftly leapt into this new surface. Like a hawk, her wings flailed out cautiously, eyes scanning the area, and ears perking up when her pupils landed on a pair of mangled glass doors belonging to a broken down building.
She glanced back at him, her eyes filled with both impatience and nervousness. The lavender mare swirled around, and trotted almost confidently into the distance-- and mist was slowly forming, which clouded out the Alicorn after she'd gotten a bit far. Snapping back to reality, Danny hesitantly followed after.
The doors...
Twilight bit her tongue; it only helped her remember how twisted this pace felt. Nothing here seemed normal, nothing felt quite right... The doors were unmoving, and dead-like; one of them hung on a single hinge, the bottom corner of the door dug into the hardened mud over time. How long had it been?
Brushing aside her thoughts, Twilight teleported inside. The sudden darkness of the room startled her, and she instinctively shut her eyes. But she could sense a warmth nearby. Opening an eye, she glanced across the blurry room. Something glowing.
Slightly relieved to witness the light again, Twilight cautiously made her way towards the wall. There was a glass chamber, and in it was a glowing substance- a neon blue color. As she grew closer, her attention caught a label, carved in what smelled like rusted metal. Straining to read the engraved words, her vision slowly adjusted to the little light in the building.
Subject XXXX1 Status: Uncured Recovery: Failed
The rest, including the date, and everything else, was faded out or rusted over. Her ears pressed against her skull, as an eerie sensation crept up her spine. Someone else had been there...
It was cold, and growing colder and closer; it was following her. There was almost no sound, except for her shuddered breaths. She felt it echo in the back of her mind, bounding around, but shocked to stillness, suddenly fearing for her life. As if she could never turn her back on anyone--
"I... don't like this place--"
Twilight swiveled around with a yelp, and backed against the small wall space between the glass chamber and the desk. Eyes flicked over in front of her as her stomach heaved in and out.
Then... Everything was okay...
No... No it wasn't.
As her eyes met with faintly glowing green ones, her heart removed itself from her throat. The Alicorn held her chest and caught up with her breathing.
"Y-you..." Her dotted vision cleared away, as she took a final round of inhales and exhales.
"...you scared me to death!" Her eyes were still somewhat in shock, while the halfa seemed almost disturbed.
He also seemed sincerely apologetic for the startle, and if he really was, a word wasn't said about it. Unconsciously, his fingers gripped the ends of luminous white hair. "Ugh.. look, can we please get out of here? I really don't--"
..RRRRRR..
The sound was deep enough to vibrate the floor. Twilight shrunk down, ears flat against her head once again. "...A ghost?"
As of on cue, from both sides of the room, from two hallways, emerged 3 ferocious creatures. Subjects.
"No... No, it can't be-- I haven't --" unable to choke out the rest of his sentence, a wisp of glowing blue mist escaped. Not having much time to complain, Twilight started dependently towards the exit.
Her quivering hooves and blurring vision hadn't made her attempt to escape the building to easy. The mare suddenly stopped dead in her tracks as a loud, menacing rumble sounded from the roof. Backing up slowly, eyes glued to the ceiling, she felt a cold surface brush against her flank. She'd backed into a counter.
Danny found his fingers twitching anxiously, as if there was something that could have been done, like the solution was just barely out of reach. Suddenly, a bar over head hung loose off it's hinges and clanged to the floor with an ear piercing crackle. The exit was only partially blocked, Twilight being the first to notice this. Her ears perked up, eyes brightened.
"T-the exit... we can-" As if to tease, dust began to rain from the ceiling, as flakes, and soon, chunks of the wall started crashing down. A distant sound of a roar of pain came from beneath the rubble. Both exchanged frightened glances.
"Y-You go! I'll catch up!" Danny called out, voice barely over the sound of the building falling apart, crashing and clanking to the floor like thunder. "Are you insane? You're gonna get--"
"Just go! Trust me!"
Without another word, Twilight gritted her teeth, and sprinted out, through a small gap where the rubble hadn't fallen. The rumbling only got louder, and louder, allowing her hooves to take her as fast as possible. The door was almost there, she had almost made it...
A blade of glass slipped from the ceiling, and made contact with the floor in seconds. There was a loud sound, as if lightning had struck glass, and shards flew. Shielding herself with a wing, Twilight waited in agony, before she could muster up the courage to remove her 'shield'. She stared back, Danny completely out of sight.
Then she ran.
Focus was something that she had no control of whatsoever, and as she grew just inches from the glass door, she broke through it, head first.
Nothing was clear anymore. Nothing made sense; all it was now was just a blur and a bundle of confusion. Then she was red-- dark, crimson, red. It was everywhere-- all over the dirt, splattered as if someone had been brutally murdered. She couldn't see the sky anymore. It was gone. Like it had been torn out from the sky itself, and it was all just a black abyss. It was melting.
Then Twilight looked down and saw the the world was melting, too. The ground had dropped from underneath her, and she was falling. Her head spun, wanting to scream, but she couldn't open her mouth. She was dead, and so was everyone else. He had won.
Then she stopped falling, and at the sudden hault, the sound of a thunderous crash sounded, then it was over.
The world was suddenly a pale shade of brown, the air was now made up of bits of dust. And yet, the air was so still... Twilight lazily wondered.
It was only until then, that she had realized it was deathly silent, and it felt like bodies lay, just was weakened as herself. But she knew they weren't really there.. Then she realized-- her eyes were just barely open.
The mare cracked open an eye, only to recoil and wince at the sudden pain attack, and the fluttering of loose dust. She raised a hoof to eye level. Rubbing out the dirt and dust, she groaned.
How long had she been out? And what exactly happened?
Standing up on unbalanced legs, the Alicorn glanced around. Before her mind could catch up with her aching body, she felt a warm liquid slip down the side of her face. She cautiously reached for her right eye, then flinched, as the warmth slicked down her leg and splat into the dust.
Blood.
Suddenly, the mare felt as if the ground beneath her was spinning in sickeningly fast circles.
Something was missing, though. Her blood-stained hoof pawed at the dirt. Her ears flicked around, curiously. Someone was supposed to be there... someone? Where was Danny?
Twilight's frazzled mane and state of mind seemed to vanish, as she spun around in frantic circles, hoping to find something- sound... movement... anyone. Her ears flicked up again, in shock, as she heard a faint, rusty-metal clank. Her head twisted instantly behind her-- back at the lab, just a few yards away. The place was destroyed, and if Danny was in there...
"No... no..." she mumbled, just a breath. "No, Twilight, you're better than this..."
Shutting her eyes tight, Twilight exhaled, releasing a great breath she didn't know she'd been holding. Violet eyes opened, as the princess glared up at the mangled laboratory. The doors had completely fallen off, and there was no more shine to the luminescent, blue-glass doors.
Another clank.
On instinct, Twilight backed up a few hoof-steps, and luckily for her, instinct was right.
A large, metal bar swung off the top of the building, supporting the top of the doors. It came loose, and crashed into the dirt, creating a large cloud of dust, all over again. Flecks of rock and glass flew in every direction.
Unfurling a wing to block herself, a sharp sting of pain ran up her spine. Twilight bit back a yelp, and gasped, as she slowly returned the wing to her side. Her ears flattened against the sides of her head as she suddenly felt another wave of exhaustion.
She let her body drop limp into the dirt. Batting away the dust-clouds, she suddenly found interest in her crimson-stained foreleg. Its metallic scent slowly filled her nostrils; the mare dug her snout into the dirt.
It was like a hit in the head with Deja-Vu; The alicorn awoke to a clouded world. Except now, it was night and the moon was out, few stars visible. Something in the air felt.... unsettlingly off. The dust clouds eventually faded away, revealing the ground, stones, and forest in the distance. Tilting her head in attempt to see past the trees, a dizziness came over her.
Something was wrong, and she knew it. She could smell the odor of something.. unique, nearby, but couldn't place her hoof on it. But something about it's musky smell was unsettling.
Raising slowly to her hooves, ignoring the dizziness, the mare blinked the blur from her vision. It was definitely night, the shadows of the forest, darker than before. Then there was another familiar presence. Twisting her head back swiftly, she met eye contact with nothing but the remains of the laboratory. "Miss me?"
"Ah!" Twilight shrieked, leaping backwards and stumbling onto her side, into the dirt. She felt her heart racing, the sound pounding in her ears. Sighing, she glanced up at the source, this time, met with a recognizable face, in the shadows of the dark night sky.
Twilight pulled back her ears and narrowed her eyes.
"That was not funny!" her body was still involuntarily quivering. "Y-you almost scared me to death!" For a split second, Danny had almost come off as appearing utterly concerned. That was misplaced with a roll of his eyes.
"Right... well, you done? We have to get back-" He cut himself off and motioned to the portal, a good amount of yards away. Twilight stared for only a second, before her gaze reached the dirt.
"Uh... no... see, the lab is..." she winced as her ears pressed against her skull.
"I.. think I'd have that figured out by now," Twilight's reply was a look of realization. "Pretty sure that's a crucial detail for someone who had been finding their way out of a literal annihilated laboratory with phase-proof walls."
A look of sympathy came over the alicorn's face, but changed her angle where the moon shone on her back, so most of her body was hidden from sight.
"Right... uh, sorry.."
No.. it's not supposed to be this way..
Again, the wave of weakness washed over her, as she slowly lowered to herself to her stomach. She held her head, as the world seemed to shift all of a sudden. There was a golden light in the distance that pulsed with brightness. It seemed to burn like a fiery bullet through her skull. It's burn spread across her head, past her ears and neck, and sent a chill down her spine.
It happened too fast, everything was unclear. And there was the hot pain that stabbed her head and crept like venom down her back. Every nerve in her body was numb, but.. it hurt. Scenes flashed behind her vision. The burn was unbearable.
Suddenly, there was an echo of a growl, a scream, and then a flash of white light. The light was bright and blinding, but it was brief, like.. a memory. The pain faded away and was replaced with something else, but the pain had died in the light. It was gone.
Things have been off lately. A weird way to start off, I must admit. But what else is there to say about what's been going on? I feel like... we're all trapped in this torrent of trouble, and just a single mistake, or the wrong step of a hoof, is all it'll take for...for....
That's.. not important.
My name is Twilight Sparkle. Or, at least it was, until Equestria had fallen. Now, they all look to me like a leader, and to some, the enemy. Nothing is the same, and perhaps, it may never be the same again. Everyone, with the exception of myself, isn't the same anymore. Even Fluttershy is... a completely different mare, someone I just didn't know.
It's all been a headache. After Flurry was killed, under all of our noses- under mine.. and the royal guards, Celestia... Luna... Cadence and Shining... I have no idea where they are... for all I know they could be dead...
Spike and Fluttershy are all I have left, and yet, something just isn't the same between us anymore... I just don't understand! I just want everything to be like how it all once was. Peace and Harmony, friendship... the everyday problem we always found the solution to... together?
Ever since Rainbow and AJ left to assist in battle, we fell apart. It was like the link in the center of the chain has snapped, and few stayed linked together. It hadn't been long until Pinkie and Fluttershy were called to nurse the injured. While Fluttershy thankfully refused, Rarity had no choice but to take the spot for her. Fluttershy and I felt guilty about this for... quite a while.
It was just recently she had been put in charge of the barrier staff... by me.
I hadn't had much of a choice, with just about half of the surviving ponies of the kingdom I was assigned to by Celestia before she... left, I wouldn't allow myself to refuse to listen to their wishes. I had apologized to Fluttershy practically everyday, and she only ever replied to me with,
"Twilight, don't be so hard on yourself. I am grateful for my job, I'm protecting the town I love; your town,"
And she always said it with a warm smile, every time, although there'd been dark and heavy bags under her eyes, scars decorating her body, frazzled hair, and tears in her eyes.
Oh. She lost an eye.
Yet all she ever did was treat me with nothing but honest kindness, a bright smile on her face... as if she could've been every element of Harmony at once. As if she should have been given this land to rule, not me.
While I left in search of help, desperate help, with four legs, two eyes, and a single scar.
Yeah. I... I appreciate her. I really, really do.
And Spike? It's just about fine with him. He's.. older. But we watch each other's backs. And he's gotten... stronger.
Spike had scared me, just a bit, a few times. He was naturally a good fighter. Nearly got himself killed protecting me once. Fluttershy was always quick to come by and leave the barrier unguarded for as long as a few hours to fix his wounds, and always, she kissed his wound like she did when he was just a baby dragon.
We looked after each other. And every so often, I would slip off without the kingdom knowing, Spike and Shy covering for me every time. They wished me luck, and when I returned, they made me dinner. Every time. When I got into a fight with someone, they stepped in the middle. Every. Time. We were the closest thing to family that... wasn't family.
When I was with them, everything always felt okay. The everyday pain I felt was bandaged and instantly healed, the second I saw their faces. It made every single day worth living.
And I left.
I left my home; the land I was given to rule and care for. I left my old friends to war, and never checked up. I left the princesses, and never tried to find them. I left Flurry and her grave to the mercy of those foul, hungry beasts. I left Fluttershy... Spike... my family. I left them. I left it all.
But I can't help them this way.
As much as I deeply hated to admit it, I needed help from someone I despised. But I did it. I did it for Equestria.
And yes. Odd things have been going on. But... that's okay. Because I know it'll all pay oft in the end. It'll all get better, like it did every time. And...
And... I know that I can't do this on my own.
...
A lot of things have slipped my memory over the past.. few days. I had.. possibly returned a deadly infection in Wolf's home land. No... I did. It was my fault. I wasn't aware that wandering off into the forest would have lead to something as serious as restoring a plague...
It seems as if I'm the one causing all of these issues. None of us would have had to trek out this far to find the man with the cure. But I only kept silent the entire time. And I certainly don't want to be a burden.
According to Wolf's description of the last infection, it'd been horrifying, to say the least. Turning normal people and animal-people into rabid, blood-thirsty beasts in just a matter of time. He had to fight his own mother, who had... passed, during this massacre.
It sounded as if it brought out the worst in everyone.
Well, not everyone.
Wolf had mentioned, briefly, that the unlucky who were infected had become the prey. And the true tainted ones didn't hesitate to rip them to shreds and devour them. Just the sound of it sends chills down my spine.
It's been, I believe, about two days since I had gotten infected. It spreads through the air in bubbles, slowly swallowing the sky with it's purple shade. I was only tainted a few hours before Daniel, who has only shown a single symptom. Not relevant, but he's developed a wolfish scent. Strange, he hasn't shown any other side effects over the past ten hours or so.
Most of my face has lost it's fur. Or more simply, the center of my face starting from my muzzle resembles a cartoonish skeleton. At first, the excessive shedding had honestly concerned me, but by now, it almost feels normal? Perhaps it's another symptom.
Wolf hadn't been infected during the first plague. The second, no-- or at least, not yet. This disease, apparently, can't be caught, like a cold or a flu, no. Only through the air; by contact from one of the bubbles. Thankfully, I won't have to worry about infecting anyone. I couldn't put anymore guilt on my shoulders. It's enough as is.
But enough already.
Our break is just about over, and we have a way ahead of us.
Hard to see much anything, and it was just about impossible to generate an amount of light for myself that won't wake up the others. It had been a long day; crossing the murky part of the woods in order to get to where we were now. And I, myself, was tired, as well.
Not to mention the fact that I have little control over any magic since... since I'd hit my head, as I had been told. Just a little amnesia, which honestly, doesn't properly add up to me at all. But I believe that's a situation to ponder over another time.
The path separates Wolf and I from Daniel, who's found his own spot beneath the trees to rest for the night. I'd refrained for the first time I can remember, from counterpoling him any further, since our little conversation bubbles had grown tense.
After eyeing him for a while, I curled up by Wolf and shut my eyes. No, fake sleeping wasn't something I'd applaud to, but I knew falling asleep was hopeless in my case, and Daniel wouldn't shut an eye until we were all out. It felt almost like some form of remorse that throbbed in the back of my head.
So, almost regretfully, I relaxed my position and stabilized my breathing, and while hoping that maybe, the soothing sounds of the forest would somehow lull me to sleep. But... something was different-- something was off, I should say, as I shifted my position in the grass.
Sleeping outside was about a natural thing, by now. I just didn't get what felt so wrong and almost... almost filthy, about sleeping outside at night, in the short damp grass beneath the ominous shadows of the mighty trees that towered over us.
I-I know, I’m being silly...
It was something I had heard in my ear like a devilish whisper, almost in the form of a question. I didn't like the dark? Did I? I perked up at the buzz of my thoughts quarreling, as the realization that I had just about no idea what I so greatly feared-- I didn't know what was so scary.
I twisted in the opposite direction, my face once facing the somber green silhouette of the bushes to the sleeping form of Daniel, who's head rested limply on his shoulder, his sweater the only blanket, so his arms had been pulled out of the sleeves and were crossed over his chest beneath the fabric.
I softly rose to a sitting position. At least he's getting some rest. The wind bristled my fur as I felt a chilly breeze glide through the path like a wanderer, sprinting through the woods. I frowned, as the scent of rain scurried along behind the wind. Wolf's ear twitched as I brushed past him and padded through the trail; the way the breeze had come from.
Just as I had stepped hoof out of the more 'foresty' potion of the track, I glanced up at the now fully clear, midnight sky. The crescent moon was just barely visible, above the grey clouds, lined with a moonlit white that made the storm clouds almost majestic looking. I could see the rest of the river-- the river that I hadn't seen since the start of our trek. The stream flowed calmly between rocks and stones, and roots that struck out from the sides of the water.
I felt my legs give out beneath me. I plopped into the dirt as sleep caught up, quite overdue. The burst of dust clouds fogged my vision, as I lay my head in the rising dirt. Eyes shut and the world around me went dark, as I sacrificed my mind-- over to Rest. The sounds of the forest night filled the air; chirping, clicking, scattering and hooting..
I popped open an eye, raising my head as the rest of my body stayed suspended to the ground, as if everything else was already asleep.
I scanned the pale, orange-shaded trees, as my eyes fell on a form perched on a thin line-- a branch-- of the tallest of the many trees. It’s head was bathed in the moonlight, as it ruffled it’s feathers and stared down at me with it’s fierce, golden eyes. I squinted at the creature, as it waddled into the spotlight-- an owl.
It ‘hooted’ at me, quietly, as I was just barely able to hear it’s call. Cocking it’s head, chest puffed out, it outstretched it’s wings, as if signaling to fly off. His body I only watched, as the air was sliced by thin wing-tips, as it took flight into the night sky, the white light sparkling his coat of feathers, as if the luminescence was not from the moon, but the owl itself.
It was like the sky faded around him, as his light, silver form glided further into the distance. The darkness tried to snip and snap at his feathery hide, and soon, his grey blur was all that was visible.
The edges of my vision darkened like a deep, dark abyss, and so I let go, plunging into the unconsciousness as it swallowed me; sleep.
I heard a bolt of energy coarse through the sky, as a flash of white flickered behind my eyes. There was a shriek of pain, and then the sound of something plowing into the patch of trees. But that was just silly.
I felt a smile, as I rolled onto my side, at the phantasmal sounds my sleep-deprived mind had formed.
Sleep was nice.
“Twilight, Twilight....!” the familiar voice hollered. “T-- where are you?”
I blinked a few times, the corners of my vision burning. I widened my eyes, straining to make out anything in the night. No, no... this wasn’t just night, was it?
My lips quivered, as I hesitantly returned the call. “W-who’s there?” I was finally able to choke out. “Show yourself.”
I could see a faint light, just now, signifying that there was, indeed, someone out there.
“Oh... oh, Twilight, I’ve been searching for you!” The voice was loud and clear, and easy to make out, but something nagged at my hide as I took a tentative step forwards. I swallowed my heart back to where it belonged, as I was finally able to muster,
“F-Fluttershy...?”
It was clear now, as the darkness clouded away like the calm after the storm. The path, sparkling blue from the luminescent moonlight, the trickling river and the shining scales of fish, the lush trees that varied from dark green to sunset orange. And Fluttershy.
“Twilight, th-there you are!” the butter-yellow mare scampered down the trail, her hooves clicking as she skidded over pebbles. “I don’t have much time, but--”
Suddenly I leapt back, a few good hoof-steps. I scowled darkly, lowering my head as I slowly backed away.
“Who are you really...?” I muttered, involuntarily baring my teeth. “Y-You’re not Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy immediately skidded to a halt, as stone tumbled past her legs. She straightened her posture, head high, as she revealed her mighty stature. It suddenly came to mind that she wasn’t the timid little filly I remembered.
“Twilight...” she padded closer, holding out her foreleg.
I glanced back distrustingly, brows furrowed in confusion, as I backed a bit further than I should have.
I felt the ground disappear beneath my hind-legs. I yelped in surprise, twisting around and facing a world of a black abyss. It bubbled dangerously, as I scrambled back onto the path.
Fluttershy stared horrifyingly, as a fell to my stomach, in almost terror. She stomped back down her foreleg into the dust, as I opened an eye, her hoof blurring the majority of my vision. Then I noticed...
“Oh.” I sighed, embarrassed.
Writing in proud bold, black writing on the tip of her foreleg, was her identification mark.
“Nothing to be ashamed of,” she smiled, offering a hoof up. “But as I had--”
“How on EARTH are you here? Is someone else watching the barrier? W-where even is the--”
“Twilight, please, I don’t--”
“Where’s Spike? Is he okay? I-I’m sorry about... about leaving you and--”
Before another rebuttal was fired, something else shot in the distance. The pegasus gasped, as the darkness closed in on us, the rivers now swallowed by It. I glanced at her desperately, inching away from the body of water.
“Twilight, listen.” a loud rumbling erupted from below, as she danced nervously on her hooves. “There isn’t much time! I... I need to warn you of something!”
She closed the space between us, as the world began crumbling, and vanishing into thin air. She nudged my shoulder trustingly, the way she did whenever I left home.
“Flurry Heart, y-you remember her?” I nodded mutely.
“W-e found who is responsible. D-” she cut herself off, as the thunderous rumbling rose above her voice. “Him! He’s trying to... trying to restrain me, Twilight!”
“What? Wh- who? Fluttershy, if--” I cried over the sound, as her opacity... was going away...
And apparently, so was she.
“Twilight, He knows! He knows, he knows! H-he wants to kill me!”
My heart leapt at the urgency wavering in her voice, hot tears streaming down her soft face, her light pink bangs hiding her missing eye, and what I believed, the rest of her desperate tears.
“I won’t.. let... Him, do this! Fluttershy, stop whatever it is, now! I can’t loose you!”
She bit her lip, fighting back cried of agony, I could sense. She briskly shook her head, as if fighting with herself. Then she gasped out, “Then wake up! Wake up Twilight, or he’ll kill me!”
I had promptly noticed my body was immobile, as I felt the force of this... of Him pull me into this body of darkness, prickling the fur on my back. ‘Wake up, Twilight. Wake UP, Twilight!’ I chanted in my head, as I watched the deathly claws of the Darkness wrap it’s fingers around her throat. It was pulling her in...
“Twilight! TWILIGHT! He-help me!” she shrieked, as her hair clung to the sticky mass like tar, and the rumble grew into a hysterical laughter.
Twilight awoke with a start, or more specifically, a shriek. Her body quivered under the hard glare of the morning sun, drying away her free-falling tears or relief. She gasped for air, shakily glancing around her, only to realize in light horror, that Fluttershy wasn't there.
Her mind was bustling, running her gaze across the blue, appalled; but the alicorn rose herself up to a sitting position.
The air was damp and still, this morning, and the birds were singing nonchalantly. It was as if nothing was wrong in the first place, although the unsettling feeling from the previous night perched on her neck, bristling her fur. Twilight shuddered, craning her neck over to view the two rivers, leaving her to sigh in relief.
The crystal-like streams glistened in the sunlight, trickling past the stones and roots freely, droplets of water dotting the blades of grass. And the grass was a normal, pale green, waving in the daylight. Birds chirped; no hooting owls, just a normal morning routine of nature-- the wild. Yes, it seemed, everything was normal.
"Hey, what're you doing out there?" a familiar voice called.
Twilight glanced up, her ears drooping at the sides of her head. Wolf, followed by Danny, emerged from the shadowed territory of the woods, both appearing not-as-unusually restless. "Oh, I got up early, is all," she bit her lip. "How'd you sleep?"
The two exchanged a glance, before Wolf groaned, "Didn't much, honestly. Something was keeping us both up last night, and if I was crazy, I'd say--"
"No, no, please," Danny held up his hands, "Not this again,"
Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Again?" She tilted her head, "What am I missing here?"
The werewolf snarled, rising his head. "A lot, seeming as you were never there in the first place."
The mare opened her mouth to argue, but left her jaw hanging, mouthing words that just didn't come out. She stared for a moment, before a rough rustling through the river bushes snapped her back to reality. Eyes flickering between the wolf and the ground, and then to her hooves, she finally glanced up in acknowledgement.
"H-how did..."
"Didn't I just mention we'd been up the majority of the night?" he lowered his head, back to eye-level. "At first... it looked as if you were... were ditching us,"
"Ditching you?" Twilight echoed, "Why on earth would I do that? We've gotten so far already; I wouldn't just..."
Wolf bit his tongue, eyes wide, as he stared down incredulously. "No, I didn't mean..." he shook his head, "I didn't mean it like that, It was just... an assumption."
Her face darkened, as she studied them both. Shaking her head, she swiveled around, trotting down the path again, back into a shadowy patch of trees. Glancing back, Twilight motioned to the trail. "Come on, we're burning daylight."
"So," Twilight breathed, the light morning breeze running through her mane had suddenly felt to ease the tension. "What was it that kept you two up all night?"
For a moment, there was no reply, or any notification that the mare had even simply opened her mouth in the first place. And for a second, she swore she heard the wolf miss a step. Shaking it off, Twilight glanced over her shoulder, eyes tracing back to the beginning of the path where a bright ray of light glistened on the stones scattered about the trail.
She raised an eyebrow, before Wolf lifted his head with a sigh. "Nothing... to be concerned about..."
"You telling me not to be concerned is already something to sweat over."
"It's nothing, though, trust me. We just had poor luck last night; there's no lore or paranormal thing behind that, is there?" Wolf lowered back his head, seeming to swallow back his words.
"I... don't suppose so..." The alicorn hummed, returning her gaze to the path ahead of her. "But I'm still curious; A-about what you brought up this morning?"
"...."
"It's not likely of you to stay so quiet, Wolf. Something's off, isn't it?"
The mare's change of tone triggered the rising of both their heads, as Danny and Wolf exchanged glances, "I wouldn't say something's off... more like..."
A heavy gust of wind blew, sending a sudden chill up their spines. Twilight furrowed her brows, glancing up at the cracks of light that seeped through the spaces between the treetops and the flittering autumn leaves.
"Strange... I thought that storm blew over...."
"Listen, Twilight." The werewolf snarled, "Nothing is off, you're just being paranoid, as usual. You know everything's fine, you know you're just making a hell of a deal over nothing. So quit your worrying and pick up the pace;" His golden eyes paled, as he leaned his snout behind her ear,"We're burning daylight."
Before the mare was able to reply, a huffing muzzle nudged her along the path, deathly close to toppling into the sunset shade of autumn leaves. Twilight bristled in frustration, scampering ahead of the two in an annoyed silence.
Ears splayed back, the alicorn mare trudged her way ahead of the pack, biting back at the sting of the wind. Focusing on the literal path ahead of her, the cold seemed to calm, as she dove back into her own thoughts. Twilight sighed, eyes tracing over the trees that covered the horizon and, just about everything else. The sun shone... duller today, yet it's rays still cast a silvery shine over the land.
She opened her mouth to comment, but shut her mouth with an audible snap, before briefly glancing behind her, noticing her distance from the two.
Just leave them be. You know well enough it's for the best.
'No... It doesn't feel.... right." she murmured, briskly nodding her head to rid of the voice.
Since when has your conscience never been right?
'I... I'm not sure how to respond to that..'
Do what the voice tells you in your head. Do what I say.
And so she did.
Granted with the sudden rush of adrenaline, Twilight breathed, lightly unfurling her wings before scampering down the path, kicking up the remnants of leaves behind.
The breeze applauded, as it throbbed in her ears, the chill of fall sunk it's teeth through her skin. But it simply felt right. She shut her eyes, not allowing herself to stop, as she devoured the wind itself, now slinking back, out of the mare's path. She ran faster, as the force seemed to grow stronger, deaf to the sounds of her hooves clamping into the earth, and blind to the world. It wouldn't stop, it held her down to the earth, as if pulling her in. Pulling her into the fantasy that didn't exist on land.
And it was tugging her in by the pelt with a clawed hand.
Her eyes only closed tighter, ducking in her head, as she swallowed back the bitter taste that formed in the back of her throat. And it was gone.
The flickering of heat was like a fresh fire, as it started, burning away reality, and leaving an open burrow that lead to another land. She lost her breath, as if It existed no longer, and then she was free.
The path narrowed, thickets and twigs closing in on her body, clinging to the alicorn for a ride. But they fluttered off as her flaming energy caused every grain of dust to flee, and trampled beneath her fire, leaving the burnt path behind. It was all clear now, as the cold melted to hot, and the darkness of her vision lit with a new fire. She was the arson-- the arsonist, catching fire to everything in her midst. Leaving her mark of flames and ashes as she went.
And she went on. And she could see the luminescent glow of her body, engulfed in the white, flickering flames, in harmony with the darkness.
No!
No.
No...
She was not the fire. She was not the arsonist catching flames to the woods, nor the cities, or the past. She wasn't in harmony with the shadows, that swallowed her memories, and ate up portions of her past like a virus. She wasn't the cold, nor the wind, or not what the breeze feared.
Why did you stop? Go again, go again! It makes me so... pleased...
'No...' Twilight swallowed, as the burn died away, 'No it doesn't-- I do NOT feel pleased.'
Listen to yourself. To me; you. It makes you happy. It warms your soul, doesn't it?
'I told you... to leave me... be... Get OUT of my head.'
Oh, I'm afraid it doesn't work that way. I am your conscience, after all.
She bit her lip, squeezing her eyes tighter,"Then shut up. I don't want... to hear.. this.... this..."
I can see your soul, Princess. It's like a stone, a precious one.
Will you please keep those pretty eyes of yours shut?
Oh, how inconsiderate of me to forget; I, yes, I don't take commands spat in your-- my direction.
Do I have to spell it out? Talking backwards, is that what you want?
......
Don't be that way, my physical body, will you please look into the abyss?
I want you to look at me, my dear.
It was... getting too much for me...
I was scared.
Don't make me have to be forceful, Princess.
I don't want to see you in pain..
I could just taste the murder in it's voice. I shuddered, fearful of opening my eyes again, forcing my body to stay suspended in place, sick, not having moved for an amount of time I wasn't sure had passed.
Curious; I'd think a mare as smart and powerful as you-- I, would've... figured it out by now. Idiot.
It's been.. quite the time killer, precious stone. Oh, had it been!
.........
You've been walking a while now. Tired? Of course not...
At the pit of my heart I yearned to know how long this'd gone on. But I was trapped. Trapped in the dark with this thing that proclaimed as my thoughts, buzzing in my ear, murderous. Deadly. And perched on my shoulder.
I knew if I opened my eyes, I'd never blink again.
So full of yourself, aren't y-- I? Aha, I am proud.
....
Yet... at the same time I'd like to see how tough you are after I rip the soul out of your chest.
"What is it you want," I muttered, just slightly relieving the weight of my eyelids, enough to see the painful red melt away to black. "I don't want to do this anymore."
For a while, I was met with silence, and suddenly the rumbling of thunder under my hooves flickered my mind back into the realm of reality.
I... opened my eyes.
Nothing.
Then it was there. Again; the cold crawling over my back. I shivered.
Let me show you something, Princess...
And then everything came flashing back.
And at the same time, it didn't.
Memories flooded my head, as new ones pushed out new ones, soaring through my mind, behind my eyes. Pain. It was all I knew, as my head throbbed a single beat, as if everything was happening in slow motion.
Something grasped my shoulders, and dissipated before I could lay my eyes on it. But something had changed. Something had certainly changed.
It took something with it.
And the thought of that alone tightened my throat.
The boy, the boy! It was back again, chanting, unheeding.
The monster boy! There was another unearthly voice.
He made a deal with the master!
It's your turn now, your turn, young stone!
Or his fate'll end in disaster!
There were scattered laughs and giggles that felt were bouncing off the walls of my mind. I held my head, crying out into the abyss of voices, with the sudden urge and greed for silence again.
...
Oh...
You missed out on so much, Princess!
It was fun, wasn't it?
Well, party's over, time to go home!
You might be a bit...
LATE.
"Late" was certainly correct, as I blinked, fixing my posture on the cot and gaping at the two distraught boys before me.
While the two younger 'humans' had gathered around the front-yard outside in an enclosed circle, Twilight had found herself sitting obediently on one of the dozens of cots that lined this strange house. Funny, also, how the owner had made the simple decision of lining half of their living room with mattresses stood upon countless stacks of cinder-blocks.
It was certainly comfortable, Twilight couldn't deny, and so she obeyed whoever it'd been that had ordered her to stay in place, while the two sat in the cool, damp grass in the rain outside.
Wait.
Oh good, you're awake! How did you sleep, my little sleeping beauty?
"It's back; I see," Twilight announced to no-one in particular, placing her head between her fore-hooves. "Please, whatever it is, just leave me alone.."
I would think you'd know a bit better than that, Princess.
Suddenly, the dark aura faded off; as if it'd never been there in the first place.
It had never been there in the first place, had it, though?
Twilight grimaced, raising her head enough to see past the ruffles of the old blanket. It was pretty evident that she'd been lead here by this parasite.. and it sent a shiver up her spine, as the realization that the... thing, could manipulate her mind any way it wanted. It was feeding off of her soul, devouring her mind, her thoughts, her knowledge, slowly.
She was being dragged right through a path of fire, and there was just about no turning back.
Shaking her head briskly to rid of the thoughts that clouded her mind, Twilight rose to a sitting position, her eyes dodging immediately over to the side window. Rain pattered the glass, a few flickers of white in the distance, deep rumbling.. The damp scent of fresh precipitation leaked through the cracks of the rotting walls, carrying a whiff of moss along with it, topping off the weather-y reveal with a bright, red cherry.
A storm.
The storm.
The storm, it just felt all too... familiar.
Twilight twitched, fighting back the urge to scurry after the two boys outside. Biting her lip in some sort of eager frustration, she brushed closer to gain a better view of the outdoors, pressing one side of her face to the glass. Her gaze first ran over Daniel, legs crossed, focusing on the invisible circle he made up half of. And there was someone else, someone she couldn't exactly place her hoof over, but she knew this one; he was certainly a friend.
Her eyes followed around the dirt circle, over and over again, following the muddy cycle like a game. The draw pulling her outside grew only much stronger, beckoning her outside in a desperate call. "Wh-what am I--"
She'd caught herself before her body had made complete contact with the floor.
Biting her tongue again, in self-frustration, Twilight stiffly worked her way back up onto the mattress, pouting a bit as she glared outside again.
A fore-hoof pressed against the foggy window, tracing abstract shapes into the mist. There was something familiar about this, too.
Retracting her hoof with a sudden speed, Twilight groaned, prancing across the collective cots anxiously.
She was not to move, not even a little bit. Because... because Dipper had said so.
Yes, it was Dipper, wasn't it? The... the younger boy with the tree hat. Yes, the tree hat!
The boy with the tree hat was her friend-- D-Dipper, yes. He had told her to stay. To stay put and not to move a muscle. And Twilight had disobeyed. Her ears pinned back at the thought.
Swerving around to face the window again, Twilight cocked her head in burning wonder. Why was the tree-hat friend sitting with the boy that was not her friend-- D-Daniel, yes. It didn't make sense.
"It certainly doesn't..." Twilight wondered aloud, her head buzzing at the sound of her own voice. "I would never have thought those two as acquaintances, not in a thousand moons,"
Maybe because they were... different.
"No, not in that way..." Twilight groaned, tightening her jaw, "They look different... Dipper was... he was a human, right?"
It was a bit understandable, Twilight had wanted to admit to herself, but there was something nagging her in the corners of her mind. She'd missed out on something. Something important. Something the pest didn't want her to remember.
Maybe that was why there were golden horns growing out the side of her face.
Reflexively lifting a foreleg to caress her neck, her breath hitched, as there was, indeed, a set of horns by her jaw. Her initial reaction was to remove her foreleg and to forget her discovery as a whole. But a thought crept inside her head. Dipper wasn't normal. Daniel was... less, normal. She didn't recall Dipper being apart of their journey, either. She didn't remember having left the Nowhere, either. She couldn't recollect the events between the falling of the old lab and the venturing of the forest. But there were the scars left beneath her fur, constantly took her mind around a roller-coaster of memories, of the monsters in the lab that had chased her down. And then the remembrance stopped. Because the parasite, the virus, in her body, it was cutting out events like the mistakes in a movie. It was watching her, overhead as the director, making sure it's story was following the script.
Which...
Which meant she was vulnerable.
More vulnerable than ever.
Something inside her snapped.
"I don't understand!" Twilight howled in exasperation, "I don't understand, I don't understand!"
She glared shakily at the hooves presented before her face, watching in mild horror as even her own two forelegs appeared foreign. The edged of her vision crumbled, as everything in plain sight was clearer, yet duller than ever. Her body contracted, as she found herself in a spineless ball on the floor.
The tears that sprouted from the corners of her eyes fell, "I don't understand..."
But you know who does?
The mare only ducked her head further into her chest, hoping to drown out the noise.
Oh, It sounded irritated, don't be that way. After all, I have the answers you wanted, yes, right here in your little head.
"..."
You were not wrong Princess; those little unneeded thoughts in the back of your head are quite a prize, oh, for something like me all cooped up in here, aha.
Twilight gasped in discomfort, as the sensation swept to the front of her mind, it's echoing voice only nagging her more.
Hellooo? Can you here me over here?
"Stop it, stop it, stop, stop, stop..." she wailed, "I don't want to do this anymore! Please...! Please, let me go..."
Perhaps I can grant you a small favor... It had shifted back into the mere corners of her mind again. Or, perhaps... a little trade!
It sounded hysterical, and almost, overjoyed.
Yes, yes, a trade we shall do, precious stone! Would you like to make a trade?
Twilight had remained silent, running her glance across the floor, scanning the flecks of dust the were scattered and tangled under the cots. She opened her mouth, as if to contemplate her thoughts, but quickly shut her maw with a snap. There was an echoed giggle in her head again.
It IS a yes, isn't it, Princess? You said so in your head! Oh, I am just bursting with happiness!
"Fine." Twilight swallowed, gathering herself back up, leaning against the end of one of the window-cots. "What's your bargain,"
Oh, it's quite simple; I want... your 'humanity'.
"M-my..."
I return for, say, a portion of your forgotten memories? Or maybe some answers? Yes, some truthful answers, anything you wish to know.
Twilight shut her eyes wistfully, "I... don't know what you mean..."
Oh, don't play silly-filly with me, Princess. Humanity--
The darkness that had clouded her vision had shut Twilight in, now glancing out, into a midst of black. The black clouds shifted away as if on command, revealing the form of an older pegasus. Fluttershy.
Humanity, Princess... Is not one's physical being,
The butter yellow pegasus, in the blink of an eye, had transformed before her eyes, into the younger, shy filly, who glanced down in horror at the sight of the shadow beneath her hooves.
Nor is it the ability to be born as a human.
It is the make-up of the soul, or, the Spirit, that keeps your body alive.
The younger Fluttershy was again replaced by the older mare, who glared at her surroundings, wings unfurled and shielding her body from the invisible enemy. The staff rested on her rump, as if her only force of power and protection.
The physical body and state can change, but the soul is quite unchanging.
But sometimes, people aren't all that lucky..
An inkish black claw that matched in with the darkness around it, caressed the neck of the pegasus. Fluttershy had dropped her staff, closing her eyes momentarily and leaning her head towards the hand as if to nuzzle it back. But the hand betrayed her. Phasing through her chest, the claw picked at the white, glowing substance, phasing it out of her chest, as the lifeless mare lost her footing, and collapsed.
Death.
Twilight swallowed again, forcing her body stationary.
The spirit can be stolen, if the body isn't strong enough to repel forces from feeding on it. WE are quick to act.
Along with the spirit goes the humanity.
The hand revealed itself, in the form of a shadowy silhouette, with four glowing white eyes, it stared at it's claw which the spirit clung to, as if desperate not to fall.
Suddenly it was all too clear.
The spirit needed a body to keep it stabilized.
The spirit would die.
And once feasted on, it gains a new home.
The creature greedily fed off the spirit, quickly encasing itself with a matching aura.
The scenes clouded away to black yet again.
Twilight sat gaped, as she was met with plain darkness again. She fished for words, something, anything... Instead she became the fish, as her mouth mocked one, opening and closing in pattern-like. Shaking her head briskly, the mare was eventually able to form a reply.
"Why..." Twilight breathed, now consciously trying to remove her hooves from the black abyss that made as a floor. "Why, would you show me this? All you seemed to be interested in is setting me on the edge; you ate away at my memories..."
It's quite simple, Princess, The voice replied, I want you to know what I want; I want you to see the fine print of this little deal of ours.
I want you to know how I desperately crave just a little piece of your spirit...
"My humanity..." Twilight trailed off, raising a hoof to her chest.
Three answers, Princess... anything in the world...
The alicorn's breathing had skipped a step. Was a deal like this truly worth it?
"A-anything," Twilight mused, shuddering at the sense that brought up a wicked smile of the voice's face, one she could not see, but rather, feel. "Anything I need the answer for-- you'll reveal to me, the truth,"
It came off more as a command than the intended question. But there was a long silence, before Twilight had realized the voice might have been regretting the making of the deal.
Oh, Princess, you just love to push my buttons, don't you. Haven't I made it clear before? If it's a deal, we both gain what we want. All I ask you is a small favor...
Twilight remained still.
She closed her eyes, squeezing them tight, feeling the presence of the parasite loosen.
Fine, oh, fine. You have until cold season to respond to me. If you continue to ignore me...
There was a faint and fading laugh.
I'll kill you.
Danny glanced down at the dirt-turned-mud circle that was being crafted into the dirt.
It was still raining, and although anyone would expect a thirteen-year-old who had just barely survived a flood and recently recovered from pneumonia, Dipper had taken it upon himself to hunt for the most decent stick in the woods.
It had honestly confused Danny at first (and frankly, concerned him) that Dipper had dragged him outside in the midst of a brewing storm to go... summon the devil or something.
At least it's what it looked like.
Around the circle were poorly crafted symbols that were almost familiar to the older teen. It was just... too unclear to be able to make out.
Danny snapped back into reality as a grunt of frustration caught his attention, in unison with a stick smacking the side wall of Ivor's house.
“So…” Danny had started, pulling the hood over his head as the storm began picking up, “Do you just make pentagrams in the dirt on a daily basis, or…”
“No, not normally,” he’d replied, now retracing a much larger circle into the mud. “This is something I only do during dire situations,”
"But now?"
If he was given a response or received some sort of reply, it was silent and subtle. Dipper had already continued remaking the little dirt symbols, now in an uncomfortable silence. The sudden tension in the air was suffocating, as Dipper had trudged around the area in a quicker pace, one that would only describe as discomfort.
And the silence he returned, burned with the raw stench of 'I don't want to talk about this right now.'
But Danny narrowed his eyes hiding a cold shiver as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Dipper,"
"Ah, what?" He didn't turn around, but rather, stayed frozen in place with his back turned towards him. The stick was tight in his fists.
"Come on,"
It was a simple phrase that even Twilight herself couldn't comprehend. But Dipper had understood something, and his hold on the stick became a deathgrip.
Then he let go.
"Fine." He'd rolled his eyes, turning away from the window. "Here, look,"
Scampering over to one of the closer trees, Dipper's hands fell over a tattered leather book, and retrieved it, holding it in front of his chest for display.
A subtle smirk rose upon the cervitaur's face, as Danny instantly brightened, reaching out to grab the book. "Wait, seriously?" he seemed a bit skeptical, but reached out for the journal nonetheless. "W-where did you get this?"
Dipper rolled his eyes, now moving the book higher out of reach. "Not important; we just need to decode..."
He fumbled with the book, flipping wildly into one of the many marked sections, to one particular page that appeared a tad more wrinkled and feeble than the rest. Tracing his finger down the page, Danny had quickly hurried to his side, glancing over his shoulder to get a glance at the inscriptions. "...This."
Danny frowned. "Decode.... what?"
"That's the point," Dipper cast a knowing glance, "You're the only one of us that can understand it. It's written in a foreign spirit language-- Roviian." Danny looked thoughtful.
"So I do have some sort of relevance here after all,"
"If we can translate the recipe for the antidote, we should be back to normal in no time,"
Danny would have been ecstatic if the second thought hadn't fogged his mind.
"But... how do you know this is the book for the antidote...?" he murmured, as if struggling whether the question was even worth asking. "I mean, you can't... you can't speak 'Roviian', can you?"
"Of course not." Dipper raised a brow, opening the book to the first page, "But the cover page does mention it being a personal research diary on antidotes to otherworldly plagues, and such. It's in english."
"Wait," Danny narrowed his eyes, finally taking the book in his hands, "Why would the cover page be an english translation, and the rest of it in another language I didn't even know existed?"
Snatching back the journal, Dipper sighed, although the sudden eruption of thunder covered it up, "Roviian is a language that people used back during the Era of Time, remember?"
Not waiting for a reply, he continued. "There were paranoias based on an evil entity that... threatened to kill the people who spoke of him. So in desperation, one scientist and his assistants ventured off to seek a ghost-- Huskivian, if i'm correct-- who was believed to be a watcher spirit, the wisest ghost who watched over his people. The scientist pleaded to him for advice, and so Huskivian granted him the ability to learn one of his many languages. One that the evil entity was unable to understand.
He'd taught it to his assistants, who passed on the language only to the ones who grew responsible enough not to fall for the tricks of the evil spirit. Some say to this day, he still lurks around, searching for prey who's naive enough to make a deal with him in order to learn the language." he twirled his finger around one of the bookmarks, "It's not a comforting thought... he reminds me of someone."
The empty space of conversation was filled in with a sudden burst of rain, as the sky precipitated at an unnatural level. Danny grunted, mere seconds before the wind picked up as well, blowing the hood of his jacket off to the side.
"And now that story time's over, can we please get inside? It's literally raining sideways."
Dipper snickered, "No need to tell me twice," He stuffed the book into the pocket on the inside of his now soaking wet vest.
"Kids?"
A faint voice called out in mild surprise. The two boys flinched, flickering their gaze towards the exit of the garden where a just-as-faint figure appeared at the mouth of the path.
The sudden pulse of fear throbbed in his ears, as Dipper tipped his cap in anxiety--
There was one distinct set of features that kept hooves to ground.
A pair of antlers-- or more specifically, an antler and a half.
His shoulders dropped, as the younger teen let out an audible breath. "Ivor..."
The face had become visible, all of a sudden, as Danny, too, had released a sigh. 'Ivor' broke into a run, gripping the hood of his cloak with furred black fingers. His breathing grew ragged, as he stumbled into the territory of his front yard, his scent of worry filling the thin air.
He removed his hood, detaching it from the cloak, as it plopped into the mud beneath his feet. The absence of the hood revealed his much deer-like face, with the antlers atop his head to complete the picture.
His hands fell over the boys' shoulders, as Ivor paused to catch a breath.
"Wh...what were you two... doing out here?" If his worry hadn't come out in exasperated breathes, the edge of concern in his voice would have been more than obvious.
Danny raised a brow, glancing accusingly over towards Dipper, who avoided his gaze. Ivor sighed, ushering the two towards the yard door hidden well behind a cluster of trees.
"Alright, hurry up on inside, quickly-- we'll talk about this later," As if on cue, a flash of lightning duoed with a pounding against the earth with a white light. Ivor gasped, blinking away the dots in his vision, as he sighed in relief as the door had shut behind the two, shutting out the streak of golden light.
"AGH!" Dipper exclaimed, flailing his free hand as the hot liquid dribbled out the corner of his mouth. The mug tilted sideways in his other hand, daring to tip over and splatter it's contents onto the bedsheets.
Ivor breathed a laugh, before placing down his own drink on the ottoman. "You're drinking too fast,"
Ignoring his comment, the deertaur lolled his tongue out to the side, slightly red from the temperature of the tea. He placed an almost playful glare, rubbing the dry section of his vest against his mouth. "You could have told me that sooner,"
"And... on a similar topic," Twilight piped up, levitating the mug just below her muzzle, "What have to two been doing out there?" She paused to massage her temples.
"It's on the verge of forty degrees, in the literal eye of a storm. And you were...?"
Danny rolled his eyes, nudging Dipper, unknowingly spilling a good amount of chamomile on his top. "Summoning the devil,"
"We were not--"
Drip.
The four glanced upwards, all eyes now glued to the lower ceiling, in which a wet spot had sprouted in the crevasses of the wood. Ivor groaned, removing himself from his seat. "Not again. I'll be quick, you three-- stay right there."
He hurried off into the other doorway, placed conveniently near the selection of cots that lined the room.
And then it was quiet.
The room had fallen silent, the only sounds now were the clinking of glass mugs, sipping on tea, and the crashing of the rage of the storm. And--
Drip.
Twilight bristled, backing out, as the spot quickly grew larger. Her eyes flashed in fear, as her body seemed to move on it's own, pressing her flank against the back wall. Shudders ran up and down her spine, spreading prickles of cold through her veins like needles. A sound escaped her mouth, as her vision had darkened.
Scared?
"Shut it," Twilight hissed, "I'm not in the mood."
Suit yourself, Princess.
And suddenly the sensation was gone.
Her body sprang upright, as Twilight shook her head briskly. She'd lost control. Again.
That thing was taking over her body...
"Uh..." Dipper murmured, inching close to the mare against the wall, "Is everything--"
"No." Twilight blurted, almost hysterically, "No, everything isn't fine-- not like hell."
"Do I... need to ask you if you want to talk about it? I mean, it seems like you--"
"Yes! I mean, I might!" Her ears pinned back as she mentally scolded herself, "I-it's... you wouldn't understand..."
She replied in a whisper, averting her eyes, hoping for them to get lost on anything else in the world. But she could feel something.
Some sort of warm, tingling itch that surfaced beneath her fur. It felt... familiar, yet... nice, almost. And at the same time, wrong. She let out a shuddered huff, slowly returning her eyes to the preteen.
"Wh...What..." but she shook her head. "I mean, this!"
She motioned to the boy before her, who flinched back a bit, which went unnoted by Twilight. Her eyes were suddenly filled with concern. "Y-you're not... you anymore..."
Dipper had returned the stare, looking slightly offended. "Of course I am. I don't know what made you think that." He squinted, taking another sip from his cup. Twilight gritted her teeth.
"Then what about me?" She pointed to the golden yellow horns protruding from the sides of her head. "Can you explain any of this?"
Drip.
The mare's eyes instinctively dodged towards the spot on the ceiling, only to widen, as she noticed Ivor, pinning a tarp over the spot. It hadn't been the ceiling.
Dipper's mug had tilted lifelessly to the side, blotching a light brown stain between them on the old blanket. Twilight paled, hesitantly meeting his stare. His mouth was half open, as if his mind was still sifting for words to respond. Then, Dipper blinked.
"D-don't know...?" I breathed, shuddering as I could very clearly feel a familiar, yet unnerving sensation rise up from the pit of my stomach, "Don't know what?"
Pines had set a gaze over me that I wasn't sure how to feel about. His stare was blank, dark, wrong. He hadn't opened his mouth yet, but I knew something had changed. I glanced into his eyes, but like a glass mirror, I could only feel the reflection of myself.
And why was he here?
"Dipper..." I pleaded, while my voice was edged with strictness. But he only waddled back a bit, to look me up and down before playing with his fingers. "Please..."
O-or how?
He didn't respond-- or at least, not verbally. I could see him bite his lip, his brows furrowing, as I simply waited in silent agony as he just... stared at me. Then he blinked again, a few more times, before his ears perked as if in sudden realization of something. He bit his lip, before his eyes dodged mine.
"It's not important." He finally burst out, clenching fists against the blanket.
"Yes it is! Why would you even--"
"No, I mean... I can't..." he'd hesitated again, tugging at one of the loose threads in the quilt, "I-I just..."
"Just what?" I hissed impatiently, "You're not hiding things from me, are you, Pines?"
Then there was a tight silence. I felt the breath leave my throat as my mouth was left agape, unsure wheather I was able to end our little conversation at that. I swallowed, awaiting the end of the tunnel of silence, waiting, for some sort of sign that he indeed wasn't lying to me.
"No. No, I'm not." Dipper shook his head briskly, releasing his hands as the tension in both the air and the blanket melted away, "It's complicated, alright? I'm just used to handling things like this on my own,"
"But you're not, I know you, Dipper!" My ears pinned back, "You need my help, whether you like it or not!"
Wait. My face suddenly contorted as a new thought arose.
Did I just--
"Twilight, listen. I'm perfectly fine working on my own. You said so yourself..."
He just made me change the subject? No... he wouldn't--
"W-wait, no! Listen to me!" I shouted, as Danny threw us a side glance whilst he tailed Ivor into the storage room. "This isn't the hot issue right now; right now, I need answers!"
For a split second, the cervitaur's face had expressed some sort of shock, before he lightly shook his head in denial.
"There's just... some things that aren't worth finding the answers to," he cleared his throat as if to signify something that I felt I hadn't been notified of, "Uh, we all have to bare that drive sometimes."
He returned a weak glare, that vanished before my own eyes; his shoulders slumped as he removed his gaze from mine, scuffling timidly back over to the window to rest his head against the hazy glass. I reached out for a second that hadn't lasted long enough, as if to gain his attention. But I faltered, retreating hesitantly back to my far, dark, corner.
I released another shaky breath, before curling up behind a mountain of quilts, and laying my head between my hooves. I allowed sleep to take over yet again, not batting a single eye as I could faintly hear the whispers in the back of my head.
Flip.
Scrriiitch...
My eyes fluttered open.
And instead of a well-earned yawn, the sound that escaped my throat was a sound that... was certainly not a yawn.
"Daniel..?" I stuttered, as I quickly regained my consciousness, noticing the sudden cooler feel of the room than when I'd shut my eyes before. There was a soreness buzzing in my ears as I quickly removed my head from the flattened pile of shirts that had suddenly found its way underneath my sleeping form, and created it's own makeshift pillow.
Daniel; he hadn't really moved a muscle, though. At least not to my response. There was a solemn look on the halfa's face, and well as his hoodie-- One that I didn't exactly recognize-- darkened the room with it's pale cyan coloring.
"Uh...'Rodriguez's Girlfriends'..??" I murmured awkwardly to myself, eyeing the cover and the pastel font title of the book, as if my eyes had a mind of their own, and not too surprisingly, Daniel had noticed me.
"Yeah, but his girlfriends call him Rodney," he flipped to another page.
Flip.
Reading? Daniel? My tired mind tried to tie the two opposing words into the same sentence. The only way I thought hearing those two words so dangerously close was if the word 'NOT' had slipped it's way into the sentence. Something about this had nagged me, as I responded in the most logical way possible.
"Wh-what the heck are you doing... here?" I gritted my teeth, as he failed to remove his nose from the book. That was some sort of... Deja-vu, wasn't it? "And why on EARTH are you reading?!"
"Ivor." he chewed the inside of his cheek as he flipped the page again, "He's a huuuuge--"
"Egghead, I get it!" I shrieked, entirely out of habit. Daniel huffed, pushing back what I believed was a laugh.
"I was going to say nerd, actually--"
I could feel my face heating up in shame, mixed in a firey batter of other emotions I wasn't too acquainted with.
I might have turned redder than the collection of autumn birch trees scattering the woods.
"N-- Just get the hell off!"
Daniel finally removed his gaze from the text."What?"
He sat up, carelessly flinging the book behind him, pressing his palms dramatically against his chest. "Woah. And I thought I had to watch my language," I fumed at the note of sarcasm.
"I SWARE, Daniel!"
"You're really setting yourself up, there."
I snarled, encasing him in a bright, velvet light, forcefully removing him from the cots, as I smiled in quick satisfaction when I heard him hit the ground.
There hadn't been more than a grunt of light pain, before he gripped the mattress in attempt to get back onto the beds. And in a matter of seconds I was met with a small sound of defeat.
"Alright..." he groaned, pressing his palm against the side of his head, "What did I do to offend your greatness this time, O your Majesty?"
"Say that again and I'll drop you off a cliff instead," I threatened, now conflicted whether I was being serious or not. "Listen, I'm going to request you of something, and I want your FULL attention!"
"Of course your Highness; Shall I fetch the finest Golden Apple from the scary dragon in the woods?"
"I'm serious."
"So am I,"
"LISTEN, Daniel!" I hollered, flaring my wings before retracting them to my side as the sharp pain jabbed my spine for at very least, the thousandth time. I exhaled, standing atop the bed, well above his height from my position, "Listen."
He only returned a glance, and blinked, patently annoyed, but silent. It was certainly a rare occasion, and I knew I had to take shot before the prey scattered, figuratively speaking, of course.
"I need you to--" I nearly winced at my choice of words, "T-to... explain things to me. I want to-- I need to know what happened." I'd waved him off as he opened his mouth in reply.
"No. Let me finish," He snapped his jaw shut in placement of a response.
I felt jitters climb up my neck as I felt a shadow-like sensation cross over me again. I shook my head briskly, desperate to rid of the possibility that the parasite was suddenly awake. Intrigued. Listening.
Deadly.
Still, and always, deadly.
'No. No, not again. I am in control of my mind-- I-I won't--won't...' I huffed.
"It's... It's going to sound crazy, I know; It's complicated. But you have to swear to me that you will take my every word. Got it?" Daniel had mouthed something short-cut, and I took it as a sign to carry on.
I inhaled audibly, spilling out the doubts puddled in my head, whilst filling my lungs with more oxygen than I had intended. It wasn't going to be an easy task, so I set my mind to make it short, simple, and to the point.
"There's a demon in my head." My voice had wavered just the slightest, possibly only worsening the situation.
Something inside me had sparked as Daniel's eyes had shadowed over, as he sat up from his place on the floor, his hand now digging into the mattress of the cot.
"A what?" he sounded incredulous.
"A- A demon, a parasite, I-I don't know?" I inquired my own statements, now, "It's.... eating at my head, o-or something, I'm not sure..."
I faltered.
Daniel was silent.
It was my turn to have a hand wave off my response to the silence, as Daniel returned a stare.
"I-I just want to make sure you're not...." he briefly glanced at me, before playing with the fabric of his hoodie. "Oh, uh... I-Ivor--"
He seemed to choke on his words, as I studied him anxiously scramble back onto the beds.
Daniel had taken in a quick breath --one I was positive he didn't have to take-- sitting criss-crossed across from me, removing the hoodie from his head, as if it was so crucial to in order to breath properly.
It was that, that had brought me back into the reality that allowed me to really get a look at him.
His face had been lined with faint traces of scars and scrapes, and there were a few brightly colored band-aids decorating his neck. His hair hadn't been the same raven black that he'd always claimed to prefer, but a glowing stark white instead. That color I thought he hated.
Then there was the change.
Because atop his head, in the mess of silver strands, were perked ears of a wolf-- also glistening white, and also, faintly scarred.
And fortunately, that was enough to kick-start my brain back into function.
"Wh-what? I'm listening," My face had brightened at the lightened opportunity, flicking an ear in approval.
Daniel had shaken his own head, blinking a few times before glancing me over, as well. He held his chin in a palm, leaning forwards. "I... Yeah, what was it you were saying...?"
I felt a twinge of guilt, unable to do anything except hold myself accountable; well aware that I had been so much as blunt in revealing my situation-- one that was a tad too much of a sensitive topic for Daniel. Ghosts. Spirits. The Dead.
"I'm just looking for answers, Daniel. Nothing else. You've done a lot in the past. Are you just unwilling to answer a question?"
He remained silent, glancing over my head, at the much quieter trickling of rain down the glass. The little rumbles of thunder felt like a rat under the floor, quivering the house, but weak. I realized, too, that I hadn't been the only one to lose my train of thought as the calming storm disrupted the tension.
I expected his eyes to flicker back to mine, but they remained past me. "You just want to know what happened?" he questioned, still casting his glance, blank over mine. His lips tightened, as if waiting for the words to come.
Nothing.
A few minutes passed before I took the conversation upon myself.
"Yes... between the time we... we were with Wolf-- when we were.... walking..." I pressed my eyes shut, searching for the memories, my mind like the burnt end of a paper, faded and blackened, impossible to see past the ash.
"W-walking... through the... the forest, uh, just past the ledge by the rivers..." My eyes shot open, "Up until the sun-fall, yesterday,"
"Oh," Daniel had placed a hand at the back of his neck, "Uh, th-that's alot,"
I prepared to shoot a retort, before I had stopped myself, as Daniel continued.
"Right... we arrived at the caverns, after-- the ones that lead a couple miles on-- and...Yeah, that's where we stopped for the night,"
"Then...?" I asked impatiently, biting my cheek.
"Wolf lead us to this 'other' part of the forest, around the time the storm had just... kinda came down on us-- It was when we were confronted with Ivor. I-It's complicated, the whole thing, but we ended up having to save Dipper from drowning in the deeper part of the woods where it was flooding up, like, a lot.
"Wolf eventually left, and Ivor brought us inside for tea, or, whatever that was he gave us. Nothing else really happened the following like, I don't know, three days? Dipper was recovering from pneumonia, and things kind of got weird from there,"
Finally, he had returned my glance.
But it still just wasn't enough for me.
"What are you talking about... how did--I mean, Pi-- Dipper!" I grunted in effort, "Dipper; what happened to him, though? Was it the flood? Which would mean the poison came from the rain-- a-acid rain? Wouldn't that mean this occurred on everyone? The curse rained from the sky?--"
"No, no It wasn't like that at all!" He held his head in frustration, "We're... not sure about Dipper. You were the one who found him, after all. He was just like that,"
"He was just a cervitaur?" I raised a brow. "Fine, explainable; but what happened to you? T-to me?"
"Yeah, about that?" His eyes cast off again, "Uh, you might have tampered with a cursed pond near one of the inworld portals,"
"I-I...WHAT?" My wing had unfurled, the shock of pain far from mind. "No way--- n-not possible, I am NOT going to accept that!"
"This may be why nobody wanted to tell you anything?" Daniel rose his vision towards the ceiling, "You always freak out over stuff like this. Believe me, that is NOT the worst thing that's happened,"
"Okay, okay..." I was able to cease my hyperventilating, forcing the thought that I was getting the answers I yearned for, in my head. "Okay.... then this?"
I pointed towards the pair of glowing, golden horns that curled around my jaws. "W-was this the..."
"Uh, yeah.... the whole 'cursed pond' thing again,"
"And you?" I cocked my head in question, "I'm almost certain you had nothing to do with the pond, either. So..."
"Well.... kinda..." he tilted his head also, and I wasn't sure as to why; whether he was mocking me, or it was just an instinctual behavior-- a side effect, in simpler terms, of this condition in his case.
"Ivor shed some light on the topic a bit, I guess. He said he didn't have the resources to tell us everything, but... it spreads through air bubbles, or something. But according to Ivor, it gets canceled out by precipitation..." he finished, almost in a question, as if he wasn't too sure himself. And I couldn't blame him; I was a bit wary as well.
"So you were tainted by one of those..." I tapped my chin with a hoof thoughtfully, "A globule of oxygenated venom gas... plausible...."
To say the least, I was utterly thrilled at the new unpacking of information. My mind had eventually wandered off as I somewhat unconsciously began theorizing the possibilities, make-ups of these 'air bubbles' that formed from the pond, why precipitation served as a cancelation barrier...
"Uh, hey," A voice announced from the front door, a bit warped by the still falling of rain. Ivor had popped his head inside from out, fingers curled around the doorframe. "I'm going out a bit; you kids stay inside until I get back. These woods aren't the most homely on nights like these,"
His hand fished for a transparent, blue poncho, placed by the door, hung by the hood on a single rack by the farther wall, just above an old toboggan.
Draping it over his shoulders hurriedly, he stuck out his other hand to wave a swift good-bye.
Before he was able to shut the door behind him, I was able to blurt, "Uh, Ivor?
"Th-thanks for everything."
His expression of question had shifted into a warm, light hearted smile in my direction, as he slowly closed the door, fingers dissapearing as I finally heard the click.
How the rain slicked down the sides of the glass, slipping through the creases and crevasses between the window frame and the wall, and the poorly insulated white mess, of a dried liquid that now dribbled with the scent of pine and wet. How the mess of the past storm left rubble and scattered nature about the freshly trimmed lawn, splattering the sides of the already dreary exterior of the little cabin of a house, sticking strands of grass and leftovers of the dead trees-- the little bits of leaf-- to the walls.
The trail leading back to the route they'd journeyed about just about a week ago, had almost vanished. Or so it seemed, as fallen trees and a mess of branches layered the paths, one of the fences surrounding Ivor's garden had been smashed to nothing but the remained of the rubble. Another part of the whole after-mess.
But now the storm had somewhat subsided, but refused the seize, as the sky still drizzled droplets of precipitation, as if it were still hanging on, trying to release every last drop...
Disgusting.
Danny huffed, eyes following the small blotch of warm air that formed on the pane as he did so. So he did it again, suddenly fixated on making sure the spot didn't fade away. Another breath. The spot reformed again, hesitating a bit longer before threatening to disappear again.
There was some sort of comfort as he watched the patch of warm air reappear yet again. Warm air, breath....
No. Nevermind.
The feeling of childish humor soon faded as the spot had, feeling the heat of the mug in his palm.
So Danny held up the glass to the window.
And a trail of fog followed the steam up the pane in soft waves.
Some sort of thought had somehow lead to the reminder that Ivor had failed to return. The half-deer man who almost never left the safety of his home.
Danny took a tentative sip.
His eyes cast over towards where the trail had once existed, pressing his face against the glass to see past the window mist that fogged the other side. The still sound of trickling rain had lightened, almost invisible. The storm had stopped.
Every instinct and molecule of his body was suddenly silently screaming at him, as Danny had no more than removed a foot from the bed.
Just get the heck out there!
Ivor. Trouble.
Storm.
He could have been--
"Ugh, coffee...?" A dreary voice emitted from one of two hallways. Swerving around, his vision caught Dipper, arms crossed in bemusement as he leaned tiredly against the wall. "This guy has a coffee machine, but he doesn't have a properly functioning bathroom,"
Rolling his eyes in an almost playful manner, Danny set his mug on the window sil.
"What're you having?" It almost sounded like a challenge.
"I dunno," The deertaur trotted into the makeshift kitchen, hesitantly placing his hand over one of the cabinet knobs. "What does he have?"
"Obviously not much if he only drinks tea,"
As if to prove a point, Danny lifted the half empty mug, glancing inside of it wistfully, "Even the coffee tastes like tea," But nonetheless, took another drink, embracing the warmth and the slight tanginess the unusual mixture offered.
The homely feeling returned, as the sound of kitchen clanging replaced every other sound in the room, all but the disturbed snoring in the corner wall, as Twilight blinked awake.
"Hmm..." she hummed, batting a hoof at the air, "Is that coffee...?"
The alicorn rubbed her eyes, removing her face from the sheet-pile and raised her muzzle to the air. She inhaled, stretching lazily, and eager to find the source of the wondrous scent. Forcing her eyes open she caught immediate sight of the mug, white-and-hazy red color obvious out of the mess that scattered the bedside table.
"We have... coffee?" There was a slight slur in there somewhere.
She shook her head briskly, only messying her mane further. Suddenly aware as to the creator of the such-wonderful smell, as she eyed Daniel as he swallowed down the last quarter of the drink.
"Dear Luna," Twilight breathed, "Daniel tried to make food."
"Tried?" Danny raised a brow, "Or succeeded?"
"Nevermind that," Twilight had pulled herself to all fours, already jittery, "Where on earth is Ivor? I'm almost sure that any sane mind wouldn't allow you two in the kitchen--"
"Out still," Dipper had replied from across the room, igniting a match, "He's--"
"Pines, the MATCHES?!"
"What?" He asked innocently, somewhat concerned from her outburst. He hadn't had time to play step two, before Twilight had swept the box out of his hand, putting out the match with some sort of spell. Everything clattered to the floor as the mare glanced up in hysteria.
"Wh-- why are you using matches to make... what, oatmeal?" she glared accusingly towards the breakfast mix.
"The... stove doesn't work," he flinched as Twilight had glared up at him, "Fine, I'll just have... cereal, I guess,"
Cautiously placing down one of the spoons on to the table and keeping Twilight in the corner of his eye, Dipper hurriedly headed to the fridge to fetch a carton of milk, knocking over the napkin stool whist doing so.
Twilight sighed, finding herself an apple and heading into the storage room.
"Woah, where are you going?" Danny had sat up, placing the empty mug back on the bedside. "Through the guy's stuff while he's gone?"
"Of course not," Twilight stated, a matter-of-fact-ly, "He has some sort of spare room back there,"
Danny gaped, "A WHOLE room?!"
"Ah, yes," Twilight bit into the apple, with a satisfying crunch, "What's so--"
"But he already has like..." the halfa paused, pushing himself off the cots to count the rows of miniature beds that lined the smaller portion of the room, "...
"Like, twelve!"
It was almost naive to believe one who owned twelve beds, also owned a matching number of bedrooms. But Twilight coincided.
"Well, he probably just has a lot of... money, then." Twilight herself had sounded a bit skeptical.
"Where would a dude who lives in a freaking small cabin in the middle of the wilderness, get 'a lot of money' from, exactly?" He stood up now, arms crossed.
"Don't overthink things so much, Daniel. That's certainly not the most suspicious thing I've witnessed here." Twilight muttered, glaring up at the boy. After a brief pause, she watched realization dawn over his features, and for a moment, Twilight almost regretted it.
"Alright, so you're aiming me now?"
"I'm not targeting you, I'm just pointing out the facts," she took another bite, the sound of her teeth sinking into the fruit more fierce than necessary.
Dipper had taken a breath, gripping the sides of his bowl and scurrying out of the room, as silently as he possibly could have been as the sound of hooves camping the wood floor tracked his disappearance.
"How the am I being suspicious? I answered all of your stupid questions yesterday!"
"Stupid questions, Daniel?" The mare echoed, allowing the apple to hit the floor, thus removing it from her magical grip. "Even someone as careless as you would understand the seriousness of this situation! Information like this was absolutely crucial to not just my safety, but for your hopes of returning back home! And for all I know, you could have been lying to me!"
Danny had remained silent, but the absence of this retort had been loud enough, as the unearthly green had flickered momentarily in the corners of his eyes.
"Fine."
He held up his hands in mock defeat, before letting a hand free to grip the handle of the mug, now dangling between two fingers.
Twilight huffed, ears pinning back, "What?"
"I said, Fine," he repeated, trudging tiredly across the room to drop the mug into the sink with a loud clank, "I'm finding Ivor myself."
"What on earth are you doing that for? He said not to leave the house!" She stomped a hoof in frustration. "That has literally nothing to do with anything!"
A pang of fear pulsed in the mare's chest, as her heart dared to escape her throat, as Daniel had already placed his hand on the doorknob, stuffing a snack or two in a pocket with his free hand.
"Yes, it does." he'd protested , before cracking open the door, squinting a slight bit as a streak of light broke through. "I'd rather be any place but inside this house, in the same room with you in it, anyway."
Not another word was spoken, as Danny slipped out, the sound of his shoes sloshing in the muddied mess had mixed in with the creaking of the front door, as it hesitantly closed shut.
There was something about the warming rays of sun and the bright blue of sky with the clearing grey clouds that had filled Danny with a new sense of euphoria, in some form that wasn't as obvious as one would like it to be.
A few of the creatures hiding in the shadows of the trees were almost beckoned outside as they heard the sound of activity; crunching leaves beneath feet, which meant the scary storm had gone away.
A flock of ravens shuffled along a branch just barely touching the new light, one ruffling it's feathers as the rays had touched it's head, and the others pushing through to gather some of the shy light, as well.
The fresh scent of rain had been stronger, now outside, and the moss that sprouted on the trunks of demolished trees and the forest floor was sprinkled with dew, sparkling to be made obvious out of the rest of the wood's green. Withered blanches plucked at each other, entangled with the damp vines hung loose from the treetops.
Suddenly, a wider clearing was evident, towards the shorter end of the trail, that Danny was almost certain, hadn't been there before.
He glanced back, aware of how far the safety of Ivor's home had become, as his little cottage was no longer visible past the glistening foliage.
Just keep walking. He's bound to be around here somewhere...
The thought hadn't been comforting enough; in fact, possibly more discomforting now that it pronounced the fact that Ivor had been nowhere near his home, which was alone, very unlike himself to ever even leave.
The other half of woods behind his house, just wasn't possible for him to walk in that direction through; it was a mess of greenery back there, and no one, especially of his height, could crawl through that mess.
Picking up his speed enough to make an audible beat of crinkling on the forest floor, Danny traced his fingers across the trees, out of superstition, often glancing behind him at the noticeable tracks left behind in the muck. He'd almost tripped as the path slanted downwards under his feet, grabbing onto a thin birch before his boots had lost traction.
The splayed branches of an old sycamore that had been pulled halfway out of the earth caught itself between two strong rooted trees, providing almost some sort of handle, as Danny wrapped his fingers around one of the twigs as he tentatively stepped into the shallow part of the dark river his reflection and everything around it appearing distorted.
The branch eerily bent forwards, dipping into the river as it made ripples that faded out in a matter of seconds, each time.
Tap.
Tap..
And suddenly, as a group of clouds had parted ways, the sun had sent a glistening light over the river, revealing the shallow, muddy bottom, as small fish and sparkling trout swam out of the direction of the light.
Convenient...
Without any hesitation, the teen had skipped through the thin stream, kicking up mud behind him as he leapt back over to the other side, hanging on to one of the exposed roots of a large oak.
A new layer of moss was visible now, untouched and pleasant-looking. And sprinkling the woods with another addition of green.
Standing just before the river, Danny had paused, as the sound of wildlife had rustled through the brush.
Thump.
Thud.
Something about the ear-throbbing sound had brought the halfa's hand up to his chest in breathlessness.
The weak and thin-legged form of an animal had broke free; a fully-grown deer, ears perked and alert. Sense wide awake, and prepare to flee from harm.
Suddenly it's head swerved in the direction of the halfa, now backed against a tree in poor attempt to blend in.
It'd captured the scent of a predator. Danger. A wolf.
There'd been no more room for thought, as the animal had headed in Danny's direction, blindly brushing it's hide past him, as if he hadn't existed at all.
...
Yeah, that was definitely a thing that happened.
Pushing that momentary confusion behind, Danny sprinted across the clearing, making way to the east part of the woods where the sun broke through the thin spaces between the trunks, a new ray of hope beaming in multiple directions.
Nature brushed his jacket with it's bitter pine scent, as he pushed through the remainder of wood, oblivious at first to the mangled hedge that created a boundary between the darkened forest and the true outside world.
Clamping a boot into the old hedge, and hand securing himself as he gripped onto a thinned vine, Danny had hoisted himself up, cautiously but quickly swinging to the other side, playing the deadly game of gravity, unwilling to release the vine until he felt the ground beneath his feet again.
Then he broke through.
The woods had vanished behind him, as the new reveal of sunlight burst out, having the halfa squint, releasing one of his hands from the vine to shield his eyes.
And Oh-ho-ho dang...
It was suddenly obvious why Ivor had left the territory of his home in the first place; because just beyond the hedge was a cliff, leading the explorer to an entire scenery. Thin streaks of the clearest water trickled down the edge, from the old murky pond, collecting inside the glass-like river that snaked between the two halves of what looked like evenly divided parts of a new type of forest. One that basked in the light of the after-storm, leaves swaying gently in the sudden breeze.
Life scattered about, little white specks that looked like rabbits scurrying to the protection of the wood, a herd of deer grazing under the shade as well, though their heads were still touched with the heat of sunlight. Uncountable flocks of birds scattered the new clearing, from the night-black ravens that perched over the ground, gripping onto twigs and careful not to move a muscle, to the few snow-white, mourning doves that seemed eager to scatter, as if claiming every inch of the land theirs'.
Danny had sighed a laugh in exhilaration, tightening his grip onto the further thinning vine until it snapped under his grip, the crackling sound of it's release the only sign that the vine had long been dead.
"What am I supposed to do from here...?"
It hadn't really come out as a question, but it hadn't mattered much; no one was there, anyway.
The sudden reminder of that had set an oldish feeling in the pit of his stomach, but exhaling had made it vanish.
"Right.... um, Ivor..."
Playing hesitantly with the dead vine in his palm, his eyes cast down into the wonderland just below. Into the river that stretched out beyond miles of what he could see. Vast life, carefree and bright as the sun loomed over them, but in protection, and warmth.
The cliff was steep enough; and for any regular human to fall from a height such as this would mean something somewhat close to death. Not like that was an issue...
But...
As if to mock, the eruption of sound of beating wings had interrupted the teen's train of thought, as a white dove flickered past, gliding downwards with ease, brushing past the lining of forest as it prepared to land, flittering it's wings in desperation as it miraculously clung onto a thin branch with grace.
There's no way I'm going to---
"Dang it, I'm climbing."
And without a moment of hesitation, Danny had leapt down onto the closest ledge, one that almost resembled a miniature overhang, but certainly not much of one.
The breeze began to pick up, suddenly making it more difficult to focus on the ledges. Hopping down onto another one, lightly scraping his palm as he forgot to let go of the rocky wall. His fingers slid over a few holes indented into the rock, making as a grip to secure him from loosing his footing.
Another leap.
Almost half the way down already.
The wind whistled, frightening a few of the scattered rabbits, and ushering them back into their burrows. Danny urged on further, palms cold as he dared another hop to the next shelf, the tightness disappearing as he felt foot hit surface yet again.
Pressing his head against the stone wall, Danny glanced down, only to find that the remainder of ledges were drowned in water.
He would have face-palmed if it wouldn't result in falling backwards into a river.
Fingers tapped the rocks anxiously, searching for some sort of resolution.
But there was none.
Finding himself a small footspace inside the cliff, He dug his right foot into the hole, in hopes that there had been another solution to getting his way down-- excluding option A, of course.
This is gonna be reaaally stupid.
So death-gripping onto two protruding pieces of stone, Danny released his foot from the space, releasing enough ghost energy into his palms, encasing his hands in a thin layer of ice. One that obviously wouldn't last long with exposure to sunlight such as on a day like this one.
Then he waited.
And in a matter of seconds, the ice began to crackle away-- his left hand first-- and quickly re-secured it to the stone as his right hand was then released from the ice. Icing his hand back to the lower part of the stone, he repeated the process as his right hand had melted out again. Freeze, wait, melt, repeat.
Progression was nice.
Until a fatal mistake was made.
A hand was missed, and it was a matter of seconds until--
Danny laughed, his body wracked with utter fear, nonetheless.
"Hah, I'm screwed--"
His right hand gave before action was taken, rubbing his palms against the stone wall for support as the halfa began slipping, the ice chipping away as his hands stung; the rock continued to claw at his hands, waiting desperately for the hurting to finally--
THUD.
The second the teen's back had collided with ground, he was completely unsure whether to be laughing, or huddled over in pain.
He grabbed his wrist, as the open wounds from his finger tips to the end of his palm had bled, slithering over his hand and now his arm, as he lay breathless in the grass. He'd only hissed in pain as a response, suddenly drained of the euphoric feeling that had been left abandoned at the top of the cliff.
Releasing his hand, he gathered enough strength to sit upright, glancing inside the stream as a drop of green and red leaked into the crystal blue, inking out a blotch of sickening color before it vanished away with the ripples.
Danny sighed, leaning over the stream.
"Was this really worth it...?
"I don't even know where the heck the guy is.
"For all I know, he could literally be in some sort of Candy Land, compared to this," he chuckled silently.
"I knew it was stupid."
He resisted dripping his hand into the cool, trickling stream, as the stickiness of blood remained on his fingertips.
"Hey."
Danny visibly jumped, slamming his palm into the grass is poor defense, as he flickered around, meeting with a curious pair of violet eyes and a full head of sunset-brown hair.
Exhaling, he held a hand up to his chest for the millionth time, this time leaving a handprint of a red-green mixture of color in the center of the hoodie.
"Dude, you almost gave me a heartattack."
He laughed, playing with his hair, "Hah, sorry... Just...." he clasped his hands nervously, "I don't really see many, uh, visitors, down here,"
Visitors?
"Wait, you mean you live here?" Danny inquired, as the younger boy had placed himself beside him.
"I live everywhere?" he tilted his head, breaking a cocky smile, "No one truly lives anywhere,"
This kid's younger than me AND more complex. Where have I seen this before? Danny thought, wistfully.
He scooted a few inches further, out of discomfort, "Er, yeah... whatever you say, I guess."
Breathless again, the kid had shoved his head just under Danny's, eyeing his hands with a gasp.
"Ooh, that looks bad." he tilted his head again, this time bumping the halfa's shoulder with one of the horns that sprouted from his head. "Why's it look like that?"
Suddenly his eyes had twinkled, a look of realization forming in head head.
"Oh, you're just like me!" he got onto his knees, glancing the older boy up and down, "A... A werewolf or something, right?"
Ah yes, I forgot about that. Danny sighed internally.
"Uh, yeah. Something like that..."
"Your ears are cool; can you like, hear a lot of things? Far-away things?" He began questioning, getting a look at the white pair of canine ears that matched in perfect harmony with the grassland's bright wonder. At least in his eyes, it did.
"Werewolves have tails. Why don't you have a tail?" His brows furrowed in suspicion, as Danny continued his own internal monologue. "Are you new here? Well, of course you are," he dismissed his own question.
"I would've seen you before, of course!" The dark patch of fur on his lower back was now obvious, as he got onto all fours, shifting into some sort of monsterish form, one that wasn't much bigger than cat.
Danny raised a brow, Is that what he meant by us being the same?
"Oh! Come on, I want to show you something cool!" It was almost cute how the little black creature in his place squirmed with excitement.
Danny felt as if he just wasn't permitted to say no.
"Uh, where, are we going, exactly...?"
"Over to this really cool cave thing just by the edge of the river-forest!" He'd wagged his 'tail', or more likely, a tuft of fur that had three thin tails attached to it, with menacing eyes at the ends that stared dead.
"There's like three caves conjoined to it, and I want you to check out this super cool one!" he made a high-pitched yapping sound, that had been a mixture of cute and horrifying. "But you have to use your feral form to get in! The crawlspace is reeeally small,"
"Feral form?" the halfa parroted, "What are you talking--"
"Your wolf form, silly!" he laughed, as if it was such a silly-obvious question, "Most of the mutants have them, especially werewolves! Or..."
He trailed off in thought, his beaded eyes dodged to the ground as if he was searching for his words again. "Oh, have you not... Do you not know how to do it?"
"Uh..."
The kid shifted back, standing up and brushing off his tattered shorts. "It's alright, I'll show you!"
And as if the answer was just that simple, he shifted back to his feral form again, sticking his tongue out in amusement.
"Like that; it's easy!" he wagged his tail again, beaming up at Danny, who only sighed. "Your turn!"
I'm actually about to take one-step advice from, what, a ten year old?
I'll just...
Reaching for the similar buzzing sensation in his core, a wave of cool swept over his form until, the little mutant-monster yapped in excitement.
"See, easy!" he squeaked, closing in the space between the two to get a close look at the glowing, luminescent, black-and-white wolf that now stood before him.
Danny had shifted on his feet-- no, paws, awkwardly, as the creature stared up at him in wonder.
"Woahhh..." he breathed, taking in the appearance, "I've never seen a werewolf up so close before! They look so cool; even far away!"
He started circling him, his little form buzzing in amazement. His body even began to emit a bright red glow.
"Uh..." Danny had blurted, still partially unable to form a proper sentence, "D-Didn't you say we were gonna go look at some... uh, cave thing, or something...?"
"Oh yeah! We gotta go soon, so we can catch the lights at sun-fall!" he swerved around, as his tail swung around in a graceful motion behind him, before he stopped, and turned back around.
"Oh! And my name's Daarin! Juuust so you know," he smiled, twisted back around, and skittering into the distance, as Danny stalked unevenly behind.
"Darn it, I knew it!" Twilight scolded herself, pacing jitterishly about the kitchen. "And it's...."
She cut herself off, raising her head at Dipper, who had finally placed down his slice of buttered toast, after hearing the mare rant for what seemed like hours. With an exasperated sigh, the bread had plopped back onto the saucer.
"Come on, It's not your fault," he hungrily eyed the melting butter that dribbled over the edges of the toast, "Danny'd wanted to go out on that one-person search party for Ivor, for the longest time now,"
"What are-- what do you mean?"
The cervitaur had taken a quick bite with an audible crunch, "He told me last night."
"AHA! I knew it!" Twilight announced, before a mild look of fierceness crossed her features, "So he WAS just blowing off his anger at me-- a-and with an almost logical excuse!"
"I-I'm pretty sure that's NOT--"
"No, no, listen!" Twilight had waved a foreleg hysterically, "I'm going out to find him-- and Ivor."
Her ears had merely perked as Dipper groaned, graining the toast in his hand. There were ashes of burnt bread littering his fingers, and black blotches that stained his hands from previous encounters of the situation. It'd already been a long morning since their little... predicament, while Dipper had placed himself on the ottoman he dragged across the living room to eat his breakfast toast on, he was no longer permitted to leave his spot.
"Look, the worst thing you could possibly do right now is go out into the wilderness to find them. Danny can take care of himself; I'm pretty sure he's done more than just prove it to us,"
"But Ivor, Dipper," Twilight argued, throat tightened, "If Daniel had any chance down there without getting eaten whole by whatever in Equestria lives in these woods-- Ivor?"
The room had fallen silent yet again, as the two had almost avoided eye contact, both clearly deep in thought. Her legs had gotten sore after a few seconds of silence, and began shifting hooves. Daring a quick glance up at Dipper, who'd been glancing her up and down, lunch long forgotten.
He breathed a long sigh, draping a thin, gray bedsheet over his shoulders. "Danny.... is going to be fine."
Twilight grunted, stomping a hoof into the wood, "Why are you so obsessed with telling me his whereabouts? I know he's fine, YOU know he's fine!" Her face had heated in rage, huffing as she glared down at the tiles, somehow unable to clearly direct her anger to the boy.
"Because," Dipper started, pushing himself steadily off the ottoman he'd earlier scooted across the room, "I know you're worried about him,"
This only seemed to irritate Twilight further, "Worried about him? How about you?" she motioned to Dipper accusingly, "You're the one who keeps bringing him up all the time!"
"I-I know," he crossed his arms firmly, "But I'm not afraid to admit how worried I am about him-- unlike you,"
"Don't be ridiculous," Twilight sighed, trotting up to the seat and placing herself next to the preteen, "The last thing on my list of concerns right now is Daniel. You've said it yourself; he's independent-- although clearly immature at times. And I'm not going to worry over someone night and day who's able to take care of themself,"
"Now, uh, remind me; hooow many times have you disproved that logic?" Crunch.
It was Twilight's turn to reply with wordless silence. And for a second, she listened to her own breathing as though there had been nothing else to listen to. Besides, the awkward silences had taken a toll on her, only dragging her closer and closer to the ground in defenselessness. And though she'd kind of hated to admit it, Dipper had been right. But he didn't need to know that, did he?
"That was the past, Pines," Twilight raised her head in mock assurance, "Plus, with everything going on back at home, we've all been pushed to accept the roots of that. The root fact being that with all lives at stake with the ground able to open beneath us and swallow us all whole, fretting over anypony who is noticeably responsible of their duties is just a waste of heart,"
She wished she could only swallow back her words, even if she had to choke them back down.
"Right..." Dipper breathed, "Yeah, I... can't exactly come up with a rebuttal for that one," he breathed a laugh this time, rising steadily off the chair as Twilight raised a brow.
"And you're going where..?"
"To go check out the area," he announced, planting his fists against his waist in an almost heroic stance, "Because who knows what anomalies lurk just around the corners of--"
Dipper glanced up, dropping his stance as if to ponder something, "Uh... this very house!" He motioned dramiatically towards the front door.
"Right," Twilight creaked open the refrigerator with an audible pop, "Don't go too far. I know I can trust you not to stay out too long,"
Whilst she stuck her head inside the fridge to search for a box of instant rice, or something of the sort, she'd heard the excited clopping of hooves against the wood floor, soon hearing the door swing open. And not a second later, something slamming into the doorframe. Twilight sighed, finding herself a bag of 'Omelette mix' which was certainly not supposed to be boxed and refrigerated.
"Somewhat, at least."
"Totally meant to do that!" Dipper had called back before disappearing into the greenery.
Hop.
Hop.
Skip.
Hop.
Daarin's tiny animal body had skidded down the slope with such ease, that it appeared almost impossible to slip and break a few bones.
Maybe it's just a... Daarin thing, Danny had thought, feet-- no, paws-- clipped at the edge, still, watching in mild horror at the height between him on the shelf of it, and the very bottom.
The smooth, grassy, green, bottom.
He wanted to get down so bad, but--
"Hey!" Daarin had eventually become aware of the absence of the werewolf from behind him. "Are you comiiiing?"
Danny had opened his maw to reply, but the only sound that escaped his mouth were broken fragments of a word. Then he groaned instead, lowering his head in frustration.
It hasn't been that long, has it...?
Finally, the words came.
"Uh..." Danny was barely able to manage, "Uh, yeah. So, how exactly am I gonna get from here to there without falling and..."
"Oh, it's easy!" Daarin called back, his small voice echoed in the empty space down below that had much resembled a sinkhole. "Just... kinda fit your paws into the... the crevices and stuff, and you're good!"
He continued to hop along the rest of the slope, leaving Danny with his thoughts, and the-- yet again-- semi-unhelpful advice. But it'd worked before, in a way, so... why not?
Daarin sighed, leaping to the very bottom of the plain, giggling a bit to himself as he embraced the tickling dew of the grass that now dotted his hide. He rolled to his side, enjoying the chilling feel of water blotching his coat, as he began rolling around in the shorter patch of green.
His bright, blue eyes shut, as Daarin sighed again, inching his head upwards just enough for the peaking sun looming over the earth warmed the fur atop his head.
Then the warmth vanished.
"Hmm?" He popped an eye open disappointingly, a second before he glanced up at a menacing-looking silhouette that now blocked the sun.
"Get out of the way or you're gonna be squashed!" The large werewolf called out to him, before leaping off the edge, appearing suspended in the air in the eyes of the young mutant.
Daarin's first instinct alerted him to flee, but his eyes cast over the majesty of the great, white, werewolf that seemed to loom even over the sun--
Get out of the way, Daarin! Even his subconscious had scolded him, before he emitted a frightened yap, skidding out of the way before, as he felt his head graze the tips of sharp claws.
THUD.
Daarin hunched over, shielding his head with his forelegs, before peaking through the little hole that a ray of sunlight had snuck into.
Danny had shakily landed on all fours, legs wobbling beneath his although he wore a look of victory.
Daarin exhaled, rising back up to admire Danny again, "Woahhh.... that was so cool! Can you do it again?!" The trio of eyes that were his tail blinked up at him with admiration.
"Uh, maybe when we get back," he glanced behind his shoulder for an eyeful of the bright and glistening sun that projected off the crashing and sprinkling of the waterfall that basked in the glory of mid-autumn. "What about that, uh, cave thing?"
"Oh!" Daarin was practically vibrating with excitement, "I can't wait to show you! It's super cool! Come on!"
He pranced off again, across the grassy plain, and through the little patch of rocks that protruded from the ground just in front of a large opening that looked as if it lead to some sort of wild cavern.
So Danny followed behind, resisting any hesitance that tugged at his pelt whilst stalking cautiously behind. Or... maybe it was just the stones.
Skidding between the last set of boulders that seemed to grow at the cave's entrance, his eyes had widened at the glistening stalactites that first came into view, and the crystal-like rocks that sprouted from every which way. Daarin had been bouncing excitedly before Danny, just about ready to explode.
"Isn't it awesome?!" he announced, twirling a bit, then poking his muzzle at one of the more fragile-looking crystals that seemed to glow a light blue, "I've seen so many crystals in soo many caves, but these?"
He motioned to it with a foreleg, "They almost look magical!"
Danny inched closer, giving the collection of transparent rocks a better look. He hummed to himself, "Yeah... magical..."
The slight ounce of suspicion in his words went well past the head of Daarin, who only beamed brighter. Something about these rocks-- or crystals-- had been at least somewhat interesting enough to have both of them dragged down here. And Daarin, so many more times than he'd thought was possible.
"Come on!" Daarin had interrupted the train of thought, "Past the cave stream is some other really cool stuff I wanna show you!" A few seconds had passed as he glanced up at the wolf, awaiting his signal to go ahead.
"Uh-- right, lead the way!" he tilted his head up in approval, as the younger creature stared up at him, returning an excited smile.
"Okay." Daarin had puffed out his chest, standing firmly over the edge where a darkened shade of a waterfall rushed downwards, into the bottom portion of the cave. "Okay!" His voice had seemed to tremble, legs wobbling beneath him, and yet still tried to convince himself that he certain-as-heck could find himself down there.
"OKAY!"
"Uh, dude, have you ever even... been down there...?" Danny craned over the edge, quickly backing up as he felt the slippery surface of the stone. "And what about that... crawlspace thing? That you mentioned? Before...?"
"About that..." Daarin pinned his ears back, as the tail-eyes had shut tight, "I kinda just realized you wouldn't be able to fit down there... I guess that's why I only find birds and those weird blood-sucky worm thingies down there."
"Wait, you mean there are--"
"Buuut..." Daarin had mindlessly cut off, stepping backwards into the shallow part of the rough stream, "Maybe you might know a way down...?"
"I've never even been in here in my life! Besides, I'm pretty sure you'd know at least another way down there; I mean, you practically live here!"
"I live everywhere!" Daarin reminded, sitting back on his haunches as the water trickled around him, "But, maybe you're right-- I mean, I don't know any other way down except for the super tiny crawlspace, and the waterfall... which is prooooobably not the best idea..."
The kid almost looked distraught for a second, before shaking his head briskly, sprinkling water from his hide. He tapped his forelegs together, as if pondering deeply, then his ears perked up.
"I mean, since we can't.... I guess you could go back to your human form, now," there was still that chipper tone in his voice, although it simmered down by a longshot. His body was then encased in a bright, neon blue light, before a young human had replaced the small animal.
Danny followed suit, sitting back against the side of the cave wall now, eyes trailing over the bottom of the cave, where the water had pooled up in one stony bay, splitting out at the sides and leading down the remainder of the cavern.
Hmm.
"I mean... we could just jump,"
Daarin's ears had perked up, as his face disguised in the shadows had almost lit up. Then a shadow of doubt crossed over his features instead. "But... I.... don't want you to get hurt! Look at your hands!"
His eyes pinned on the halfa's palms, which had indeed stopped bleeding for the most part, but the gashes from the rock still left open wounds from finger to wrist. But Danny shook his head. "It's fine; I'm the least you should be worried about."
Daarin paused for a moment, then smiled. "A-Alright..! But..."
"But...?"
"But only if you.... uh, make sure I don't fall. I-I mean, the wrong way..." he wouldn't remove his eyes from Danny's, awaiting his approval again. "You have to promise!"
"I promise."
As if that had been the magic word, Daarin had sprung out from the thin stream, standing up on the other side now and brushing off his shorts, possibly out of habit. Or maybe nervousness; he eventually glanced up to face Danny, gripping the edge of one of the selenite crystals that broke through the cave wall.
"Alright... I'm ready!" he had almost forced out the words, his twitching fingers only taking away from his disguise of bravery.
It hadn't even taken a quick look-over for Danny to come to the conclusion that Daarin certainly hadn't thought any of this through, or perhaps, had avoided it at all costs. But whatever was down there to push him to limits of jumping a literal cliff, had to be worth it, hadn't it? "You know you don't have to do this, right?" Danny mentioned, as Daarin stalked to his side to glance down into the abyss. He only shrugged.
"I know, but.... It's really worth it! As long as nobody gets hurt, I mean!" his voice wavered, but he puffed out his chest instead. "I'm ready."
Danny nodded briefly, waiting for any symbol of movement from the kid, who just stared down into the dark, as if his answer were written into the faint rocks and ripples that surfaced the river. Then he blinked, as if returning back to reality.
His arms wrapped around the halfa's waist, gripping the leather of the hoodie as if his life depended on it. Danny only watched in silence, until he had his own reality check and hesitantly wrapped his arms just below the Daarin's shoulders, meeting his hands at his back.
There was a short silence, as the two had only listened to the sound of the trickling of cave water, and the faint rushing of the falls from outside. The sound of feet reluctantly scuffing the stone.
"You're ready...?" Danny had finally managed, making sure he was holding onto the boy tight. Just a piece of him had wanted a different answer than he'd received. A piece of him wished that he had said no. Something was different than it... than it had been...
"Yep."
They both had shuffled their feet until Daarin had gasped, as his heel had skimmed the sharp edge of the drop, prompting the older teen to back up an inch. But he hadn't wanted Daarin to fall first. Shuffling around again, Danny had faced his back to the edge, inching back until his boot had touched the very end. He nodded alone to himself, breathing out words of assurance to himself, that he wished there had been enough control to keep inside his thoughts.
He forced a breathed laugh, "If you say so,"
As if had been done many a times before, he stepped back, and then the light and the surface vanished, as Daarin had yelled out in excitement. It sounded like the sounds that were always left at the top as his breath had been left in a box as he tried the leap of faith time and time again. But this time there was the explosion of cool and the fogging of their vision as gravity slowed.
Daarin had been quick to resurface, almost immediately after the two bodies had plunged into the far deeper waters in the abyss of the cave, than they'd both thought. His head burst from the capture of it as he took in a deep breath, happy to know he sure wasn't dead.
He briefly laughed at the thought, only to notice that Danny hadn't released from the waters as he did.
"Hey! You down there?" Daarin called, only to gasp in surprise as Danny had broke out from the stream his hair clinging to his face.
"Now I'm up here," he pushed back his hair from his eyes in an almost failed attempt. "So... where do we go from here? Not like I'm complaining about leaving..."
"Hm, uh, I'm not too certain about which way we're going... I usually take the crawlspace down...." he stopped to think, glancing around at the echoing cave walls, "But I think I'll be able to find our way back on track! Follow me!" He immediately began swimming towards the nearest formation of rocky land, which turned out to be a thing, narrow strip of stone that connected to a larger 'island-like' ground that just barely peeked out of the murk.
The two had hoisted themselves back up, both now aware of their now soaking wet clothing. But if it had bothered either of them, no one said a thing. Daarin quickly skipped ahead of Danny, the squishing sound of his shoes slamming into the ground bounced off the cave. And with a second leap of faith, he leapt to the other side, shakily standing back up as he'd nearly landed on his knees.
Danny followed along, furrowing his brows as he now stood before another mouth of cave, but this one was far darker and sinister-looking. Even the light drops of water that dripped from the stalactites seemed menacing.
As if he could read minds, Daarin smiled, "Don't worry, It's MUCH brighter down there!"
"Brighter..." Danny had seemed to still be processing the words, "Wait, how can it be brighter, if we're going deeper into the cave?"
"You'll see! Trust me!" taking the halfa's hand, he had practically began dragging him down into the further parts of the cave, the little light seeming to grow dimmer and darker.
At first, the gesture of this kid grabbing him by the hand and dragging him down here had sounded ridiculous. But after only a couple minutes of dodging the pointed stones, crystals, and stalagmites that sprouted from every-which-way, Danny had suddenly grown more than grateful that he had a hand to at least guide him; because eventually, even enhanced vision couldn't pick up every deathly needle that protruded from the ground.
Danny wasn't too sure how much time had passed, but he knew it had to have been quite a while, hearing Daarin pant, releasing his hand slowly as if to signify that he was stopping.
"It's.... a-alot further.... than I re...remembered...!" although neither could see the other, it was evident that Danny had been tired out as well. There hadn't really been a sign for that, except for the sound of him shuffling to sit down against the narrow wall, and the sound of a chip of stone clinging to his jacket, pulling at the seams.
"Maybe..... we need a quick... break...?"
"Way ahead of you," there was suddenly a new sound, that Daarin hadn't recalled hearing before.
have a snickers
He nearly jumped, as a dim, green light suddenly formed in front of him, and allowing his eyes to adjust, realized that Danny had somehow lit a small, green flame, atop a stone. It hadn't really made much sense; Daarin had made many fires in his young life, and he at least knew two basic things: One, fire was certainly not supposed to be green. And Two, those types of rock-- especially with how wet it was-- had no chance of even catching fire. But he sat down next to Danny anyway, assuming it was just another 'werewolf thing'.
Under the dim light, he could see something placed on his lap, now. And it had smelled amazing.
"What's this...?" Daarin tilted his head, causiously bringing the crumbly item up close to his face to catch it's salty scent. "It smells sooo...."
"Brought some stuff from, uh, back home," Danny had managed a faint smile, as Daarin had picked out a single cracker from the sleeve, analyzing it carefully with bright, blue eyes. "It's all your's,"
"Woah, really?" the look on his face was almost too amusing, "Uh... thank you! H-how do I..... how do I eat these?"
Instead of awaiting further instruction, he'd stuffed a trio of crackers into his mouth, eyes immediately lighting up at the salty taste. Daarin hadn't even finished swallowing his first mouthful before he dove back into the sleeve to fit more of the delicacy into his mouth.
"RHO MHY GWSH!" He exclaimed, having to cover his mouth to prevent anything from falling out, "WHREH DGH YRR GRWT THWS?!"
"What?" Danny had held back a laugh. "You have... stuff in your mouth,"
Daarin heavily swallowed, wiping his face with the back of his wrist.
"I said, where'd you get these? I've never seen foods like this in any of the fields, before!"
"Oh, uh..." the older boy glanced up, searching for a somewhat logical way to explain this to some kid who probably never had foods outside the woods, manufactured in actual man-made factories, before. And unfortunately, nothing came. "It's complicated. But I'll make sure to remember to bring you some more in the future; maybe some other stuff we have there, too,"
Daarin could have sworn he felt a twinge of disappointment as he heard Danny get back up. The small moment was over; It surely hadn't lasted long enough.
But deciding it really was best to continue on before it got too late, he stood up as well, brushing off his shorts that he was almost certain had been soaking wet a few minutes ago. Maybe it was the fire.
Besides, he still did have that super-cool, awesome thing he wanted to show--
To show...
Oh no!
"Agh!" Daarin exclaimed, as Danny nearly stumbled backwards. "I don't know your name! But you know my name, right?!"
They began walking off, leaving Danny to only silently listen to the younger boy's rant.
"Just like that time with the old hellhound! He almost killed me because I... didn't ask him his name, I guess?!" he started sounding hysterical, "B-but I mean, you wouldn't do that... do that to me, I know it! I mean, it was just an... the... example... thing...!"
"An... alliteration? No, no wait, that wasn't it! Anyway! I... uh, didn't mean it like that-- actually, I think I made it worse! Oh, is not asking for a werewolf's name like a dishonor thing? I mean, that's what I think I heard... Or is it the other way around, like, am I not supposed to introduce me first? Is there an order?! Are you even allowed to know my name at all? I-it's like the... those books, where um, you-- I mean, uh.. I wasn't really--"
"Danny."
"Huh?"
"Danny." he repeated, covering his mouth now to cover up another laugh, "It's Danny. You're not in trouble, kid."
"Oh!" Daarin exclaimed, balling his fists as if the revelation had been all too surprising. "OH! Okay, um... are-- Wait." He held out an arm, stopping them both in their tracks, as Daarin's glistening sapphire eyes reflected a brighter blue that emitted from a further part in the cave.
He made some sort of squealing sound, as his fists balled tighter.
"I can see the bright light coming from down over there!" he hastily pointed towards the faint sparkle of blue that twinkled further down the cave. "It's gonna be so cool! Especially at nights, I think! If we get there on time when the moon is juuuust right..."
He motioned his hands above his head, completely unaware that Danny was unable to make out the gesture. "It'll be amazing!"
The signal to continue walking again had been the sound of the younger boy's feet kicking off the stone, and the echoing sound as he disappeared even further. And not having a hand to guide him this time, Danny sighed, resorting to using a bit of ghost energy in his palm that made a faint light that made out the shapes of the walls. And also the shrinking form of Daarin.
It was at least a few minutes before the two had both stopped right before a thin wall of stone that had cracks of neon light streaking through. The little rays of light were nearly blinding, which Daarin hadn't seemed to mind at all. He looked about ready to burst, in the most positive way possible, of course.
He placed a finger over one of the cracks, hiding one bright streak of blue, tracing his palm down the rock. "I really hope..." he trailed off, the grin on his face now a shy smile, "Really hope that... uh, you think it's as cool as I do..."
That was when he flinched his hand from the wall, as if by force, as spun around, heading further into the now even more narrow space where one of the paths made a deep right turn. Danny followed, now insanely curious.
But as he'd turned the sharp corner, he bumped into Daarin, who's small form had barely been inches from scraping the thin walls. There were think vines and strange shrubs that sprouted from the opening, as Daarin grunted to clear it. A few thinned vines had snapped, and then there was a new light that flowed through the clearing, now. And the two had to squint at first to see past it.
Daarin had silently grabbed his hand, gently pulling him through the brush, both of them with their eyes still shut.
"Alright..." Daarin had shakily announced, letting go of the teen's hand as they approached the room. "Um... open your eyes, now..."
And they both did.
Danny was speechless.
His mouth opened to comment, but nothing came out, as he threw his glance up at the cave ceiling in breathlessness.
The room was overall, naturally dark to his surprise, but there were literal glowing crystals and minerals that grew from the ceiling, and few larger ones that poked out from the ground, and in between the walls. Their colors ranged, from a light lavender shade, to deep sapphire, and each color cast both diamond shaped shadows and echoing lights that bounded off the walls, reflecting on each other.
Just over Daarin's head where the brush had grown, there were tiny fragments of the crystal that had littered the greenery with its tame colors. And every piece that lay within reach of their eyes were glistened with a small sparkle, that felt like the room was invaded by little stars.
Then there was the best part.
Scattered on just about every cave wall were etchings of planets and stars, and swirls that resembled the milky-way. Carvings of the sun and the moon on the ground beneath their feet, and little indents of dots that looked like more tiny stars. The work on the ceiling, though, glowed along with the crystals. And some little pieces of yarn tied to the crevasses.
On the end of each piece of yarn was a well-crafted carving of a star or two. They were even semi transparent, which meant the light reflecting on them around the caveroom... made it look...
Just...
"Hah, hey... you okay?"
Danny had snapped back to reality, slightly disappointed as he realized that he wasn't really in outer space. He mentally chuckled to himself, with the familiarity of loosing his train of thought to a fantasy again.
"Uh, sure."
"O-okay...." Daarin had swallowed, silently glancing up, too. "Good..."
...
"Do you... do you like it...?"
"Yeah."
"That's good too..."
The unusual silence had filled the air quick enough, as no one had responded, only casting their eyes above their heads.
Danny had somewhat broke it, as he sat down, much to Daarin's surprise. He sat with his knees to his chest, suddenly more comfortable in the cave, then anywhere else.
"So... space, huh?"
Daarin sat next to him, still making sure to leave some room between them. He sat cross-legged only a few inches away, clasping his hands nervously.
"Um, yeah," he played with his fingers, "I... I kinda thinks it's cool, and stuff... er, d-do you--"
"Yeah." Danny breathed, wrapping his arms around his legs, pulling himself closer, "I think it's cool, too,"
There was more of the silence, as the boys watched the display all around them, while not moving a muscle. There was almost no sound, until the silence had finally settled, and the faint dripping of water a mile away filled their senses. Then it felt like an ocean. One with stars and galaxies, and trails of light and floating rocks.
"I kinda wanted to go to space..." Daarin murmured, placing his chin in both palms, "Being just... out there, like you can fly? And being all alone, leaving earth and everything on it behind, y-y'know?"
The werewolf had only flicked an ear.
"And then... then you could be all alone with just yourself. And just.. kinda think, I guess." Daarin swallowed again, "I guess it kind of sounds boring... but... I mean, it's better than being on... on here, right? On a planet, in a world, where nothing's perfect."
Danny found himself playing with the drawstring of his hoodie, "Yeah. I mean..." he paused for a while, even his hands had frozen in place.
"Y-yeah, I guess. But... I think it's a it more than that... For me."
The halfa took a brief glance at his hands, before rolling the long sleeves past them. And then he glanced up a final time, before it was the obvious time to go.
"Hm, what'd you mean...?"
He was obviously stalling. But Danny only either didn't seem to mind, or didn't notice.
"Ah, nothing." Danny waved a hand (or sleeve) dismissively, leaning further into his knees, "But... geez, dude."
He paused a second, his mouth left open as he stared at the tinted ground of rock.
"How'd you... put this all together? And all by yourself?"
"Oh, it was nothing..." he beamed, bashful, "I- Actually, I had an older cousin who knew how to do all that cool stuff like carving and knitting and stuff; He was really good! Taught me how to do all of that-- Even painting!"
Danny leaned back on his palms, closing his eyes while the light still seeped through his vision. He breathed what sounded like a laugh, "He sounds awesome,"
"Totally..." Daarin murmured, cupping his chin, "I kinda miss him, but he's still kinda here, you know? I mean, through everything he taught me. At least, it feels a lot better thinking about it that way."
"Hm," Danny seemed to hum in response, glancing up at the ceiling, almost mesmerized again. "If you don't mind me asking, uh, you know what happened to him?"
Daarin shrugged, "Nah, except that we got separated, plus everyone else, during this weird storm thing a few years ago during the... uh, sickness thing. A few years as in, like... half my life ago."
"Ah. Sorry to hear that,"
Daarin shook his head, quickly revealing a sheepish grin. He waved a hand wildly, "Don't worry about it-- In fact, you being here makes it all a lot better!"
The teen scoffed, playfully rubbing his fist into the younger kid's hair. "Pfft. You're really tough, you know that?"
Daarin laughed, grabbing his arm with both hands, "Yeah right..."
"And.. speaking of which, should we get going before it's too dark out?"
"Oh!" Daarin exclaimed, springing back up and landing a palm at his face, "I totally forgot! It won't take too long to get out; I know the way-- follow me!"
In a new sudden burst of energy, the younger boy had sprinted out of sight, with Danny quickly trailing behind.
"Hm, things seemed to have... calmed down today..."
But contrary to both of their thoughts, two pairs of eyes flashed a brief glance outwards to the window, then they flickered back. The frantic shrieks and yells of anger that echoed eerily outside in the dull midday light, none having gone home yet out of both spite and fear, even in the midst of last night's rainstorm. And of course, without anyone on duty to clear and control the danged weather, it reigned free on it's own. But that was one of the least of their worries.
Same chaos as usual. It reminded one of them of someone, and she swallowed back a growing lump in her throat with the burning hot of tea. Or... whatever this was she'd brewed together.
Food was also low this season, and fruit in particular, since so many crops had either been destroyed in war, or just forgotten, and withered and died, leaving crisp little remains of what never made it to a hungry family's diner plate. But yet another thing on the bottom of the list of concerns.
"Well... it's certainly, um... calmer, than usual..." As if to tease, a sudden booming rang through the ground, vibrating even the tea in the cup, and scattering those outside for just a brief moment, until everything had settled again, and shots were exchanged.
"Er..." Fluttershy started, holding a breath. "Well-"
"Nope, It's definitely calmer." Spike had smirked, leaning back into his bed across from the mare's. "Remember Ivy?"
The pegasus shuddered at the memory. She certainly did remember the older mare, and her two hunters that held by close to her sides. She'd had a few bad experiences in the past, but the events of a few nights ago had certainly taken a turn for the worse.
"Unfortunately..." she sighed, poking through the curtains, "I'm sure the whole situation could have been avoided, too, if we had Twilight here to put her back in place."
Suddenly, as if she had uttered a curse, she gasped, raising a hoof to her muzzle. "I-I mean, I just wish... well, we had more... more..."
"Company? Support?"
"Something like that..."
"Huh... Me too." The dragon huffed, crossing his arms over his chest in a sense of defeat. It often got too quiet-- especially with only Fluttershy around, who barely uttered a word, or never started a conversation. She was always so reserved, especially when they were younger, but things only seemed to change for the worst.
Even now, as she pressed her face solemnly against the glass, silence fell over the house again, in a matter of seconds. Sometimes Spike had wished there was at least some happy chatter they would start up to drown out the noises outside. They were never pleasant ones.
"Yeah, well... I'm gonna go outside. Check up on the... barrier or something." The bed creaked as the dragon had forced himself off the bed, stretching with a forced yawn. "Think you should get some rest? It's getting late..."
"But... it's just barely past noon!"
"Well, it's, uh, pretty late for me! Later--" Without a moment to spare, the door swung open just as it shut. Fluttershy groaned, placing her head between her hooves, waiting for the dragon to return. But there'd been nothing but silence following after.
Pretty soon, she'd fallen asleep, and had more pleasant dreams again, of her adventures in the glittering woods, teaming with life of gracious animals, bright green leaves sprouting from the ground, and the bark of trees. And her friends following close behind, glancing around in awe-- even Rarity, who'd gasped at the bright patch of dandelions, making remarks of their fluffy white taraxacum and the gentle butterflies that flittered around, in search for sweet nectar.
She hadn't seen butterflies like these in such a long time; they were all just so dull now, and never really as pleasing to the eye as the brightly colored ones had been, even in her imagination. They were always duller and fainter than she was sure they used to be..
Which reminded her of--
"Sweet Luna--" Fluttershy gasped, blinking awake, "The butterflies!" She shoved herself off the bed, and scrambled back up without haste to head out the door.
Spike sighed, reminiscing as he stalked through the darker part of town from behind the clearing to reach his destination. He'd taken the long was, of course, but completely purposeful. It was noticeably quieter back there, than out in the open, where he could pick up every sound and smell, of screams, and metallic smells like fresh blood. But he shook his head to clear the fog in his mind, and focused on listening to the crunching under his claws.
Crunch.
Crackle.
It hadn't been too long before he caught sight of the light, wavering blue that had seemed to call out to anyone with it's graceful white and blue. It looked more like water, as Spike had grown closer, like a soft stream that had the sunlight sparkling over it. And now that it came to mind, he didn't really see many ponds like this before. But of course, this was no body of water.
This was the Barrier.
The dragon had neared before he even noticed he was only a few feet away, and flinched back at the slight stinging sensation that ran up his scales that suddenly made it feel so much less friendly.
Clasping his hands together in uncertainty, he sighed, "Well... here I am."
...
Nothing.
Honest to Equestria, he'd never really decided what he would do once he got there. After all, there wasn't much to be done on days like these. Only Fluttershy guarded this barrier, the warriors and soldiers at war, nurses nursed and tended to the injured and sick. Even Ditzy delivered bread, and sometimes a drink or two, to the houses in the farther town, every few nights or so.
Spike, he didn't really do much anything except go out and report on 'findings' to the older mare who even took care of him whenever Twilight had gone. Every few months she'd take off all of a sudden and leave in search for help, not returning until the end of the year, if they were lucky. She'd come back, bring some food that'd last a few weeks more, and leave again when the autumn came. She was never really there for the wonderful food they received during harvest season. Only during the months where all the crops and plants were dead. And leave again in the summer or spring once the fruit grew back.
Spike snarled to himself, sifting through the dirt with a hand, while the other was a clenched fist. He understood the mare's reasoning for disappearing so often, but this had been the longest. As she'd left, she almost seemed hesitant leaving, staying well into the winter season, until the bitter truth that their supply had been running lower than ever had snapped her back into reality, as she finally left, right before Hearth's Warming last year.
And now it was late summer all over again. And Twilight had yet to return, like she always had, coming back home with a solemn look as no 'help' followed after her, even though she carried baskets of food that would end up on plates that night.
The white-birch bark of the staff revealed itself, finally, and Spike grasped it slowly, watching the dirt fall off the sides, and the crystal tip as he removed it from hiding. He chuckled bitterly, images of the tiny bits of crystal they hung over the fireplace, hoping Twilight would stay for Holiday dinner. Remembering her leave with a bad taste in her mouth, as she trotted out into the blizzard and heavy snow that'd been stained dark red, and stood out under moonlight.
The crunching of snow under her hooves growing fainter.
Crunch,
Crunch,
The sound made him sick to his stomach....
CRUNCH
CRUNCH
CRUNCH
Wait...
"SPIKE!" That hadn't been Twilight's voice, had it? "SPIIIKE!"
Suddenly snapping back into reality, he glanced down at the staff in his hands curiously.
"Are... you supposed to make me start hearing things? Hm, magic's weird."
"SPIKE, THE STAFF!"
Glancing up quickly, he could see a growing form in the distance, under the shadowy trees that draped over one another. Fluttershy.
With a new feeling of panic, Spike dropped his shoulders, holding the staff upright and planting it into the ground. Of course, the fun of outdoors was officially over.
"It's okay, I'm not gonna break it!" He waved both arms to gather her attention, only waving the staff in his right hand caused something to spark, that quickly caught his attention.
A deep black shade crept down the bark as the color split into three flittering forms that surrounded him, Spike frozen in fear, dropping the staff. Which only seemed to make things worse.
"AGH! WHAT IN--"
Not a moment too soon, as Fluttershy had skidded to a stop, three black-and-white butterflies had clung to the dragon, who was now flailing around in a panic, as it seemed blood was drawn from beneath his scales, and the harmless insects that refused to detach.
"GET THEM OFF ME!" Fluttershy winced at the sudden cry, as she hesitantly sprung forwards to grab the staff in her maw, and began swinging wildly at the creatures that continued to injure her friend. Her responsibility.
It was certainly a lot cooler as the duo stepped back out into the fresh air again. Daarin had even subtly shivered behind the older boy, displeased at the sudden drop in temperature. Danny hadn't seemed to mind.
It had only been a few hours they'd been in there, it seemed. It certainly felt shorter than that, while also a lot longer, at the same time. They had both stalled the leave of the somewhat warmer interior of the caves, Daarin beaming as he realized that Danny had liked them, too. He obviously wasn't ready to go, stopping along the way to catch an eyeful of more glowing crystals that somehow appeared even more vivid at night. They even had waded in the warm pond that filled the entire bottom of the cavern, while some cooler water from outside had continued to trickle downstream into the cave.
It was when Danny had stuck his hand through the outer stream, that he realized how late it must have been. It was freezing cold by now, and Daarin had quickly followed after, silently guilty of Danny having to leave while it was so cold and dark out.
The sun left little, thin streaks of orange and violet light over the hills, outlining the trees and brush in the distance. Sunset was well past, and even the birds had already all settled into their nests.
Their leisurely walk had turned into a run not long after Daarin had mentioned his sightings of a Manticore around this time of day, a few times. Danny had suddenly been more than eager to head back home.
In a matter of minutes, they reached the thin river, both commenting on the sudden disappearance of the daytime creatures who constantly fed here, which was now plainly empty, except for a passerby bat that flickered by, flittering swiftly across the water.
Just before Danny had turned his attention away and stuck out a foot to cross the thinner end of the stream, Daarin had grabbed his hoodie.
"Uh, wait! This water's nice, too. Usually doesn't get as cold..." he glanced away, releasing the teen's jacket, "We could... take our time..."
Without awaiting of his approval, he'd switched over to his feral form, glancing up once with bright blue eyes, and scurried over to the edge of the river. He dipped his head just inches above the water, sensing for warmth. And when there was none, he cautiously stepped a foreleg into the water, his ears flicking back in pleasure, as the mild-cool stream sift through each strand of his fur.
Danny followed suit, wordlessly, not changing into his own feral form, allowing his hoodie and everything else to get wet. It'd probably feel a lot better than having wiry, clammy, fur stuck to his skin, anyway.
They crossed the river slow enough, Daarin specifically, who splashed a leapt a bit as he took a few tentative steps closer to the other side. The stream wasn't too wide, either. It couldn't have been more than five meters, or so, although it took them minutes just to reach the other side.
Once Danny had crept back up onto land, glancing wistfully back at the stone cliff, Daarin scampered up after him, violently shaking his coat before switching forms again. And somehow, his clothes were no more than just a little damp.
"Alright... there's this really awesome place that'll help you get back up to the top-land instead of having to climb down the way you came! Come on!" He ran off, down the further west side where Danny hadn't been too familiar with quite yet. And somehow, he managed to still keep up his energetic, chipper voice, even this late in the afternoon.
"Alright, look!" Daarin had pointed proudly up at a collection of vines that had someway wrapped around and through firm pieces of stone that looked as if had been chipped off in just the right way, that someone could walk up and down on. Almost like stairs.
Danny broke a smirk, observing the unusual rock formation. "I'm... going to assume you carved this?"
"Yep! Part-way, at least! I was exploring once, and I found this weird eroded part of the cliff, so I 'made some arrangements' so I could explore further! Never really got to it, though," he smiled lightly to himself, almost solemnly.
"I hope it works out for you, though. I did make it so anyone could cross between sides without getting hurt like you did... Wish I was there to let you know before you injured yourself,"
"It's good," Danny waved a hand, offering a small smile, "Besides, I'm a lot better now. Doesn't hurt anymore."
He held out his hands, turning his palms up so the boy would be able to see the thick lines of scars that ran from his fingertips to midway into his wrist. But it was obvious that they were healing, the wounds having stopped bleeding already. Daarin only nodded, partially ashamed from being so worrisome. But he'd still felt unsatisfaction cling and claw at his chest like an imp. "Promise you'll use the safer route next time?"
"Yep." Danny had nodded, "And the time after that."
"You'll come back again.... Right?"
"Of course I will." He flashed a look again, as Daarin returned the smile. And Danny saluted before grabbing a vine and hauling himself up, successfully. He dug his boot into a deep and well crafted crevice in the side of the stone, leaving his enough room to glance back at Daarin, who stared up in silence.
"I'll... see you again soon, then?"
"Definitely." he could've sworn he could feel a warm smile from the boy.
He glanced down again at the young mutant, who waved wildly, like he couldn't see his own arm in the dark of late evening. Danny returned a brief wave, flickering around, and hurrying off into the woods. They could both hear the crinkling of leaves beneath his feet as he retreated back into the woods.
There hadn't been much room for a bitter sigh, as Danny mazed around the trees and trailed his still sore palm across the bark as he went along. There wasn't a need for stopping, either. It was at least obvious enough that the forest in the near-night was certainly not the best place to wander, or give any wild mutants a noseful of the scent of prey lost in the trees.
If that hadn't been blood chilling enough, Danny had huffed at the constant reminder from Dipper back at home, that most of the creatures in this world were blood-thirsty mutants that wouldn't resist a second from tearing through a wanderer's body and feast on them while they were still alive.
And the thought of Daarin hanging around in the lower lands where predators could catch a clean eye from high up above and attack him at once. Needle sharp claws and fangs eating at his body as he thrashed and choked out cries for help--
The halfa only shook his head to clear the thoughts, hurrying down the path he'd taken earlier as if worried he'd forgotten which way he came from.
It hadn't been too long before Danny realized that there was someone else there, either.
THUD-THUMP
That head-pounding sound that echoed in his ears again. Someone was certainly there. His breath trembled, as Danny swung around, but if course, no one was there. Strange. But certainly not strange enough.
After a few nervous seconds of dodging around, realizing that no one was really there, the teen sighed, trekking forwards, just a bit faster this time, not wanting to meet any new visitors anytime soon. He caught sight of the shallow, murky river again, dropping his shoulders as the sign of home being close had eased at least some of the tension.
This time he crossed the lake with ease, keeping eyes peeled, glued to the path through the bushes back towards the direction of the house. Although even from here as much closer as he was, there was still no sign of it, just yet. But the soon coming shine of welcoming porch lights would soon greet him, and the creatures of the woods, Danny was sure. And whatever else was there on his tail, trailing behind him like a shadow.
If at least a portion of those childish campfire stories had been at least somewhat accurate, then he'd be safe as soon as the lights bathed him with their golden shade. It had sounded a bit off, but at least Danny had felt safe as soon as he would set foot in Ivor's territory again.
Most of the walk back had been a breeze, despite the still constant sense of being followed. The air chilled as the sun further vanished below the horizon, and the slow rising half-moon casting new white outlines over the trees, awaking the night creatures, like the bats that now flittered between the trees.
But a cluster of woolly bats had suddenly all scattered, flailing off in multiple directions, emitting frightened screeches. Danny stopped in his tracks. Something had startled them.
While one or two of them had momentarily clung to his hoodie before flying off even further to escape the danger, Danny stood frozen still slowly backing against a tree on the other side. There was definitely something in those trees. Moving. Walking. Coming closer, without a doubt, and it was something big.
The teen shuddered, listening intently to the rustling and crunching somewhere around him, though his strained breaths had muted his ears. He backed further, flinching as bark began to claw at his jacket, leaving almost nowhere to turn and run. And unfortunately, he hadn't had any sort of protection alongside him, except for some dampened plastic wrappers in his front pocket.
There was the crunching again, growing louder, closer-- whatever or whoever it was, knew he was here.
Whatever was up in there, he'd have to fend off with only his bare hands.
Then the branches twitched, rattling the leaves. Then a short silence.
"Danny?"
The rustling only grew more violent, as a few familiar fingers poked through the greenery, forcing the thin trees and vines out of the way. He stuck his head out of the space, almost drilling the pocket knife through the vines.
"Ivor--"
The clinging of the knife falling and hitting rock echoed throughout their silence, shattering it like fragile glass. Then two arms grabbed the teen, encasing him in a tight hug. Ivor. It certainly was Ivor.
"Danny.... my goodness," the half-deer breathed, removing himself from the embrace to place his hands over the boy's shoulders. "What were.... where... Wh-what have you been doing out here? Are you hurt?"
"No, I'm fine, honest.." And to Danny's fatal mistake, he'd held up his hands. Ivor gasped, taking both wrists firmly in his hands. "I really am--"
"What in hell happened?" he almost sounded distressed, "Your hands?"
"I... fell."
"A bad fall that must have been." Ivor shook his head, refusing to release the boy just yet, "We'll have that fixed up soon as I get home. In the meantime..."
Finally releasing his hands, with his right, he fished out a small, elongated key from his pocket with a strange mix of gold and pale silver chaotic swirls that appeared as if the old thing had been rusted or rot. Unfortunately for the 'halfa', his senses had immediately picked up the rotting scent the wafted off the key.
"Storage closet," he dropped the key into the teen's hand, "Left portion, right shelf, bottom right--"
"Wait, uh, what the heck's this for?"
Ivor smiled tiredly, "You'll see once you get there. Now hurry on! Woods aren't safest at night," His foot had skimmed over stone, before Danny had spun back around in a split second before he could take off back to the little house.
"Where are you gonna be?"
"I have things I need to take care of. I'll be sure to make it home by midnight. Be safe, alright?" offering the teen another brief embrace, he smiled once again, before heading off, the shadows cloaking him as he too-soon had disappeared.
Wasting a final glance into the darkness, Danny nodded to himself, gripping the key tight in his palm enough to pierce already ruined flesh, and hurried off back to Ivor's place.
"Any sign of him?"
"Uh.... no. Not yet, at least." Dipper muttered, leaning against the window neglecting the juice box he'd squeezed the life out of with a hand. "And I'm not going back out there. It'd deathly black out tonight, and I'm not too sure I--"
"No." Twilight shook her head briskly, settling herself in one of the cots furthest from the window, right by the bathroom, "I'm not going to permit you to go out there, anyway. He'll find his way back, hopefully."
Dipper grimaced, massaging his temples and removing himself from the window. And hesitantly, stretched over to reach and close the curtains.
"What do you mean, hopefully?"
"I mean...." the mare paused, leaving the mug just at her mouth, "I mean, you know..."
"No. I don't know-- what are you trying to tell me?"
"I mean, maybe Daniel would return..." she placed down the cup, avoiding his eyes, "...If he decided not to ditch us."
"WHAT?!" The cervitaur exclaimed, his outburst startling the alicorn, flicking an ear in slight annoyance. "Are you claiming that Danny left us? What sort of parasite crawled through your skin?"
A really obnoxious one. Twilight bitterly thought, "Nothing. But it would certainly have made sense if he did. And I'm not saying I don't blame him. I'd certainly blame him."
"You're speaking as if he really did leave us!" Dipper whined, grabbing a handful of his hair, tipping his hat back until had fallen off, onto the bed. His eyes had quickly dodged around, before he fell to his side, yanking the blanket from underneath him to cover with. He returned a sorrowful glance.
"What did you do this time?"
For a few long seconds, Twilight had only stared into her mug as if the answer was lost in the drink. It had only occurred to her now that maybe her earlier mistake of lying to the teen about being able to get back really hadn't helped them at all. And she might have had to come clean once and for all. For Equestria's sake.
And of all the little knowledge she earlier had with the younger teen, she had a clear understanding that Dipper was not one to make mistakes; mistakes such as falling for even a little white lie, and let anyone get away with it. At least, not too easily. And with Daniel already not too keen about their earlier deal, she really could not afford to loose also a trustworthy friend who possessed the knowledge that would have a helping hoof in solving Equestria's dilemma.
Twilight was not returning home with another basket of disappointment buried in food again.
"I didn't do anything, Pines. I simply had just made a deal with Daniel not too long before you arrived. One that was evenly beneficial on both sides. It's just that... he might not be up with the idea that this little pact may have offered him the short end of the stick?"
Dipper widened his eyes, wrapping the blanket tighter across his form, "What are you--"
"Look, I--" the words stopped in the back of her throat, as Twilight sighed, shaking her head. "Take a long shower. There's gonna be something we need to talk about, and I'll need you wide awake for this one."
The immediate response was an exaggerated sigh, but holding her head high as if avoiding the streamline of complaints, she finally heard the bed creak, and Dipper marching off to the showers.
His hand had just grasped the knob before the front door swung open.
"Daniel?"
"Danny!"
To both of their surprises, Danny had burst open the door, shutting it back behind him just as fast. With a spare hand, he held his jacket down midway to his knees, with the key poking out through his fingers. His eyes had momentarily brightened as he raised his head to Dipper, but quickly stormed across the room over to the bathroom door where the 'taur had his hand over just a second ago.
"Uh-"
"Just give me a moment, I really need to shower!" he looked almost like a kid that'd lost his favorite toy somewhere in the mall. "Please..."
"Fine, just hurry? I kinda need to get something over--"
SLAM
"Yeah, he's certainly back, alright,"
Twilight breathed what would have been a laugh, but instead, rolled her eyes almost playfully. "We'll have to finish this off another time, I suppose,"
"So I don't have to shower?"
"Of course you do," She wrinkled her muzzle in mock disgust, "You haven't bathed in days!"
"Yes, that's because I've barely even left the house. I don't really stink, do I?" Dipper raised a brow, as the sound of the shower creaking caught his attention.
"No, but you certainly will begin to. Just don't let Daniel sit in there all night, alright?" Without another word from either of them, Twilight curled up beneath the blankets, turning her back to the younger teen as her breathing had already begun to even.
"Dude."
Dipper groaned, pressing his face against the door, a towel draped over his waist and another over his shoulders. Twilight had long been asleep, and it'd been at least an hour already. His legs were beginning to tire, and it was certainly much colder without a shirt on. No wonder Danny had always walked around and fallen asleep in his hoodie. He could really do for a nice, warm sweater about now.
"Dude, you still alive in there?"
Finally, there was a shifting sound right by the door, "I'm showering."
"N-no. No you're not-- I heard the shower turn off an hour ago! Let me in!"
Danny, from the other side, had nearly refused to answer. Instead, he crept across the bathroom floor, turning back on the shower pipe, and crawling back over to the door.
"Nope, uh, shower's still on." he rolled his eyes at himself, "Water's really nice in here..."
Something about the way his voice had trembled suddenly placed more concern. His fingers nervously tapped against the door. "Danny... you okay in there?"
"...."
"Yeah, it's all good. Hey, can you toss me a spare shirt or something?"
"Why?"
"It's cold."
A dead lie. Dipper shook his head alone, well aware that Danny'd been wearing the same shirt and hoodie for weeks now, well through the Autumn. Sure, fall was certainly cold at times, especially in the middle of the wilderness. But Danny had been gone long enough that a clear image of him injuring himself deep in the woods was fast to appear.
He huffed, deciding to play along, as well.
"Alright. You'll have to pass me your old shirt, then. Twilight'll have it washed in the morning,"
"That's... not necessary. I can wash it myself. Right now." There was a poorly hidden clatter over the counter before the sink had turned on. He wasn't really going to hand-wash his shirt in the sink, was he?
Dipper groaned, pressing the side of his head further into the door until it creaked. "Come on, man, we wash our hands in there!"
There was a pause, in-between the sound of the faucet still running. Then the sound of the towel rank clanging.
"Don't worry, I'll wash it out." he sounded exasperated by now, and the cloth in the sink had already been drowned in water. And there'd been the long and tedious sound of the shirt being dunked back into the water, and then being wrung out again. Then the water had been let out of the sink, scrubbed out a bit too noisily with a rag, and then filled up again.
This was certainly not going to end anytime soon, and Dipper figured this out easily enough. In fact, it wouldn't be too far fetched to think that Danny had been stalling, reluctant to leave to bathroom until everyone was asleep. It wasn't too difficult to figure out.
So with a bitter sigh, Dipper finally removed himself from the door, feeling as if his skin had been glued to the wood with honey. Instead of turning back to bid a goodnight, he instantly headed over to the rows of cots to turn in for the night. His fingers intertwined with the loose yarn strands decorating the ends of the smaller, old blanket that lay rolled up near the edge of one of the beds along the further column by the restroom.
So he brought along the scrappy old sheet, dragging it behind him while his eyes clouded with exhaustion. Suddenly the thought of being beneath the covers on the nice, soft bed sounded like heaven.
Dipper had just settled in, embracing the warmth of the covers and the yarn blanket draped over his shoulders, until he groaned, realizing he'd left the lights on. He was sure that Danny would be able to find his way with the lights out, anyway. Besides, the fireplace was lit with a thin flare that would offer anyone enough light to guide them to the bed. Of course, unless the halfa had other plans than heading straight to sleep, which now seemed way more likely.
But dismissing his thoughts, Dipper headed over in the direction of the front door (convenient how the closest light switch had broken) still half-asleep, and tracing his hand across the left wall to find the switch.
Splish.
The soft sound under his hooves had disturbed him from his near sleepwalking. Stopping to remove his hand from the wall and rub his eyes, the youngest of the three glanced down to gaze at what had spilled on Ivor's wood floor. And with everyone either asleep or 'unavailable', Dipper would have to find the mop and clean it up himself.
A puddle of blood.
At first, it hadn't looked like there was very much of it, until Dipper had blinked awake in terror, eyes catching sprinkles of a dark and sickly red, ranging between a bright green that began seeping through the floor. There was more than just a very little of it; there was enough that it'd splashed and matted his fur. Dew drop sizes of crimson to full puddles, trailing from the front door as if a predator had dragged the dead body of it's long gone prey over to the center of the room.
Dipper felt sick to his stomach. He only stared wide-eyed at the mess he stepped into, quivering violently as he fought against every screaming instinct in his body, slowly backing away from the scene. Only he trailed fine sized stains the more he stalked away.
His breathing grew shallow. How did I not notice this before...?
Danny, of course. And whatever happened out there, it could've killed him.
He wouldn't speak about this either.
Danny... was still washing out his shirt. His probably blood-stained shirt and hoodie that either of them could've found him wearing, laying out in the wilderness somewhere, unconscious. That, if hungered creatures didn't be too quick to feast on his body.
He had to talk about this. With someone. Not Twilight; she wouldn't.... No. Ivor wasn't here, and he didn't want to worry him any further. Or have him upset about the ruined floor. There was really no one else out there. And now that the truth was suddenly so clear how far out in the forest they were, far from any civilization as they could see... there really was no one. Deserted.
He wanted-- no, needed to speak with Danny.
What would he do if he knew Dipper had become suspicious of his whereabouts? And when he was alone in the bathroom with his bloodied shirt, and no one to coax him out?
Unfortunately, it might not have been the best idea to really bring up the situation.
He could probably bring it up another time.
Or he could forget it ever happened, pretend he never saw anything. Or heard anything.
It sounded like a better idea.
So Dipper retreated quickly back to bed, disguising the creak of the cot as he squirmed back into a semi-comfortable position. One final glance at the window, and half of him expected to be greeted with a matted muzzle of a fierce beast, breath creating clouds against the outside glass. Nothing was really there, though.
So he focused on the steady breaths as Twilight slept soundly only a few meters away. So he shut his eyes, too, although the rushing of water from the bathroom sink grew to block out every other sound that he tried to focus on. Soon, it was as if that was the only sound in the world, as if he was there, too.
Hours had probably passed, even after a light, brief windstorm he could hear beside him, just beyond the window, sleep had arrived, while not at the same time. His eyes were closed, mind wandered, but he wasn't really asleep. He had to.
Danny had known he was still awake, somehow. His partial conscious mind told him so. Or maybe he was already in bed, sleeping soundly, too, dressed in light, soft clothes again, that didn't reek of blood and metal.
He was pretty sure he was asleep now. Himself, at least. Maybe Danny had settled in, under the warm blankets with a pillow beneath his head and smiling to himself in his sleep as he had pleasant dreams of... pleasant things, he supposed.
So Dipper sighed as the tension melted away, turned on his side with his forehead against the window wall. Everything was better, now. Because nothing ever did happen.
Next morning, I'd been the first to stumble out of bed. Of course, I couldn't blame either of them; this morning was unusually chilly, although it was just a short way into autumn and the trees had just begun to tint orange. Normally, I wouldn't question the odd weather behavior since Equestria had much different patterns than I was used to. And including many other worlds I'd visited in my time had taught me that there had been so much more to study about natural climate changes in places such as the Nowhere.
So instead of thinking much further, I broke out of the bundle of blankets and shivered at the sudden burst of cold.
My last wonder was a furrow of brows, then I shook my head, and headed towards the kitchen to start breakfast. Maybe a little something on the stove could warm things up a bit.
Unfortunately, a closer look at the stove-top revealed that all four of the burners had been rusted over, in some ashy mess that obviously hadn't been scrubbed free of in quite a while. Or at least three of them. One of the burners were broken, somehow, and beyond my knowledge. I groaned aloud. How could anyone even break a stove burner?
And apparently there weren't any spells I could think of so early in the morning that could skip ahead this first step and get right to igniting the fire. I wouldn't have wanted to try out anything, anyway.
Turned out, surprise, that I ended up hoof-washing the stove-top, and the plates on the inside that I had to pry open myself. Somehow the inside was completely demolished, as well. But I was not in the mood for kitchen cleaning. There was food to be made.
Less than an hour later, I finally managed to start up the oven-- successfully, I might add-- and two pans and a pot sat atop the stove, sizzling and bubbling with warmth, suddenly making the room seem a lot livelier. The two had eventually woken up to the scent of breakfast, I'd suppose, and headed to Ivor's storage to go fetch some old chairs.
In just a matter of time, a small yet nicely fixed, wooden table was placed in the empty space between the house front and the kitchen, right before the window. Pillows padded each of the seats, and soon I'd set the table with four plates and mugs. Then while the boys had set themselves down to eat, and Dipper discarding his chair, something had finally hit.
I blinked, glancing towards the empty seat closest to the door.
"Ivor..." I murmured out loud, "Where the heck is he?"
Daniel must've heard me, as he cast a bare glance and shrugged, eyeing his plate tastelessly. His answer hadn't soothed my concerns in the least, though.
"No, I-- You didn't see him at all yesterday?" I suddenly felt rising tension in the room already.
Daniel placed down his fork, holding up his left hand which he now had a black glove over, the only part of his hand visible was his fingers. "I did." Danny shrugged again, "He told me to go home."
"You didn't inquire anything about his leave at all?!"
"Didn't need to. Ivor said he'd be back by midnight, or something. Obviously, he needs to bring a watch."
While I didn't find this sense of humor to be funny in the least, Daniel was somewhat correct. But was it really possible for anyone to loose track of time so far off? Maybe he'd gotten lost. I didn't like the idea of the guy who lived in the woods to disappear in it, much less the idea of Daniel venturing out there in the midst of night, either. Or Dipper.
And speaking of which.
"I don't know, maybe he's just... taking care of things out there in the woods, or something. Whatever it is those crazy guys in the forest do," Dipper offered, poking at the air with a fork. "Really, what could a guy like Ivor be doing out there in the wilderness?"
I immediately found the hint of suspicion in his tone, and I couldn't have agreed more. Something was certainly off, and just about everyone could sense it. Although Daniel still looked a bit perceptive, it was still too obvious that even he had known something was wrong. I'd say in fact, Daniel knew something we didn't.
I wasn't given the time to question him, though. Because Daniel had already spoken up.
"He... gave me this key...." He removed his fist from his pocket, opening his palm where an old key sparkled from the reflecting light through the window. "Apparently, it was for the box he kept his gloves in. But I don't..."
Daniel paused, glancing over Dipper's shoulder, across the room where I could only place that he'd been glancing warily over at the beds. He closed his fist again, returning back to reality.
"I... The way he said it, just..." he groaned, grabbing a fistful of hair, "I know he was trying to tell me something."
That did it. I instantly perked up, nearly knocking over a dish as I finally mustered up my own courage to convince myself that I'd been right all along. Ivor knew something was going on here; I wasn't crazy after all!
You sure about this one, Princess?
The mare might've yelped, if only the exclamation hadn't caught in her throat as she found herself in a new setting she hadn't been before.
Her sudden expression of shock was quickly replaced with rage.
"You again." She narrowed her eyes, chest heaving as she realized her hooves hadn't been touching a surface. "Parasite."
You spit my name like venom, Precious Stone. But I gift you with the most worthy of names? But a shame.
The parasite sneered, sending a chill down the alicorn's spine. She knew it felt that. She knew it knew she was scared. Horrified. Afraid. Weak and fragile, and practically in the palm of it's hands.
"Wh-what is it you want, Pest," she hissed, "I-I'm not... afraid of you... anymore..."
You say this, but your heart beats like a beast paws against the forest floor, chasing down it's rodent?
Twilight stiffened.
I've only come to remind you of our little deal, Princess? Remember how fast the seasons fly by, yet time never moves...
"I-I still have time--"
Time is nothing, Princess. A deal will be a deal. Remember the tragic demise?
Twilight's blood had instantly run cold. Yet she perked up in question, while also fearing her answer, "What do you--"
The Almost-There, Princess! The parasite had exclaimed in what sounded like excitement, Oh, the fall of her was quite a downer, wasn't it? I had been there, Princess! And we all sat and laughed because then she was gone!
They cry, 'For Shame!' but we cried out in joy, Princess! Then the starve was over! And then it came back, Princess, do you know why?
Twilight breathed, mouthing an empty response. The words just didn't come.
Because we now need to find a new rodent to feast upon!
The black emptiness flickered until it had changed into a dark forest, with unnaturally tall trees that cast long, eerie shadows across the path where long, dead bushes arched over. Then there was nothing else-- it was all dark and murky, like infinite space all around her and the path and trees, as if beckoning her to walk down the trail as there was no other way around.
Twilight hummed in fear, pinning back her ears and dodging her eyes, waiting for the Parasite's attack.
Oh you do fear me much, don't you, Princess? The Parasite laughed, I should feel honored!
The tips of the trees suddenly burst with a bright, eerie shade of blue that even lined the shadows a new black and blue light. But the light hadn't comforted Twilight at all, as she only yelped, leaping back, only to feel her hindlegs touch nothing but air.
She struggled to pull back up onto the invisible surface where the blue forest loomed over her, but her pants and cries for help were deaf to her own ears. She couldn't speak.
"PARASITE!" she finally choked out, her throat killing her now, feeling her voice vibrate off the edge. "You'll soon find yourself a prison in Tartarus!
"I SWEAR!"
Don't talk to me like that, Precious Stone! You wouldn't want me to send you down there, would you?
It felt as if the entire world began spinning, as Twilight tried to swallow through the narrow tunnel of her throat, and glanced behind her. Only at the very corner of her eye could she see a murky bottom far, far down below, filled with green creatures that ducked in and out of the abyss like a swamp. She couldn't see them, but she could already feel needle-like teeth sliding down her neck.
"Let...." Twilight gasped for air, forelegs wobbling weakly, ".... me back... up there..."
She growled lowly, as the voice refused to respond, although it's presence was still there. The mare huffed, kicking up a leg as one hind-leg barely scratched the surface of the base, allowing Twilight to heave herself up further.
And finally, her hooves had found surface once again. It almost felt good to be back up there.
A clever and cunning one, aren't you?
The creature had returned, sounding far more than pleased. Twilight snarled, glaring at her surroundings, well-knowing that the Parasite had been staring back through it's little world.
"I'm finished playing these games," hissed Twilight, "And I'm not staying around to play, either,"
Her horn had ignited with a violet burst of energy, but faltered, as something had clouded her train of focus. It wasn't quite explainable, but there were suddenly patches in her head that she couldn't see through. She scuffed her hoof in frustration, muttering to herself as she just couldn't seem to place things.
You should keep my little reminder, Princess, the Parasite whispered in her ear, I am all powerful, and more powerful than you.
Twilight gasped, as her body was suddenly restrained by the Parasite, as a dark grey blanket wrapped around her.
Do NOT underestimate me, Princess. I could simply kill you at any moment.
Twilight cried out, igniting her horn in desperate escape, as the empty space suddenly felt fearful, melting away the thick, inky, world around her as her eyes finally met reality again, as if she hadn't been gone at all.
She really hadn't, had she?
But Parasite, was certainly real.
Because she still felt those scratches on her neck.
Around the time I'd regained consciousness-- or revisited reality-- whichever one of those it was, we had obviously been indulged in some conversation of sorts. I sucked in a breath, wondering if time had never really waited for me to return, and instead, the Parasite had taken over my body in order to avoid suspicion.
Although it had seemed to have done a good job on keeping things rolling with the usual, I couldn't help but feel a bit more than overwhelmed over the thought that the Parasite had access to more than just my mind while I was 'away'. I took a second too long to remember that it was the thing that'd stopped time and pulled me into it's realm, with me completely powerless.
I attempted not to seem too bothered by this, even though I'd caught myself sitting dead still in the chair since I was whisked away.
And apparently, I'd been dozed off thinking for too long, back in my own physical body again, not noticing that Dipper had removed himself from the table. The later clatter of Daniel dropping the dishes into the sink had shaken me back to actual reality.
"Dipper," I resisted from shouting, ultimately failing. "Where are you going? I-It's not even noon yet!"
He shrugged, running his palm down the door-frame, as the door had been slightly cracked open to let in a breeze. I shuddered, while the warmth had vanished for a second as a thin chill swept the house.
He hadn't even had a jacket on; just a thin scarlet shirt that had been made for the spring, his hat, and technically nothing else but the thin deer-fur from back to legs. Daniel might have been an exception, seemingly almost immune to the cold to some extent, and at least having a jacket to shield him from the cold. But Dipper was no exception.
"You'll catch a cold!" I'd complained, not thinking much further as my mouth seemed to act on it's own accord. "Don't you at least want to carry a sweater or--"
As if on cue, Daniel had tossed a dark cyan sweatshirt overhead, matching the color of his, but much thinner, and this one without a zipper. In fact, the entire front was open, and with it's lack of a zipper whether purposefully or not, had no way of closing it if it got cold! I hadn't had time to comment before Daniel had ducked back into the storage behind me, and Pines had snuck out the front door while I had my head turned.
Fortunately or not, I caught him before he disappeared behind the door that crackled as it widened, and slipped outside through the space he left open. Not thinking to shut the door obviously knowing I'd be at his tail the second I noticed he left. I was a bit quicker than that.
"Dipper!" I called out, skittering to his side while he stalked aside the thin trees just outside of the gate, "Where are you even going, anyway?"
He didn't stop, or make eye contact, "Going to find Ivor."
"If Daniel couldn't find him, why should you?" I'd already spilled my sentence before it was possible to take them back in, or make them stop. It obviously hadn't come out the way I wanted to, I was just... worried. And I hated the way my concerns often got in the way of my morals. And my mouth often liked to go off as fast as my brain.
Dipper hadn't seemed to take much thought off what I'd said, and instead, shrugged it off again.
"Because, I know what I'm doing." he tapped his fingers on the cover of the book tucked under an arm that I instantly recognized from Ivor's 'library'. He chewed his lip. "A-at least, I think I know where he's going,"
I still didn't feel too much more assured. I only motioned towards the book in the most subtle way possible, glancing back up at him in question. But he still hadn't been looking at me. "What makes you think that?"
"Well, he's looking for something," Dipper mumbled, almost to himself, as he glanced warily off at the skies, "...Haven't you seen him carry that weird book around whenever he leaves? Rarely nothing else ever, either,"
The cervitaur's eyes had quickly dodged to mine, in the most unsettling way I thought possible. He almost looked scared, maybe even a bit suspicious, somewhere back there. I felt a bit more unsettled, as if his eyes were permanently glued to mine, and there was no escape of this tunnel of focus. He didn't even move a muscle.
I hesitated a second, clamping my maw shut once I realized I'd been staring back agape. "I suppose so..."
I finally removed my glance, hoping to cover it up with a look of deep thought, "But what makes you so sure that you couldn't fall into whatever trap could possibly have Ivor captive down... there somewhere?" It didn't seem too far fetched that Ivor could've gotten lost, or injured, and was unable to find his way back home. I didn't like the thought of giant monstrous predators finding and feasting on him alive, much more.
But the youngest teen had seemed to understand, nodding lightly. But his eyes still traced the bright path that lead further out into the woods. Somehow in this light, the deep, dark woods didn't seem so threatening after all. Then I mentally scolded myself for thinking as a filly, cowering away from the forest when it was dark. It wasn't much different under the sun, was it? Nor was it the other way around.
Sure, the woods are dark and scary, and of course, filled with predators. It was the forest. Anyone could just be careful in there, and make it back out with both arms and legs, right? And Dipper had experience out there, hadn't he? What made it so difficult now, to trust him to go out on his own?
My thoughts quarreled on their own, as I finally sighed, matching Dipper's glance down the trail.
I swat the rest of my thoughts away like a thick fog. "Alright," I breathed, "You can go."
Dipper immediately grew ecstatic, but managed to compose himself before I was able to change my mind. He then started his way down before I could think otherwise.
"I promise, I'll be back by sunset!" he nearly cried back, prancing down the sunny trail along the older gates that stuck out the side of the path. I snorted, feeling dew sprinkle my muzzle as rooted greenery had flicked back and tossed dots of morning water into my face.
I supposed, as long as he returned before it got too dark, he'd be fine. Ivor would make it back home, and we'd all sit for another cup of tea and hear a few old stories before nighttime.
I already felt better by the thought of that, plus the idea of having a nice drink to get my mind off the hectic morning. In fact, it seemed like a nice idea at a time of day like this, when the wind carried the cold and dew formed on the undergrowth.
I turned to greet the front door once again, only glancing back once more down the already empty path that seemed as if no one had left the territory or stepped hoof over it at all.
I'd finished my second-or-third serving of chamomile that day, when noon had reached and Daniel made himself soup, offering me lunch, which I kindly refused to. Something hadn't had me settled too right since Parasite, and even on my third-or-fourth cup, it seemed no amount of nerve-soothing tea could truly take my mind off the events of this morning.
I already felt sick to my stomach, just about ready to loose every ounce of tea I drank that day, and finally set my cup by the table in defeat. It was unknown to me what Daniel had been doing all day, in and out of the storage, and whatever else, but that was the least of my concerns at the moment. I just felt the need to get some shut eye, get my mind off the voice that was undoubtedly still listening and watching every thought and movement.
I grunted in frustration. Somehow the thought managed to seep back into my mind, like a pest you couldn't seem to shake from your pelt. I stuffed my face with pillows, blocking out most of the oxygen in the room, somehow shortly believing that it might cut off the oxygen to my brain.
Then I grunted to myself, almost hysterically. That was nonsense. I even began creating myself a long mental list about everything incorrect about that scenario. Anything to get my mind off of... that.
Must have worked, actually. Because next thing I knew was that the outside world from beneath my pillow pile was much cooler, and I could hear the stove going already. Had I really fallen asleep for that long?
I shuffled out from the pile, noticing Daniel far across the room by the oven where the smell of stew wafted from. I furrowed my brows, staring outside where the sun was barely just visible from the window. Time had definitely passed, but it hadn't been as long as I feared. The sun was still decently high in the sky, but was finding it's way towards the horizon, ever so slowly.
It stung my eyes, so I quickly turned away, facing the direction of the bathroom instead. I turned to my side, and allowed myself to settle to the light that cast my distorted shadow across the room. Not far enough to catch much of my form on the far end by the bathroom door, but a bit of me and the side of the bed was silhouetted out on the wall.
"Want anything?"
Daniel had walked over, a pot in one hand with actual bubbling water inside. I didn't question it.
"I'm fine, thanks," I grumbled, seeping the side of my face into the bed. "You go make something for Dipper once he gets back."
Daniel had nodded seemingly to himself, but instead of turning and leaving, stood there silent and still, looking me over, concerned almost. "You haven't had anything all day," he stated, not loud enough for me to judge his tone.
"I've had breakfast, Daniel," I waved it off, "I'm fine."
Danny narrowed his eyes, gripping the boiling pot with both hands on the handles, "No, you didn't... you said you weren't hungry--"
"I never--" I stopped, finally able to shut myself up. Because then it came back to me, that Parasite had taken over my physical body 'momentarily'. Had it been able to mimic and manipulate my voice, too?
I honestly was unsure to a certain extent, on an excuse to come up with. I wasn't even sure why I had decided to keep this to myself. Maybe to avoid them from loosing trust? Maybe to keep them all safe. I involuntarily shot up, hoping to be able to cover it up with a rubbing of my eyes, or a sudden pain in the back, but Daniel had jumped, too. Just slightly, but enough for a bit of hot water to splash on his jacket and for me to notice.
I blinked, "I... meant I didn't remember saying that.." I would have scolded myself again if I knew it wouldn't appear suspicious. So I rolled my eyes, "Fine, whatever you're making."
Daniel nodded again, and hesitantly but surely, turned and walked back off, out of my view once I settled back down into bed, and my thoughts were confirmed when I heard the pot settle back onto the stove with both a clank and a sizzle.
"Why in Equestria am I in bed, anyway..." I muttered to myself, almost afraid to think the thought, in fear Parasite would be woken up. Maybe it was some initial reaction to fear, somehow. But that didn't set right with me. Normally, I'd be reading a good book, or pacing around the living room, instead.
Maybe I'm sick.
I almost laughed at the idea, and cried at the same time.
Was I really asking myself if I was sick? Wouldn't I... know?
Of course not.
"You sick or something?" The question was shoved in my face with a steaming bowl of soup.
I glared up at Daniel, who held out my 'dinner' too close to my face to properly see anything else but around it. I stared between him and the bowl for a few seconds, before hesitantly taking it, levitating it above the bed, but decently at a level where I could actually see it.
While I expected there to be chunks of animal meat inside, or even the scent of chicken flesh, to my surprise, there was only the bright red of tomato-broth, and noodles that stuck out from the sides of the bowl. There were even a few greens nicely sliced and mild seasonings sprinkled inside. I raised a brow, convinced Daniel had used some sort of soup mix from Ivor's refrigerator.
It even came with a spoon.
"No," I glanced up over the floating bowl, taking a spoonful of broth and discarding the noodles. "Don't believe so."
"You're laying in bed drinking soup?"
Had he actually set this up?
"I'm just tired, is all. I... didn't get much rest last night..."
Daniel looked doubtful, "I was up most of the night, and you were sound asleep the entire time. I... I don't see your point in lying to me anymore." He didn't turn, but from the corner of his eyes, he'd glared back. The taste of stew on my tongue suddenly tasted like hot tar.
"I still don't understand what I even did to you in the first place," he nearly growled under his breath, glancing where my eyes couldn't see. "I let you drag me here, let you scold me like a little kid, and now what?
"Is there even anything left for you do damage to, or are you just gonna keep running circles in the dirt here?" I felt every drop of stew slither down my throat, and it burned. Guilt was ruining my taste, and soon I couldn't bare to drink anymore.
I couldn't even bring myself to reply, but I still had thoughts running a million miles through my mind. And if Parasite hadn't awoken already, it surely was now. It suddenly came across my line of thoughts that my mind hadn't been as much of my property as I'd always believed before. Nothing else was either. The mouth this creature borrowed from me without my consent had been spoken through without me behind it.
And while it was mine, I used it wrongly.
And maybe, Daniel was right.
"The only thing I'm asking from you is to just trust me." He stared me in my eyes just as Dipper had, but much different. This was desperation. Not fear, which kind of... felt right. Right fear. This wasn't it, and I was unsure how I was able to tell. But it hadn't left as good of a taste in my mouth as that hot tar.
I wasn't going to burden others with my issues, anyway. But would I really feel right about getting away with a lie this time?
"Kids?" A voice startled us both back into reality, "I'm home!"
The door had cracked open, letting in another short breeze, before Ivor shut the door behind him. I almost laughed in relief. Ivor was fine. Now everything was fine.
Only he wasn't followed by the cervitaur that she'd expected to see prancing happily behind the deer-man. Suddenly my heart sank. And glancing briefly over to Daniel, I knew I wasn't alone. For once, I'd finally found a little comfort in knowing that Daniel had understood my sudden switch to ice-cold blood. He felt it too.
At first, Ivor had been seemingly oblivious to our terror, but halfway into the room, a look of concern crossed his features.
"Is... something the matter?" he asked innocently, fingers twitching nervously as if the unsettling tone had been contagious. I hadn't wanted to speak a single word more, albeit afraid I might worry the man further.
I heard a single intake of breath beside me, as my nerves had gone numb, knowing Daniel had already decided to speak up. Somehow I could tell he was just as chilled as I was, if not more.
"Dipper.... wasn't with you?" Daniel had taken his time, carefully choosing his wording. "At all today?"
Ivor seemed a bit uneasy, "No, why would you ask..." he trailed off.
Then his frantic, orange eyes dodged around the room, before pinning onto mine.
Now he knew.
He only fumbled for a bit, gripping his cloak with a shaky hand, the other placed over his face beneath his hair in a stressed manner. Once the tension in my shoulders dropped, I managed to take a few breaths and compose myself. It would be beyond impossible to say how badly I wanted to assure Ivor that it was okay, to take a few deep breaths and calm down. But the more the idea ran by me, the more of a lie it felt like. I didn't want to assure anyone that anything was okay until I was certainly positive that Dipper was at least alive and well. And if something did happen to him?
Then I'd rather keep my mouth shut.
Ivor had not too soon interrupted my thoughts. "Where did he go?" His tone gave off a sense of distress that caught on all else in the room. Even Parasite had remained silent, although I was almost sure that it was awake. "Wh-when did he leave?"
"Sometime this morning," I muttered, swallowing back soreness in my throat, "Looking for you,"
His brows had furrowed in a way that could only have been described at distraught, but it only lasted for a second, before his shoulders slumped. He glanced in between us, as if glaring at the wall.
Guilt hit me fast for the thousandth time, followed soon by embarrassment. I hadn't meant to--
"I'm going to look for him."
I at first glanced up at Ivor, only to huff in uneasiness once we both realized Daniel, standing up from where he once was just sitting.
"Danny..." Ivor tried to discourage, only to be waved off before he could speak further. And despite being noticeably taller, older, and considerably wiser, Ivor had somehow backed down.
I noticed the usual fierceness and warmth in his eyes were gone, almost pale and less vivid, whilst Daniel's green eyes had glowed with anticipation. Like they had briefly switch personalities.
"I'm not letting anyone else get hurt," Daniel gritted in a hushed whisper, as if aware he was being listened to. "I've been out there once enough. I'm sure I know my way around enough to be able to track him down,"
Ivor and I exchanged glances. Then I shook my head, rising to all fours. "Daniel, both Dipper and Ivor combined have more knowledge of the outside than you; What makes you so positive you'll be able to find him?"
Or are you just scared he'll go out and kill himself even further?
"Danny, I have lived in these woods for years; I know my way around every inch of the lands more than you do. I don't want anyone else finding themselves lost, especially during the night." Ivor had disapproved almost immediately, rising back up after Daniel had spoken. "Nothing in these trees and shadows are remotely innocent, nor are they remorseful or hesitant of their actions. Once you're spotted, nothing will get in their way until you're dead in it's jaws."
I'd heard Daniel scoff under his breath, but it was subtle enough for Ivor not to notice, or to even raise a brow.
"This has nothing to do with where we're dealing with, but what," he glanced across the room as if others were watching, "And what we're dealing with is these 'monsters'."
We'd both fallen silent for a second, and I wasn't quite sure what deep thought either of us were in, because it only felt like I was drifting away. Maybe it was the realization that these fierce beasts of the night could come out in just a matter of time, and the unarmed Dipper would be the creatures' next victim. Their next full meal.
Sure, Ivor and Dipper were certainly the masters of the outdoors and the unknown, as far as the eye could see. I too, knew a few things about the way this world worked and functioned, based on research I had only witness through inked words on print. But Daniel may have been a better 'ghost-hunter' than any of us, and maybe all of us combined. And unfortunately, he may as well have been right. Daniel had the best chance of survival out there than any of us. He even managed to return back to the cabin, unscathed.
"We're obviously dealing with more than flesh-hungry monsters out there," Daniel had turned to glare at me before I'd finished. "Are you sure you're up to this, Daniel?"
He seemed a bit shocked, but that also only lasted for a second, before he nodded once, and something about the way he stood there confirmed to me that I had made the right decision, after all.
Ivor had nodded, too; the last gate to let the teen outside, it seemed, as Danny had dashed off towards to front door, not sparing a single glance behind him. He was just gone that fast, that I didn't get a final look at him. Because deep down, I knew he wasn't going to make it out. And it wasn't the manipulation or deathly presence of the Parasite this time. Because for the first time ever, I could feel the Parasite tremble.
"'...Beyond the gorge lies the Ash coven, where once.... transports when the skies are only black....'" he grumbled, slamming the book shut, then against his chest with a slight sting, "This isn't helping!"
He still seemed to walk on autopilot, already having found himself a good number of miles away from Ivor's territories, way out of sight. Now he carefully glided down a thick, dry-muddied slope that must've been wet the day before when the rain had stopped.
Dipper had grown chilly after a few hours, tucking his fists into his pockets and tucking the book under an arm. Nothing written in Ivor's research-book had given him any clues to where he was going. At least It had seemed like it at first, leaving hints in the section where the man had left three bookmarks in, obviously careful not to loose his page. There'd been a small, wrinkled map tucked between the crevasses of the page somewhere in the hundredth page, and a few ferns that matched the blurred, sketched description on the right page.
He'd gone everywhere with one book or the other. His Research-book that was now tucked under the cervitaur's arm, and his weird witchcraft-looking book, with inscriptions on the side, and unreadable symbols everywhere, which the missing deer-man had gone off with now.
Dipper wasn't too worried of Ivor finding out he'd 'borrowed' his important book, but more concerned that none of the trio would ever see him again. Or alive again.
Besides, it was early into the afternoon, and the sky was still a bright blue with thin, white clouds blanketing the skies. And he'd soon found way into the more open part of the woods he hadn't known were back here. Now the trees were spaced out and separated further, and the sunlight was able to catch the trail that made a deep left turn with brush hiding what was past it. But Dipper hadn't stopped, only hoping to track down this 'Moving coven of Ashes', or whatever.
That was when I saw it.
Or... or him.
No, not a face that I'd ever hoped to have to see, but it certainly could have been more... surprising.
Something lunged out at me, snarling in his chest as he missed the target. I might've shrieked a bit in panic, stumbling backwards until I'd tripped over my own legs and stumbled and fallen onto my back.
The hungry predator picked itself off the dirt, dusting itself off all snob-like all of a sudden, and turned around to face me with blank, blue eyes.
Some kind of weird goat-guy, I think. His face was covered all in white fur, and a pair of horns protruded from both sides of his head, also covered in his white pelt. Somehow he even wore clothes; a baggy, torn tank stained grey, and tattered shorts that look like they were made from unfitting gym pants.
He was even missing an arm. Didn't look like he chewed it off himself, although he sure seemed like the type to do deranged stuff like that.
Then his expression switched to one I... couldn't exactly place.
"H-hey there!" he exclaimed, as if meeting an old friend, "Did I... Did I startle you?"
I wanted to retort, but shut up instead, not too comfortable around a probably blood-thirsty monster who just turned all friendly on me. It all just seemed like one big trap, jumping out from behind the deep corner to do what I'm still pretty sure, was to eat me.
Luckily for me, I hadn't seen any sign of wolves along the way. In fact, this guy was the first face I'd seen since I left that morning.
"I-I'm sorry!" the monster guy had apologized, crawling on fours in my direction as if stalking his prey. I felt all the air leave my lungs, as I attempted to get back up onto my legs again, only to have a hind-leg grasped with long clawed hands just as I had succeeded in getting back up.
The feeling of his claws tracing my fur had been more than overwhelming, as every instinct in my body screamed for me to run. But I couldn't. Because this guy's iron-fist had my leg locked so tight in his grasp, I was worried it'd snap in half.
"Please...!" he cried out, and I was pretty sure if he had two arms, he would have done some serious damage. "I... I need you--"
He stretched out his hand after letting go of my leg which I wriggled free of, glancing up at me in what looked like agony. I flinched back, more than glad that I was out of his grasp.
"Uh, no!" I panicked, nearly tripping over my own legs again, "Wh-what even are you? Some sort of goat-wolverine-man or something?"
"I-I dunno!" he suddenly stood up to my height with a new attitude again. "But I've been like this for 28 years!"
"Howold are you exactly?"
The guy kind of just returned a blank stare, as if he'd never heard any of those words in his life. His ear twitched, signaling that he did hear me, and might've just... lost focus for a second. Then he shook his head briskly as I started off in the opposite direction, hoping to shake him off.
Yeah, of course not.
I tried skipping a bit faster ahead of him, in the most subtle way possible, so it didn't look like I was avoiding him. Or that I feared him. Anything could make him snap back to predator-mode, and any moment. So I tried to space out the distance between us. But he continued to follow me on three's; down on his knees, and one arm that made his crawl after me look too much like a limping dog.
I-I'm not sure what about that set me off, but I broke into a run after I saw him in the corner of my eye.
"Wait, wait!" I heard from behind me, in a dangerously familiar voice. "I-It's Lucas! What's your's?"
I assumed that was his name, or something. And he wanted to know mine? Not a chance.
"None of your business!" I choked back, the breeze now suffocating me as my lungs couldn't seem to keep up with my brain. And I was getting tired, pretty sure, at least. Running out of energy seemed to be the least of my concerns.
The sound of his hooves clopping against the path quickly grew louder, and I hadn't had much time to react before he stole my hat, and dashed off ahead of me. At first, my initial reaction was to chase after him for it. Then I realized this crazy goat guy just sped past me to steal a hat.
I skidded to a stop, watching Lucas slow down, too, as he heard me end the chase before it had started.
He turned back with a weird smile gracing his lips that I tried to brush off as just... being glad I stopped. I glared back, not having to say much anything for him to return my stolen property.
Afterwards, I groaned, walking past him and keeping my eyes glued to the brightening path ahead of me. And Lucas still managed to follow.
"I've never seen a creature like you here out in the deep wood before!" Lucas exclaimed, circling me while I tried, and somewhat failed, to ignore him, and keep Ivor's book out of his sight.
"Where you there, too? A-at the Big Room?
"I don't remember seeing you there... I don't think you have a tag, either! Lucky dog!
"And what's that?" he pointed towards the book I'd tried to hide under my jacket, but apparently the rectangle-shape beneath my sweater was probably a bit too obvious. "Is it a book?"
He reached under my arm, but I skipped ahead fast enough to avoid his claws. "Hey! No touching!"
"Why?" Lucas continued to inquire, tilting his head like a puppy. He ran a bit ahead of me, craning his neck back a bit for an eyeful of the book's spine. I guessed it was the crimson and gold colors that interested him so much. He certainly didn't act much human at all. He.. probably had good intentions asking about the book?
At the same time, I tried to knock out the building thoughts that slowly lowered my guard on Ivor's special book. AKA, the one clue that could help me track him down, and where he's been all this time.
Lucas poked my neck, gaping when I hissed in pain, leaving a small, un-bleeding mark just above my collar bone. Lucas looked almost ashamed, taking the back of his hand to pat the cut, as if there'd been blood on it. There actually might've been, since I heard him gasp when he looked at his hand.
"Why can't I touch the book?" It sounded like a weak cover-up to have me forget about the cut, but I went along with it, anyway.
"Because....." Suddenly, I remembered I didn't exactly have an excuse for why I was wandering through the woods with a book that didn't belong to me. What if he knew Ivor?
"Because... I'm helping a friend, uh, find some ferns for a... recipe?" Luckily, he seemed to buy it.
"Oh, I see." he tilted his head again, but this time, not in question towards the book. "Could... could It possibly be the book of the Master?"
I stopped in my tracks, raising a brow, "The Master?"
"Yes!" Lucas cried in excitement, "The Master wrote the book with all the answers in it! She said it had all of the answers, and used us to help her figure them out!"
Now I was starting to peek interest. This Master, definitely not the most creative title I've ever heard of, did ring a bell, somehow. Lucas went on.
"We helped the Master with... with puzzles, I think. Sometimes these were easy, and sometimes they were really hard..." he seemed to shudder to his own words, "He always gave me harder puzzles,"
"What kind of puzzles?" I wondered aloud, "And what does this have to do with the--"
Lucas cut in, "Sometimes we got hard puzzles if we were special, or if we didn't complete the other puzzles correctly... And... I think the big, strong ones had less-hard puzzles, but they were still really difficult to finish! Very, very few got easy puzzles. That was if they were..."
The monster-guy trailed off, snarling all of a sudden. I leapt back a bit, before Lucas looked back at me with a different expression; one that read that he wasn't mad at me, exactly, but something else.
I followed his gaze, only to be met with nothing but green.
"Only if they were Perfect." he spat the word as if it'd been poisoned. I suddenly decided that conversation might not be the best option at the moment.
"Right..." I started, backing out slowly, hoping not to catch his attention while it was directed at... whatever. "I guess this is my signal to get going? You know, to get those... ferns and--"
"Where are you going?" Lucas had perked up again, quickly catching up with me before I could get far enough from him.
He was certainly nice and all, but he was also getting on my last nerves. I groaned, fanning myself with my hat out of habit, although outside was already decently chilly. I decided not to avoid his question, and hopefully the last one I'd every have to hear from him ever again.
"Just down there," I sighed, motioning to the end of the slope that lead to some sort of valley, lined with rivers from where I could see. "Need to get those... herbs and stuff where it's most fresh, you know...?"
Lucas quivered, looking a bit skeptical. "Oh, there? A-are you sure..?"
"Of course I am, why wouldn't I be?" To be honest... I kind of felt a bit hesitant at the sudden worried tone of his voice. I didn't even really consider his number of mood-changes over the past half-hour or so he'd been with me. Something didn't sit too right. "Besides, I think my friend found his way down here, somewhere, and he..."
Well, he seemed to come home fine. The night before suddenly flashed behind my eyes, as I tried rubbing them away, acting as if I was just tired, or rubbing the gleam out of my eye.
"He didn't come back f-fine... did he?" Lucas sounded hysteric again, twiddling his thumbs as if he'd committed a murder or something. "No one ever does! The Master knows better! Master always knew better!"
He'd cried out, and I squinted, knowing that backing out wouldn't work on him this time. I just had to wait for him to calm down... or just distract him with something else. That always seemed to work...
Or maybe just... leaving, and letting him follow me until he bored himself out.
He continued to ramble to himself, as I casually walked away, smirking to myself in success as I was cloaked in copper shadows, ducking into the new forest just below the slope.
His voice was drowned out, when he either gave up and hurried away, or I just couldn't hear him anymore. Which was albeit strange to think about since the woods were so eerily quiet. I could only hear a few bird calls in the distance, but definitely nowhere near here. It made sense, though. It was already getting late, and the edges of the horizon were already tinted pink.
Soon, the trees had closed in on me, and I could no longer see the coming sunset. I only walked a few minutes worth of steps into the woods before I looked back and I couldn't see outside anymore. The second I turned back to face my un-mapped path, a sudden sense of dread washed over me.
I was not skeptical in the least, having expected something to come up at some point, although I hadn't really planned for any monster-attack situation. I did bring the book, and I admittedly had run over a few notes on more common anomalies here...
Even with a bit of satisfaction I had, knowing I hadn't been totally unarmed, my stomach turned, as I felt a chill sweep past my legs. I cast a quick glance behind me, book in both hands close to my chest. I was not loosing that book. Whatever else would be in here with me, was not getting that book.
I walked a bit faster, for some reason afraid that running was more dangerous for me than speed-walking. I guess I didn't want to set anything off.
The further I made my way in, the more I felt the need to turn back and return home before dark. I only flipped open Ivor's book to keep my mind from wandering wherever it was going. I didn't look behind me. I did not want to be swayed to turn back.
It seemed that the world just had other plans. Because at some point where I had completely lost sense of time, I was compelled to turn around, so I glanced over my shoulder. Of course, there was nothing there. But something was pulling me, something I couldn't see was beckoning me to turn back.
Yes, more of a 'turn back' then to 'run'. It was weird, not how I was able to tell, but that suddenly every nerve in my body seemed to tell me everything else except for what I thought was logical. I only brushed it off as instincts acting against me per usual, and soon found myself diving further into the forest. I also found myself walking a bit faster than I wanted to admit.
That was when something brushed against my side.
I held protectively onto the novel, glancing around frantically until my eyes caught something between a tighter patch of trees that looked as if light couldn't reflect off of it. Enough said, something was there. I couldn't tell if it was watching me, or if it even knew I was there.
I held the book in front of my chest like a shield. And I began walking closer, like an idiot. To this day, I still regret ever stepping a single step closer. I'm such an idiot, thinking it was a better idea even looking in it's direction for more than a single second.
I only walked a couple paces before the form shifted in a way that looked as if it turned to stare at me. I'd fallen too stiff to jump. I only watched as it flickered away, too fast for me to tell which direction It'd gone. Then I suddenly felt the urge to run.
As if everything kicked in at once, new dread returned, and I dashed further into the wood, in fear of what looked like nothing. And maybe I was overly conscious, but the only sound I could hear besides my heart beating a million miles per hour, I could hear the sound of my running through the grass. It wasn't muffled clopping of hoof-steps; I'm certain it wasn't. It was a loud, thumping that pounded in my ears, playing in sync with my legs.
I glanced behind me for just a split second, and by the time I'd turned forwards again to glance ahead of my path, had my exhausted mind decided to decipher what my eyes had seen.
The quick image of a tall man in a plaid top and long, red hair hanging past his eyes, and skin stained with so much brown and red that I couldn't see past it. I couldn't remember anything else, except that I knew he must've had eyes because I could feel him staring at me. The worst part was that I hadn't heard anything from behind me until I finally slowed down to catch my breath, while not wanting to stop running.
I glanced behind me again, stumbling a bit and breathing a sigh of relief when I lost sight of him, and immediately lost the burst of adrenaline. Although something hadn't felt right all the while, I glanced ahead of me, with the satisfaction that he hadn't been waiting for me once I turned around.
Exasperated, I fell onto my back, then my heart stopped in my throat when the ground fell from beneath me.
No, the ground-- dirt, grass and all-- it vanished into nothing, as I felt myself falling. Only for a short amount of time, I caught a glance of the tall guy in the distance before I was deep enough under ground that the top was just a small square of light. I was trapped underground, and it was a matter of time before that thing caught up with me.
At that sudden moment, I'd finally understood what claustrophobia was. To sum it up in one word, would go beyond the simple term of 'Horrifying'.
Here I was, stuck in a dirt-hole space that could probably hold only two of me, and a long way from the top; at least a good number of meters before you could see the grass again. And no, It... wasn't that deep. Honest, I was just paranoid, and I can't help but not see it any other way. Like being at the end of a tunnel and looking at the exit just so far away, and not being able to get to it... you know?
I was on my back, curled into as tight of a ball as I could so it didn't look like I was in such a small space. I could barely mode my neck, pressing the back of my head against the dirt wall only unnerved me further. All the while chunks of dirt and rock sprinkled from the 'roof' an inch above my head. I'd already lost the hat and placed in beside me, not exactly where I could see it, but where something couldn't snatch it up this time.
My heart leapt into my throat as a loud rumbling erupted from the surface, sending more grains of dirt in my direction. It seemed to pass by in a rush; because for a short second I could've sworn the sound was right on top of me.
I lost control of my breathing, covering my mouth and huffing through my fingers. I didn't want to be heard.
I'd too soon wished I was back at home. Supposing Ivor just may have come back home by now, and I could've been in the safety of his house in the woods, sleeping, or having dinner... A nice, warm, welcoming dinner... Even the sound of chamomile tea was music to my ears...
The walls began crumbling again, sending me back to reality. I'd had to hold back a sneeze or two, hoping being covered by my shirt would muffle it out. And on top of that, I was getting tired. And maybe I should've mentioned a little bit of damage done on me by the fall?
I was trapped, tired, and somewhat injured, in a claustrophobic space in the ground, probably still being hunted down by that creepy ghost-guy in the forest.
I really did suck at making decisions, didn't I?
I can't ever explain how much I'd wanted to scold myself for ever thinking it was a bright idea to leave the house-- or even, to pass that territory that belonged to the goat-guy. As much as I wanted to claw my way up and out of the hole, despite being utterly impossible, and I almost hate to say it, but not enough time had passed down there.
Everything afterwards just seemed to go downhill.
About ten minutes in, I swore I could've heard footsteps. Fast, light ones that thumped on the grass overhead. At first, I thought I'd been hallucinating. But at this point, I wouldn't have been too surprised to see anyone-- or anything-- else in these woods.
My pulse probably stopped for a good couple seconds because my vision became dotted when I saw dirt scrape off the surface, as if someone had been standing right over me. I bit my lip, restraining a shout for help, or a yell, or something. Then that was when Danny leapt down.
I could've cried, but I was too shaken up and aching to do anything other than try to hold myself together while Danny hauled himself and his backpack down with him.
It was a second before he'd fixed himself in the corner, in the tight space I was crammed in, obviously taking up more space than he was. He looked me over, straight-faced.
"You okay?" It was dark, but I could still see him place his bag in his lap, and unzip the front. And he didn't wait for a response. "I'm going to get you out of here."
My eyes darted around until he grabbed my leg and I could hear the zipper of his bag again. I wanted to complain, about fixing up my sprained leg instead of getting us both out of here, but my throat was still tight in bitter relief, and at the same time I couldn't complain. I just held the book over my chest, and waited, until it was so dark that I couldn't see past my nose.
A few moments passed before I'd sensed something... odd. Danny gasped, and I heard the sound of the bag again. At first, I thought he was in pain, or something, but before I could ask, he shuffled closer, backpack still in hand.
"Danny..." I tried, now admittedly a bit uncomfortable in the blind silence. "Is..."
Just as I'd trailed off, I heard something power on.
My eyes dodged to the first source of light I'd seen in what felt like ages. But it probably wasn't the kind of light I'd wanted to see.
Peeking just halfway out the front of the bag, was a hand-held Inverse Portal gun that Twilight had lectured me on about a week or two ago. Not the wrist-gun, with considerably smaller features, and a tiny, almost unnoticeable tank-containment for the Nitro-plasma. No, this was the real thing. Certainly not the largest I've seen, according to Twilight, but it was definitely serious technology.
Then I frowned. How did Danny manage to grab this from Twilight, anyway? And... why?
I didn't speak my worries, though, and instead glanced back up at Danny, hoping for an answer. A chill swept through me once I realized the glow of his eyes in the dark even stood out from the bright light given off of the brightly powered IP.
He didn't meet my gaze though, and looked away when I stared a bit too long.
"Alright, look..." he started, looking down at his bag, slowly dragging the zipper across the line. "That guy's still out there. And..."
Danny paused, playing with his hands that I only now noticed he'd gloved, though the marks that reached his fingertips were still visible. He took the entire Portal out and onto his palm, seeming mesmerized by the electric-looking morphing shapes and blobs of chemical that resembled a cheap lava lamp.
He placed a hand over it, watching the liquid colors dance on his fingers. For a second, it looked like he'd smiled. But it was too short-lived.
"And I.... Need to do something. In order for you to... to get out of here. Alive." There was both urgency and strictness in his tone that I wasn't too used to. "I want you to swear to me that you'll follow my lead?"
I nodded. Of course I was; I was going to follow Danny out of here. I was going to get back home. No matter how stupid it sounded, I'd do just about anything to get back. I swallowed, realizing how desperate I sounded. I stuck my hand inside the book fishing for the study-leaves to keep my mind occupied.
Another clicking sound.
This time, a brighter, blue light stretched across the silver part of the Portal, signalling it's powering-up stage had been completed. Danny finally met my gaze.
"He can sense me. And he's coming closer-- but he can't sense you because he'sblind." I nodded in understanding, believing he was referring to the ghost-guy. "I w-- need you to stay down here, and stay silent. No matter what happens up there, you stay down here, completely still and quiet."
He kind of glared at me, but I could tell he was just worried. But where would Danny be? Would he go to get help? Or had he just wanted me to shut up so this ghost didn't track us down? And if this spirit could sense other ghosts, was Danny going to lead him off or something, and leave me down here? I was conflicted with questions that I didn't have any answers to. And I was going to find out, not a moment too soon.
The Inverse Portal whirred, making me flinch, but Danny only stared at the device in his hands. Finally, I mustered up the courage to ask what the heck he was doing with it down here.
"Isn't that like... a portal-spurting device or something...?" I asked, not wanting to be too direct. Danny shrugged. "A few other things, yeah.
"I... heard people used to use it to tranquil ghosts back in the day,"
My mind had seemed to take an eternity to process what had just been thrown at me. Did that mean--
"What?!" I exclaimed, a moment before a hand cupped my mouth. Suddenly, the eerie presence had returned.
"Shhh!" Danny hissed, glancing back up at the hole. "He can hear heartbeats from a mile away-- Just listen to me!"
I instantly shut up, removing his hand from my face.
"Listen." he whispered again, gripping the handle and pointing it to the ground. "You stay down here until I wake up. When I do, by then, he'll have left, and I can bring us both back home."
He stared me in the eye. "Do you not know how much of a risk I'd be taking, letting you out there while he can sense every strand of grass around us?"
My throat had tightened again, and I nodded weakly instead. I'd choked back a sob of both fear and... something else I couldn't place. I was pulled into a quick embrace before we both heard the rumbling again, not too far from the hole.
There really wasn't much time left, was there?
I refused to loose my gaze, hoping to stall Danny as long as I could without putting us in any real danger.
"Wh-what does that thing do, exactly?" I tried to hide the shakiness in my voice, but I knew the rest of me was quivering, too. Danny almost looked solemn, but glanced away again.
"Shuts down a ghost's core in a quick second. It won't... it shouldn't hurt me, though. Don't worry about that." I half expected him to wave it off like it was nothing, but his tone told me anything else but that. I wasn't satisfied at all. Danny wasn't going to let me hurt myself out there, or risk my life; I wasn't going to allow him to, either.
So I sent him a stone stare until he finally noticed that I'd been watching and waiting for him to look back up at me. If he was going to put down ground rules, so was I.
"If it's going to hurt you..." I grumbled in a low tone, that the Portal's soft buzzing sounded louder than anything else. "Then... it's not worth it. Then you can go home, a-and I'll wait here for you in the morning."
But Danny shook his head, "No. It's too dangerous having that guy out here. I would never want to live with the guilt of--"
"Yeah, I know." I shook it off, hoping to glide the topic away. Somehow I found it exhausting for me, having Danny over my shoulder and being so overprotective with everything. Specifically lately. And with everything going on, I hadn't really taken enough notice to it.
We both heard the rumbling this time, and exchanged glances. There was barely any time to spare, if Danny was right. Thing was, at the time, I hadn't thought much of it. About the whole plan to get us out of here before that stupid ghost guy finally traced us down. And he was close. I was too paranoid at the time to really think about what Danny was really going to do.
I should've.
I really should've.
Because if I had decided to use a single cell of my brain that moment, I might have prevented... a lot of issues. A lot of... a lot of other things that came up due to Danny's literal sacrifice to 'save' me.
But I didn't.
He didn't look at me when he grabbed it by the handle again. Then activated something on it-- probably a specific setting or power level, something of the sort-- and a brighter light emitted form it. Instead of a plain, bright blue, it was a mix of the previous color, and a lime-green, and some quiet beeps that you'd have to lean close enough to hear.
"Remember what I told you?"
I nodded, my eyes still glued to the Portal. His hand was shaking, but it was just barely noticeable. I even told myself that I was shaking, and that it just looked like that Danny had been. It wasn't too hard to fool myself into thinking that, since I was frightened out of my wits, myself. I could convince myself that I was hallucinating. But he was definitely scared. Some reason I felt that it was something about me, being there. Because he couldn't make eye contact with me.
"Don't... let it hurt," I whispered, hoarsely. I couldn't tell if he heard me or not. I still, to this day, hope he did. I hope he didn't think I took this with a grain of salt. I really wasn't. Even now, I still can't.
My heart sank to where I couldn't bring it back up to my chest, when Danny didn't reply.
There was a final rumble; and I was bit with guilt, knowing I'd had a hand in stalling it for so long. And now it was so dark... I swear that spirit was right on top of us.
The IP clicked, flickering my attention back to it. I couldn't breathe.
I really didn't like the place he put it.
It was directly over his core, and pressed so close to his chest that I could hear the excited buzzing of both the Portal and the unsuspecting core. Danny still didn't look at me. I felt sick to my stomach. Somehow he'd seemed to read my mind, because he knew-- He just knew.
"You swear to me, Dipper?" his eyes still cast down, as if he just counted the seconds until he'd go. "That you'll do exactly what I told you?"
I didn't answer. I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping this was all a bad dream. Hoping I could go back in time again.
"Dipper..."
I couldn't answer. But I nodded, covering my face with my hands, hoping I wouldn't have to see anything. I was still shaking. I scolded myself for being so weak.
Everything was silent for a minute. I only heard shuffling, before I opened my eyes again, but didn't lift my gaze.
"Stay safe, Dipper."
I loved a lot of things about Danny. I loved him like a brother. Of course, there's always things you aren't too fond of with someone, no matter how much you love them. Because yes, everyone has flaws. Somethings you really hate about people don't always have to be flaws. Sometimes it's... other things.
And there was one thing I hated about Danny; his scream.
The remainder of the late afternoon was silent. It may as well have been hours before either of the two could catch a breath of fresh air at the top again. But for a decent time, Dipper hadn't as much as shifted in the corner, and waited. There couldn't have been a better sense of relief once Danny had finally regained consciousness and pulled them both up, out of the hole.
They didn't speak a word after they both touched the surface of the outside again, and the hole mysteriously vanished before they could look back again. The eldest of the two stood up, observing the area that now reflected a world of night. Although the trees tied and entangled with each other at the roof of the wood, hiding the color of the sky, no sun slipped through the cracks of the trees. Besides, it'd been a while.
A cup of tea with Twilight and Ivor sounded like heaven, compared to the chill of night. So Danny hauled the boy over his back, and headed back home.
The walk was silent, and Dipper fell asleep over his shoulder. His sleep was silent; so the only sounds really were the crickets chirping and the crunching of late autumn leaves under his feet. Danny took his time, though; The silence was nice every once in a while.
After finding the way back to the main path that lead behind Ivor's house, a strange glow emitted from... somewhere, Danny couldn't place. He sped up his pace a bit, hoping to catch a sight of whatever was just around the corner, but as he neared, the more it seemed to fade. And soon, it'd vanished. Maybe something had run by.
After a brief glance around, he shrugged to himself, and pushed further through the brush. The sense of something being there, hadn't left at all. And Danny still couldn't shake the feeling.
"Ha ha, you're so gullible..."
Danny flickered around, widening his eyes when nothing was ever even behind him. At least it didn't seem so. Dipper grumbled in his sleep, but didn't open an eye. He was still asleep. It had only now occurred to him that he was carrying his injured friend through the forest, while something had been watching them. It wasn't the most pleasant thought.
He held tighter onto the boy's arms, and headed further down the path.
"Hey, kid. If you're gonna walk right through my haunt, you might as well say hello,"
Something brushed past, and the only thing that stood out from the dreary, pale night-shade of the woods was a bright white feline.
It might as well have been glowing; it cast a bit of a light where it stood, smiling to itself. And it didn't have eyes, either. Only lifeless, black circles with bags. It almost looked... human.
Danny breathed, staggering past the ghostly cat, dragging Dipper along with him as before. Only he held his hands tighter, and his fingers were growing cold.
The slight chance of the cat not following him was obviously not large enough not to hear the creature creep up behind. There wasn't a crunching of leaves under it's paws, though. Just the strange sense of another spirit trailing behind.
She sprinted up ahead, matching the teen's pace. She glanced over the trail. "Tired of carrying that dead body around?"
Danny rolled his eyes, under his hoodie. There obviously wasn't going to be another moment of silence tonight. Especially once he got back home. And now this ghost cat was trying to strike up a conversation with him. There's no getting out of this, is there?
"He's not dead," Danny grumbled in reply, "He's... asleep."
"Hah, that's funny..." She mewed a laugh, "You sound familiar. What you said.
"Because he's definitely sleeping." Her eyes flickered a dangerous white that matched her coat. It vanished in a second-- as fast as it came. "Did you kill him?"
For a second, Danny was almost sure she was kidding. She even laughed along with her question, as if it was just some sort of cruel joke. But it unfortunately didn't take long to realize she was looking him over, almost in a suspicious manner. She still had some sort of smile over her muzzle, as if she was hinting at something.
When Danny didn't respond and only picked up his pace in the process, the cat scampered along.
"I mean, you are a werewolf," she stated a matter-of-factly. "And you're glowing. Like a ghost... and I can feel that you are, I just know it.
"So you're like me? Did you die at like, a party or something?"
"What?"
The ghost cat laughed, "I mean, you look young. Or maybe you're one of... those... guys. Honest to goodness, they should be like, incarcerated or something. Ha, I was close enough. My last drink was a milkshake. Pathetic. You'd think it'd be like, a nice beer, or something. But nah, it was a milkshake in a wine glass. Shared it with my friend until our time was up, if you wanna sugar coat it. Don't think you're old enough to hear that story."
Then she hissed, shielding her eyes with a paw. A golden light touched the trees, and coated the leaves. There was a light up ahead-- Ivor's house was just around the corner. Danny sighed in relief. Finally...
"What is that light?" she grumbled, peeking under her paw. "Do you live in that place? It's burning my eye-sockets."
"Awesome, which means you'll leave now?"
"My thoughts exactly." The cat hissed, showing her fangs at no one in particular. "I'll find you again, ghost-wolf. If any other kitty passes by, tell them Midnight owns this pathetic piece of territory. Else they'll get both their ears chewed off."
She graced the ground with her tail before flicking around and scampering off. Soon as she disappeared around the corner, her glow had vanished.
A couple hours previously::
"Some tea do you any good?" Ivor offered, staring albeit concerned at the mare. Twilight shook her head, glancing out the window once more. It was pitch black out, and still not a sign from either of the boys. Ivor had wanted to go out and search for them, but Twilight had convinced him not to. He only nodded, realizing he'd end up leaving Twilight on her own, anyway. And both of them going along would leave the house alone, plus that chance they might not be able to track them down. Neither wanted another mix up again.
Plus everything she'd run over in her mind, hoping to think about anything else put more stress over her shoulders. She thought back to Fluttershy, and the dram she'd had... however long ago. And Spike. All she could do was hope for their safety, and wait until the problem had been resolved. She was not going back empty-hooved again. She'd come back just once a year, and she never brought anything along with her besides a basket of cold bread, coated in snow.
"You know what? I'll take what you've got." Ivor nodded, heading back over to the kitchen, leaving the alicorn to her thoughts. "Tea does sound nice..."
She waited for the half-deer to join her, which he did, bringing along two mugs of tea. They talked just a bit, hoping to pass the time, or rather just think of anything else. The subject did come up a few times here and there-- it probably wasn't as avoidable as they'd thought.
Only a couple hours later had Ivor finally decided to clean the mugs that piled in the sink, and the sticky dishes Danny hadn't finished that morning, and the glass cup that Dipper never drank out of.
Twilight groaned, massaging her temples. "I.. probably just need to take a shower or something..." She leapt off the beds and dashed into the bathroom record time.
Sure, a nice shower would take her mind off of...
"Nope. Not thinking about that." Twilight announced to herself, turning the knob on the shower. There was a creak before a thin dribble of water touched the bottom of the tub. The other dial didn't seem to even do anything.
Don't you just hate dead showers?
"Shut it." Twilight hissed, before the Parasite's presence had vanished. It must have been as bored as she was. After all, nothing eventful had really happened all day. Was she starving the Parasite?
She decided to dwell on it further, turning her back on the bath, glad to have found something else to distract her tired mind with. And sleep was certainly not a realistic enough option.
But somehow, Equestria continued to flicker in the back of her mind. Even once she'd found herself engaged in staring at the stars, she heard that same echo of her pegasus friend in the depths of her mind. The same voice from her dream-- or her vision, if that's what it was. Maybe she just wanted answers, and her mind was just not... satisfied yet? It seemed plausible enough. In fact, anything did, at a time like this.
But it still felt off. Like something was forcing the thought to return to her. Twilight furrowed her brows at the new idea. Was Parasite trying to remind her of something?
Her train of thought didn't go much further, though, until Ivor had exclaimed something her brain hadn't had the time to process. She glanced over at the deer-man, and he motioned towards the front door, face clear of any real emotions she could see from the other end of the room.
He raised a brow, "Danny-- he's outside."
"What?" She had to see this for herself. Flickering around to face the window again, she could barely make out the moving silhouette nearing the house. Twilight had to squint, but true to his word she did spot Daniel just a few paces away from the porch. And now the dim golden lights of the lanterns cast a brighter shade over the teen and the grass, and the younger boy draped over his shoulders.
Did you really think they BOTH made it out alive, Princess?
Twilight snarled, shaking her head to rid the voice-- or perhaps, put the parasite to rest. Just for a moment. She would've been convinced Dipper hadn't come back alive if she didn't catch a glimpse of the off rise-and-fall of his chest, or the fiddling of his fingers in his sleep. Just before she heard a loud knocking on the door that startled her back into the beds.
Ivor had reached out to the doorknob, glancing outside at Danny who seemed more than out of it.
"Uh, I'm back."
Ivor seemed to snap immediately back into reality, and wrapped his arms around both Danny, and Dipper draped over him.
"Thank goodness," Ivor breathed, "Where on earth were you...? And Dipper--"
"That's kind of complicated," Danny mumbled, and Ivor released them both from the embrace. "I just... need to go to bed. And he's fine. Just... tired."
Ivor breathed a laugh of relief, urging the boy inside. "Understandable. I might as well be heading to bed, as well. You're not hungry or anything?"
Danny waved it off, "No, I'm good. I'll make sure to make up for it in the morning." It sounded like he was joking-- he may as well have been. Oblivious or not, Ivor replied with a warm smile and headed off to his room.
He hadn't payed any mind to Twilight, who sat by the window, eyes focused on seemingly nothing. She wasn't staring out the window anymore, her eyes just traced the sky, almost as if her eyes were never even open, she looked dazed. But it was better than closing her eyes.
Twilight wasn't sure how long she'd been staring outside, or if she'd ever thought to blink; her eyes felt dry. She didn't notice when the lights were turned off, or when the silence grew even more silent once everyone had hit the bed and drifted off to sleep.
She sighed, shaking her head, blinking her eyes.
Ah, Princess. Whatever is the matter this time?
"I'm not in the mood, Parasite." Twilight hissed under her breath. "I have enough on my plate without you in my head every second of the day!"
Every second? Parasite sounded taken aback. Why, Princess, I'm only always here! You should be glad I've been a good little... Parasite, and stayed quiet almost all day!
"Stop playing these games with me. If you wanted to leave so badly, then be my guest!"
You're really that much of an idiot, huh? I think you may have forgotten I'm stuck here with you for my survival!
"Selfish," Twilight hissed, shaking her head once again, "You're nothing but a selfish creature. A selfish, disgusting monster..."
Oh, clamp that running muzzle of yours or everything inside you will trail right out. You know nothing about me. And you never will if you don't live to see the light of day.
Do not make me angry, Princess. Don't ever forget who's given you a chance of life until you've decided to answer my question. And if you fail me, you won't be seeing your precious Hearth's Warming this year. You won't be carrying your basket of disappointment to your family, either. You won't step a single hoof onto your land again.
Twilight shot up instantly. "H-How in Equestria do you know about that?"
"Hello?"
"Parasite!"
Nothing.
Twilight growled in frustration. The one time she needed Parasite to speak, had it decided to suddenly shut up. Coward.
And for a moment too short had Twilight almost forgotten her train of thought a while ago. She huffed, turning to face the window to her left again. The moon was high; and just the bottom tip of the crescent shape was visible from behind the light velvet clouds, and from her view inside.
Was it growing morning, or just touching night? Twilight furrowed her brows, laying on her stomach to glance better at the moon. But she couldn't really catch sight of much anything that the clouds didn't cover. And she couldn't tell if it was morning or night. There wasn't much to see, anyway. The porch room from outside blocked too much of the view.
The mare shook her head to herself, and spun around, first spotting Danny sound asleep, a bed or two distance away. And he was turned to his right, so the bit of moonlight that shine through the window left a sparkling shadow right over his sleeping form.
Twilight narrowed her eyes. Was he really asleep?
She shuffled over silently, the mattresses creaking under her hooves. She only placed her face just above Daniel's, hoping to catch any sign of...
Is he actually asleep...? Twilight thought in disbelief. No, that's not likely... not enough.
She felt curiosity fall over her like a blanket. Whatever Daniel and Dipper had endured out there that night had more than worn him out. Daniel was never really one for sleeping-- at least as far as Twilight knew.
She inched back over to her corner and fell under the sheets instead. Maybe none of this was worth the thought over. That seemed atleast about right. Although not nearly satisfied, Twilight allowed herself to drift off to sleep. Only new thoughts began to enter her mind before she realized she wasn't in bed anymore.
The sight-- or there being no sight at all-- was familiar enough. Twilight spun around, narrowing her eyes through the vast shade of black, but this time, something caught her eye.
As if it had never been there before, a blotch of white formed in the distance behind her. She gasped, backing away from the intrusion, only until she felt some sort of force behind her interrupt her path. And glancing back, there was nothing there.
"P-Parasite!" Twilight yelled through a chill that ran down her back. The presence of the creature was still there, only it remained silent. Twilight bristled, scurrying away from the luminescent white closing in on her, too much like a magnet.
"Stop this!" Twilight cried, the bleeding white mass creeping up from under her. "Show yourself!"
The color vanished as if by command, leaving nothing behind except faint trails of color her eyes tricked her into seeing.
Oh, Princess, you're no fun! Parasite mocked, it's voice echoing off every corner of the space. I only wanted to show you something.... a little reminder.
"What reminder..?" Twilight whispered, still glancing around to survey her surroundings. "What did you bring me here for? I'm not asking for answers, I'm demanding them,"
You're still that much of an idiot, are you princess? You don't demand answers from me; I do have full control over you, after all.
And you best remember our little deal. How many hints had I left around for you to realize this? The Cold season grows nearer every breath you take, Precious Stone. Take too many and you just might run out.
On cue, Twilight gasped, collapsing onto her stomach as the air seemed to vanish. She couldn't yell; she couldn't breathe, either. The Parasite only buzzed in her ears, what sounded like laughter. But she couldn't hear anything, either. The entire plain seemed to fall apart before her eyes. Twilight only struggled for air, tears of panic trailing down her face until she felt the world fall from under her, and the cold air was back again.
Twilight blinked awake, abruptly sitting up and leaving the blankets behind as she flailed for the outside, desperate to feel the wind through her fur again.
Danny wasn't sure where he was. He wasn't too sure when he had left either, or how he had gotten so far out that he couldn't see past the birch trees anymore. And Danny could've sworn Ivor didn't own a single birch, and there certainly weren't any around his territories.
It might as well have been night. The sky was only black, and there wasn't a single rustle of the brush. There was nothing. Only trees.
And these trees were tall. They towered over him like a vulture hunched over a carcass. And he felt it's eyes on him, although there was no vulture, and there were no eyes. Danny only kept walking. Like standing still would end him up as a midnight snack for a hungry scavenger.
Danny glanced up, chilled under the unusual color of the trees. Their leaves were red-- autumn had barely touched, but it looked as if every individual leaf had been dyed bright red. And now a few leaves had eyes. Big, bright eyes that didn't seem to weigh down the leaf it had sprouted on. It almost looked as if it wasn't there. Or just because eyes didn't belong on trees.
"Loosened eyes," something bellowed, that came from the tree. "Loosened eyes..."
And maybe all of a sudden, every single leaf of every tree that arched over the grey path and Danny down below, there were bright eyes staring down at him. They made sounds he couldn't quite comprehend.
A new color that he hadn't seen before.
A bright white splotch of light revealed themselves from behind the trees, swimming around him like giant fish. These things didn't have eyes, and didn't seem to have a body, either. They weren't hollow-- just empty.
"Obtuse, distress, distortion," they began to chant as they swam faster. "Coordination, burden, disorder,"
Their words only blended together, until their sounds were just as meaningless as anything else in this plain world of red trees. And now the bright and blinding red seemed to fall apart from itself, as it's color dripped away like paint or blood. But when a drop or crimson touched the ground, it didn't-- it vanished into the bright white of the swimming creatures.
"You were never meant to leave." One said as it swam in tighter, closing the space around and drowning everything else out. And beneath them all, Danny could faintly see a thin stream of water just below the line of the silver grass.
"And now, you will drown together, with your brothers." With that, the air had vanished, and there was only water.
Danny awoke with a start, sitting up abruptly in bed before he had even realized he was ever laying down. Everything around him hit light lightning as some sort of shock coarsed through his body when he realized he was only in bed. Ivor, in the kitchen, Twilight missing, and Dipper just by his side. He glanced over, oblivious.
"You finally up this time?" he seemed to joke, barely removing his eyes from the journal opened up near the middle. "You were talking in your sleep all morning,"
Along with the final comment, a momentary look of concern crossed his face. Danny furrowed his brows.
"I was talking in my sleep?" he parroted, seemingly more confused than Dipper. He never recalled ever talking in his sleep before. Unless no one ever told him so. Plus, he couldn't recall much of whatever he'd dreamed that night. Just faint traces of unintelligible voices and some color he couldn't exactly shake from memory.
"Is... that a bad thing?" Dipper asked, raising a brow. "I wouldn't think so. Happens to everyone every once-in-a-while..."
He glanced back into the book, but his focus was obviously trained elsewhere. He opened his mouth to say something, but shook his head instead. "But..."
He closed his book and glanced back over to Danny, who returned the look. "I mean, were you having a nightmare, or something?"
"I'm not sure, why?" The older teen inquired, bringing his knees up to his chest. "I can't really remember what I saw last night. But I'm fine. Happens to everyone every once in a while."
He gave a look before inching off the bed and headed off to the storage closet that already had the lights turned on. Twilight must've gone in there.
Dipper stopped himself from inquiring further, hugging the book up close. The previous night had certainly been hectic, and it was more than understandable that Danny was only in a sour mood. But he'd get over it soon enough; Danny was always good at getting better.
Dipper had sat in thought long enough until Ivor had beckoned him into the kitchen, and he left his books behind. He did cast an eye over every moment, and back over to Ivor.
Quills, parchments, paper, parchment paper. Is this how you spend all day, looking through a deranged man's stuff?
Parasite had gone on all morning, and seemed to cease to stay silent. There wasn't any room for spare or loose thought, now that all the mare could hear were the complaints of the Parasite. Eventually, it just seemed bored, and poked fun at Twilight just to keep itself occupied. And Twilight soon learned that staying silent herself didn't do much damage.
She mentally scolded herself at the mess she was making; scrolls trailed out across the floor, books scattered and flipped open, loose papers everywhere. There was the occasional ink pen, or more modernized paper that still looked aged and ruffled up. There was either little or no writing on these. Perhaps they were more recent.
And there were boxes. But not limited to just cubes of cardboard; crates, plastic containers, leather bags, and squared baskets that sat neatly upon every shelf, barely leaving an inch of space between. She'd only glanced through these, only since nothing really caught her eyes, except spare clothes in one, or a collection of pens in the other. And the baskets on the top shelves were mostly empty, except for one or two that held a few miscellaneous items. Note pads, dried markers, rubber bands, some cleaning wipes that should've been discarded long ago. Nothing. Nothing interesting, at least.
If you really want to push his buttons, Princess, I suggest you take direct action, instead. Or do you just really like going through his stuff?
Shaking her head subconsciously, Twilight placed everything back inside the box, recounting everything back in it's correct order. She shuffled over to the further corner, eyeing another box, one that was semi-open... it wouldn't hurt to look through this one, either, would it?
You are really the worst host ever, Princess. Parasite grumbled. You really want me to die, do you? Would you change your set of mind if I decided to call you a murderer?
"If that means getting rid of you, then go right ahead and die, then." Twilight hissed, pulling the box over. "You'd be doing me a huge favor. And what'd you be doing for yourself? You only sound more selfish as you go on."
For the first time that morning, Parasite had remained quiet.
Only a couple hours had gone by, and Twilight had been in near silence. Other than the occasional comment and complaint from Parasite, but it obviously lost it's urge to do more than bug her further. It had become generally quiet, and Twilight was certainly grateful.
Three and a half boxes had been rummaged through, now, and there was still nothing truly interesting hidden in these boxes. And this fourth one had been more disappointing than the rest.
Inside were two containers, and a few scattered office supplies. Nothing much more than a box of opened staples and more dried out pens. The first container on the left seemed color-coded green. And removing the top, Twilight could only see what looked like... more papers.
She shoved past the stack of papers, only to reveal the bottom of the container. Nothing.
The second one was instead filled with folders, each a different color. It didn't look like much at all, until Twilight had flipped through the black folder at the bottom, and was greeted by a small slip of paper, not so cleverly hidden among the files inside.
"B44-B. Strange..." Twilight muttered, levitating the piece of paper closer to examine. Only it really was just a piece of paper. A really old piece of paper-- at least that was evident enough. She flipped it over, only to gaze over plain backing of the code. Just words on paper.
"Where had I seen this before...?" Twilight furrowed her brows, "I swear, I--"
A soft ruffle behind her was just enough to aim her attention elsewhere. And suddenly a thin chill swept the storage room. Spinning around, her eyes caught Danny, glancing through one of the baskets along second row of shelves. Her momentary shock vanished. It was only Daniel.
"Daniel, what are you--" she stopped herself, eyes focused on the basket, or more particularly, a small white label on the wall behind it, as Danny removed it from the shelf.
B42-B
Twilight groaned, silently scolding herself again. Had those always been there?
"Daniel!" Twilight exclaimed, flittering over and taking the basket into her own hooves as Danny only stared in bewilderment. "How the heck did you find this?"
"Find what?" Danny stared back, still clueless as before. "Did... did I do something?"
She hadn't replied, and spun back around to the shelf and abandoning the basket to the floor. And, just as she'd expected, along the wall behind each basket was a little white tag, each with it's own code text written over it.
Maybe the Princess isn't as bright was she's cracked up to be, hm?
Although she'd hate to admit it, the Parasite may've had a point. After all, how long would it have taken her to find these tags simply on the walls, if Daniel had never come in? But then another thought came.
Why?
Just why, in general-- why would Ivor code the baskets? And why behind the wall? Wouldn't that make it more difficult to find the basket he'd been looking for? And why this one, specifically?
Without another moment of hesitation, Twilight scooped up the basket, with it's proud B44-B tag visible as soon as it left the shelf, and peered inside.
A... blanket.
It look just like the other baskets that had spare clothes in them-- only this one, was a blanket. A peach-colored, old, stained, blanket. It had a disgusting odor to it, too. Like it hadn't been washed in years. It didn't sound too uncanny; there were grey patches of dust and dirt, and colorful stains all over. It almost looked on purpose.
She glanced back, at the overturned box at the corner, catching a glance at Danny covering his nose. She glanced around at the baskets again. All the baskets looked the same-- there was nothing to distinguish one from the other. Unlike the boxes, which were an assortment of shapes and sizes, some torn open down the creases, or taped shut. And the sacks and leather bags stuffed against the corners under a rack of clothes that were mostly made up of long jackets and old cloaks. Hiding away from sight, but again, not cleverly hidden.
But then there was a basket, and a code that lead to it. Maybe there were more? Was it just an organization technique?
A strange one, if so. It may be a bit extreme to code baskets with tags on the walls hidden from plain sight, that Ivor'd have to go through boxes and boxes of folders for. Or he just had exceptional memory. But even that didn't sound too right.
"Can you put that away?" Danny had complained, muffled through the jacket he pulled up to shield his face. "It actually smells like a corpse,"
Twilight brushed the comment off. "What were you doing in here, anyway?"
Danny shrugged, dodging her glance. "...I just wanted to look around," he finally answered after a few long moments, gluing his eyes to the ratty ceiling. "Woke up late."
He looked about ready to turn around and exit the closet, only he stopped, eyes catching something else that stopped him in his tracks.
Twilight stared back, confused for just a brief moment before she decided to follow his gaze, squinting at the corner of the room, the far crevice near the light bulb. It was just a spider web.
It looked like there were some stray papers intertwined into the web, too. Now it only looked like a cheap Halloween decoration.
Then taking another glance back over to Danny, who continued to stare up at the ceiling in silence. Then Twilight asked something she never expected to hear come out of her mouth. "Are... you afraid of spiders?"
Danny seemed to snap back into reality at that, furrowing his brows and forcing his eyes in another direction.
"No, that's stupid." he rolled his eyes, "I.. think I have something better to do, anyway. You have fun--"
"No, wait." Twilight interjected, "I might need you here for something,"
She glanced back down at the blanket basket, dragging it out as it's scent only worsened. Dropping the old sheet to the floor, Twilight's eyes glistened as her gaze fell upon what looked like a collection of glass beakers.
Was this what Ivor had been trying to remember? Twilight thought, lifting one of the beakers out of the basket with care, this one the largest out of the rest.
It had a strange, green tint to it. It wasn't glass-stained that way-- at least it didn't look like it. But more like an old stain from some sort of fluid, or acid, that left a sickly looking color to the inside of the glass. This smelled, too. Much like the blanket, but much worse. It was almost nauseating.
One the bottom of the glass, was a small yellow tag, with dull blurred writing over the bottom. It certainly had to be old, if the ink had worn away from the tag. But there was another tag, on the side of the beaker that was more white in color. It seemed like some sort of off-white, like the tag had been aged enough to change it's color. This tag had a single number on it.
"Seventeen," Twilight muttered, reading the small pair of numbers that were now barely visible.
"Something about that doesn't set too right with me," Danny narrowed his eyes, backing away from the beaker just a footstep. "That number, it's..."
"Wait," Twilight neared the boy, glass still in her grasp. "Maybe you remember something about this? What does it smell like?"
"Wait, wait, hold on!" Danny backed up against the wall, glaring at the bottle as if it'd personally offended him. "It's literally just a number. Besides, what does sniffing that thing do any good for? I'm pretty sure that's the opposite of what I should be doing,"
"Your taint, Daniel," Twilight reminded, albeit coldly. "If you're going to be stuck with something, you might as well put it to good use!"
"What?" Danny breathed, threading his fingers through his hair, "I-I don't even know how that works! And I'm pretty sure that's more of a dog thing,"
She hadn't had to say anything but a look in her eyes before Daniel had winced, and took the beaker into his hands.
With the beaker now out of her grasp, Danny glares at the bottle in his hands, then sends a hateful glance back at the mare.
"Fine. No looking."
Twilight sighed, raising a brow, "Daniel, this is absolutely--"
"Alright, wait." He held up his hands, the beaker still partially in his grasp, only now between two fingers. "Do you really think I'll do anything you ask me, if you don't at least go halfway with me here?"
Without another reply, Twilight complied begrudgingly, turning to face the opposite wall instead. Then a strange silence followed. The kind of silence that didn't really feel so quiet.
And for a long enough moment, had Twilight mesmerized, in deep thought. It was strange, at least until enough moments passed that she couldn't even tell how long she'd been sitting there, staring at the wall. It must've only been a couple seconds, though. Twilight was sure it was just another mind-trick-- from the Parasite, of course.
Opening her mouth to inquire, she left her jaw hanging and the words caught in her throat as a violent ting wiped the air. And now she knew-- when Twilight followed the sight of something blur across the room-- the shattered beaker in the corner of the closet-room.
It hadn't even been only shattered; it had split into so many pieces that most of it looked like white dust, and the rest was just a scattered pile of glass slips, like someone had swung a spiked bat at it. Over, and over.
Realization hit a bit too soon, when Twilight felt rage bubble up, and when she turned her head to face Danny, she cooled, when she saw no one there.
"I'll... find him later." Twilight confirmed to herself, getting back up on shaky hooves and leaving the closet behind. She'd have to inform Ivor of the mess, later.
It really must have been a long morning.
Because right after spotting Dipper, reading on his spot on the beds, she found Ivor, brewing some sort of stew, maybe, in the kitchen. She recognized certain patterns over the course of the few weeks, and Ivor definitely had a record for cooking in the pasta pot for lunch every Sunday. Maybe he was unaware of it, but Twilight had taken note. An interesting way to keep track of what day it was, without studying the stars, or using a calendar they were short of.
And during weekends, Dipper had always spent most of the day with his nose in the books, much like herself. And Daniel...?
"Ivor," Twilight shook herself from her thoughts, walking up to the deer-man.
Ivor jumped a bit, spinning around with the spoon in hand. He noticeably relaxed once his eyes met Twilight, placing a hand over his own shoulder.
"Oh, is there something wrong?"
Is that his first assumption?
"No-- I mean, yes," Twilight muttered, fumbling for the right words, "I mean, no... it's not necessary."
Ivor furrowed his brows, but seemed to let the matter go, quite easily. He nodded lightly, turning back to face the pot. "Well, if you need anything, just call. I'm always here if you need me."
"Well, actually... I've been meaning to talk to you about that..."
Twilight trailed off, awaiting some sort of reaction or reply-- anything. But Ivor seemed to be ignoring her, almost. Or maybe he just didn't hear her. She'd like to believe that. Twilight only took this as a sign to continue.
"See, you haven't been.... around, much... lately."
No response.
"Ivor," Twilight asked, quietly. "Where've you been going?"
That was when the half-deer stopped, seemingly a bit... frightened, maybe. He didn't turn, and didn't really move. He only stood there, looking down at his spoon, tapping at his palm.
"Well...: he breathed, and in hesitance, he stopped himself. "I mean, I know.
"And I am truly sorry if it feels like I'm abandoning you in any way. You three mean the world to me; and it's only taken me so long to realize that. But I'm protecting you. There's so much danger out there in these woods-- I wouldn't want you to-- any of you-- to get involved.
"But--" Glancing back up at Ivor, a look of hurt crossed over him like a dead glaze-- or maybe it was just dew in his eyes. Something was just too off-set about this. Because obviously, there was something more behind Ivor leaving the house, and not returning. Something about leaving his house that put anyone in danger, yet he always returned so scott-free?
And why did this loner who lives in the woods on his own want to take them in? What benefit did he get from this? Or was he just really desperate for company?
And Wolf and Rex-- Ivor knew them, and they knew Ivor. If he was so lonely, Wolf and the giant jackalope would surely stay with him, at least time to time, wouldn't they?
There were so many burning questions all of a sudden, making Twilight's head spin. But Ivor didn't want her to push on any further-- at least she was sure of that. So Twilight sighed, dipping her head.
"Right-- Alright," she finally stuttered out, "But don't believe I'm overlooking anything. If there's anyone you can talk to, it's me."
Ivor breathes a laugh of what sounded like relief, nodding his head and stirring the pot. "I'll make sure to keep note of that,"
And afterwards, it's like Twilight was never even there.
With a mental sigh, the mare prepared to turn towards the living room, only to catch a glimpse of a blur in the corner of her eye. Blinking, she stared for a moment as her eyes caught sight of Dipper speeding to the front door.
"Dipper," Twilight called out, "Where in Equestria are you going?"
He skidded to a stop right before the mat by the door, grabbing the door handle to stop himself from colliding with a wall. He flickered his gaze over, a slight pale.
"Uh, just for a walk--"
"You do know we are not permitted to leave the house without permission, right? Plus, you're still injured!" Twilight scolded, then added, "And didn't Daniel tell you to stay in bed?"
He only shrugged, groaning under his breath. "Come on, I can take care of myself. Besides, I heard Ivor was having trouble locating autumn berries, and I thought I might as well keep an.. eye or two out, y’know…?"
"No, I certainly do not know."
"Well, I do," he puffed out his chest again in some subtle manner, as if it was all on habit, "And I'm going to use that as an excuse to get some fresh air. You can stay cooped up inside as much as your heart desires."
Poorly hiding his limp, the deertaur slipped outside, leaving no room for another word. He picked up his hiking stick off the side of the porch and with audible clicks, he trekked off into the trees. It was fairly bright out, anyway. So Twilight assumed it may have been best to leave the boy on his own this time.
He does know how to take care of himself, I suppose. He's more than enough proven it in the past.
But Daniel's my next mission. Where the heck is he...?
Turning back, Twilight found her way back to Ivor, who was sifting through the fridge. Not wanting to startle the man, she furrows her brows and waits, until Ivor shuts the fridge door, still slightly jumping when he noticed the mare behind the fridge.
"Ivor?" Twilight began. Placing down the sauce jar on the counter, Ivor raises a brow.
"Already? Uh, do you need anything?"
"Daniel," Twilight answered, "Uh, have you seen him?"
He pauses just a moment to turn down the dial on the stove-top, as if it required complete concentration to be able to do so. Then a look of concern crossed his features that made Twilight nauseous all over again.
"No, I don't recall. Is there something wrong?"
"Uh, no, no, of course not!" Twilight spilled hurriedly, waving a foreleg nonchalantly. "I... think he's just looking around... I'll go check on him."
Quickly trotting away, Twilight found herself back into the storage room, but of course, the halfa just simply wasn't there. Twilight groaned, pacing around, her eyes following the boxes and mess and shattered glass that decorated the floor, sure to avoid it, but not bothering to pick up a single shard.
"It's not like he can just... disappear into thin air!"
Twilight blinked. "I... forgot he could do that."
Glancing around just a bit more, as if she'd catch a glimpse of the boy in the closet somewhere she hadn't checked, Twilight soon enough found herself in Ivor's bedroom.
Discarding the papers that littered her path, Twilight furrowed her brows at the sight of the man's room. It was a terrible mess; More of a mess than anyone would expect from such a neat and organized guy like Ivor, who kept his bookshelves in order apparently more than his room.
There were clothes sprawled out over his floor and dresser, papers laying crinkled up on the floor, some boxes of cereal, it looked like, next to a trashcan he must've missed. Even the bed was left unspread, and a flashlight lay underneath it. A small one, though, about the size that could slip into a pocket, or even a ring-box. Maybe.
Twilight simply shook her head, poking into Ivor's closets, and of course, without a single trace of Danny. It was more than unfortunate how good he was at covering his tracks, considering he never even had to make a sound if he was leaving. But it'd happened enough times in the past for Twilight to figure out how Daniel worked, even though she often times forgot he wasn't just another taint like the rest of them.
But a shy chirp brought Twilight back to reality. She glanced over at a small blue jay, perched on the hanging lantern outside the window, twisting it's head around as if looking for something. It whistled again, before flying off where Twilight couldn't see.
Just below the window, on the sil, was a half-empty bag of bird food.
"I guess he never liked the idea of bird feeders," Twilight muttered, eyes catching the loose latch on the window afterwards.
Ivor had left the window open.
She smiled to herself, although her eyes held a glaze of suspicion. "Too easy..."
With a light chuckle, Twilight lifted the window, rush of pine scent filling the room. Slipping outside, she watched the small bird flutter away, and hurried off towards the cliffs.
Though he'd only done it a couple times now, it was fairly easy to glide down the slope. At least simpler than it had been before. Danny leaped off the last edge, and when he hit the ground, he didn't quite process that it hadn't made a sound. But now he was down here, in the Underlands, where Daarin lurked.
A deer just a few yards away had spun around, wide-eyed, and vanished without a second thought. Of course, that wasn't important. What was necessary was finding Daarin. But strangely, there was not a single sight of the little mutant. Hadn't he been expecting him?
"Danny!" Daarin squealed from behind, giggling hysterically when Danny had yelped in surprise and toppled over in the dirt. "It's really you! You're back! Oh, I thought you'd never come back!"
Without warning, or giving Danny a second to process anything, he leaped onto his back with a light laugh. There was really no room to be upset. Daarin only meant well; after all, he was only a kid who lived alone in the woods. And it sure didn't seem like there were many friendly... friends to make around here.
"You did bring something to eat, right?" his small voice had asked, a bit less enthusiastically. The thought of it could've made anyone's heart clench.
"Yeah, I got that taken care of," Danny then smirked to himself. "Hey, is that why you wanted me to come back so badly?" At this, Daarin gasped, seemingly taken aback as he wormed around Danny's shoulder as he struggled to sit back up again.
"Wh-what? No! Of course not!" he shook his head, ridding new thoughts that burn his rails. "Of course I wanted to just see you again! Ugh, it's been so lonely here, Danny. There's a scary monster around every bend..."
He pouted, resting his muzzle under the werewolf's neck. He'd remained silent for a second, and it was as if he was reminiscing in the moment. Danny furrowed his brows. Had he really missed him so badly? It'd only been a couple days.
He dusted off his pants, sitting up and letting Daarin slide off into the grass with a soft thud. "Like... what?"
At first, it hadn't seemed Daarin had processed the sudden question. But then it was obvious he was pondering over an answer. He glanced down at the grass, knitting his brows. And then he looked up, a blank slate.
"Oh, if you're thinking of killing him, I second your decision," he blinked up with innocent eyes, but the expression on his face was blank. And so was Danny's. "I'm kinda hoping you don't want me to handle him, myself. He could crush me to bits in a single swipe! You are gonna get rid of him, aren't you?"
"Wh-why does everyone always assume this?!"
To his surprise, Daarin giggled at this, glancing back at him with a matter-of-fact, teasing glance. "You're a werewolf, silly! That's what you do! What you're supposed to do...!"
Then he tilted his head, confusion crossing his features. "Why would you forget something as important as your nature?"
"My nature?" Danny parrotted, just as puzzled, and possibly a slight bit concerned. "What are--"
"You haven't met the other werewolf around here...?" his white-beaded eyes widened, as if he'd seen a ghost. "I mean, not here, but he... he lives on the High-Grounds, just like you! I guessed I supposed he was just a part of your pack, or something. But you suuuurely don't act much like a pack-wolf, huh? But you have been around real, human-people, right?"
Another change of expression, all of a sudden. His eyes lowered, and he cast a soft glance up at his friend. "You're not... lonely, are you, Danny?"
There was an uneasy silence following, that made even the halfa check over his shoulder. Daarin hadn't moved. In fact, each passing second his demeanor grew more and more pathetic. It was strange, and in a way, sorrowful. But soon enough had Danny remembered that he was supposed to keep up conversation. He shook his head briskly, Daarin unsure whether it was to emphasize his answer, or to rid the stillness.
"No, why?" He began, awkwardly. "I-I've been around people-- I told you that, remember?"
Daarin remained still, but nodded nonetheless. "Well... th-thank goodness! I'm happy for you," he dodged his gaze for a short moment, before springing back to his feet. A bright smile came over his face, as he motioned towards the sinkhole.
"Anyway! There's something I wanna show you! Follow me!"
In that same instant, Daarin had spun around and sprinted off towards the unearthly caves, Danny scrambling back up to follow him close behind. Only a second before he’d skid off the edge had Daarin decided to take a sharp left turn, giggling when he saw Danny nearly fall off the edge behind him.
He’d opened his mouth to call out, but panted for air, as his lungs apparently couldn’t keep up with his little body. Instead, he pushed ahead, nearly disappearing behind a new mound of hedge and brush that was colored a strangely bright orange. Daarin poked his head out from the bushes, still beaming brightly.
“Come on, silly!” Daarin laughed, vanishing into the trees again. “It’s just right over here!”
Once Danny had followed along into the sickly bright-tinted woods, Daarin had bounced up and down in excitement.
“Look, Danny! I live here, now!” he laughed as he said it, too. And Daarin couldn’t stop jumping for joy. “Isn’t it so awesome?”
He nodded silently, plastering a light smile over his face at the new view. From here, they could see just about the very end of the trail, that lead to the river. And these leaves were bright orange. Not like the kind in autumn, of course-- Ivor didn’t have trees like this back at his house. These were different-- and by a longshot. What was even weirder was that despite the ground being littered with crackled leaves and pinecones, the trees overhead still looked full and lush, as if it were only spring.
But brushing those thoughts aside, the teen glanced down in question, towards the mutant. “Yeah, I thought you lived in the caves?”
Daarin had been caught off guard. His bouncing ceased, and for a short moment or two, he’d widened his eyes as if in realization. Then he laughed again. “I live anywhere I want! Remember?”
“Oh, yeah.”
“Uh-huh!” Daarin squealed in pride. “The more territories, the better! And this place is soooo much better-- come on, I’ll show you!”
He pranced a way down the trail before digging through the brush again, somewhere near where the woods met the mouth of the sinkhole, but far enough away not to worry about falling into it at night. Behind here, was a tiny hollow, under a warm patch of sun that shone like a spotlight through the treetops, and a low canopy that made the seclusion feel much more like a cave.
But what really caught Danny’s attention, were the little jars of fireflies hung from the canopy. Of course, they were asleep, but he was sure what a sight it would be at nighttime. It was already getting kind of dull out and though he wouldn’t have wanted to admit it, Danny was certainly curious what the setup would look like at night.
“Did you make all this yourself?” he started, sitting at the mouth of the hollow and laying a hand over Daarin’s head. “And the fireflies...?”
Daarin crawled closer beaming up at his work. “Yup! It took a long time, but it looks really great! And the fireflies are easy to catch, too!” He chuckled quietly shuffling a foreleg through the leaves. Then leaning back into Danny, he sighed, and whispered,
“I’m... really glad you like it, too.”
“Ugh, stupid noxious berries,” Dipper grunted, throwing the brush under the pipe again. Twilight had popped up from behind, curious to just watch.
“What’s that?” Twilight inquired, furrowing her brows at the unusual purple stain that refused to leave Dipper’s vest. “And where have you been, anyway? I haven’t covered every plant species in this universe yet!”
“Oh, relax, it’s just fruit. It’s not gonna kill me if I don’t eat it.” He rolled his eyes, grabbing the tattered washcloth and scrubbing at the mess with that, instead. “I only went past the woods, is all. But now that you mention it, I haven’t really explored around here much. I hear there’s spirits from ancient cults who died during their ceremonies, here.”
His sudden frustrated demeanor had turned positive and upbeat in such an instant, it even scared Twilight a little.
“Well, although I would prefer you stay in eyeshot, I’d rather you not messing around with the paranormal.” Then she paused, looking a bit disgruntled. “But I suppose you’re still going out there, despite Ivor’s warnings to put yourself in critical danger, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, in a word,” Dipper shrugged, before the purple-stained rag flew across the bathroom and smacked the wall, leaving a violet mess behind. “But right now, the main priority is between me and Mr. Stain here. I’ll be gone in just a minute, can’t hang around spirits with attractant on my jacket. Oh-- did you know this stuff attracts ghosts?”
“Interesting,” Twilight hummed to herself, flashing a glance towards the door. “Well, I’ll leave you to it.”
Only once she stepped out into the rest of the house, despite the glare of light blurring her vision, the obvious presence of Danny was certainly there. Twilight blinked furiously, hoping to make out the silhouette any better.
“Daniel?” Twilight called, still unsure whether her eyes were playing tricks on her.
“Yep. I’m home. Surprise.” He’d tossed his bag to the floor, rolling his eyes, though a bit oblivious that Twilight didn’t note his sarcasm. “Heading to bed,”
Twilight furrowed her brows, still greatly confused the halfa had decided to return home, and still intact, from as much as she could see. Now the glare was fading away, and it was almost abnormal to see him without there being blood everywhere. In fact, he almost seemed serene.
“Strange,” Twilight muttered, giving him a challenging look. “Since when have you been so dedicated to come back home in one piece?”
Oh-ho-ho, Princess. You do really hate him, don’t you? I can feel your hatred, Princess, and your anger is so fulfilling!
Twilight hadn’t been listening. Or, at least she hadn’t wanted to. The mare faltered, when Danny had dove right into bed, ignoring her comment.
It wasn’t so easy to brush off; it was sort of worrying that Danny hadn’t taken the opportunity to argue back with a sharp quip, or even a glare. Instead, he crashed into bed, with his back turned, so Twilight couldn’t tell if he was really asleep or not. But he must have been absolutely bushed; He’d been out all day, and barely slept last night. Danny was tired. And it took only now to realize it.
You really did some damage on the kid, Princess! I almost feel some sort of sorrow for the pathetic little thing. Maybe I was wrong, Precious Stone. Maybe you’re not such a bad host, after all.
Oh please, Princess. Don’t tell me Guilt has taken possession of your mind, has it? Your anger is dull, but I can still sense it... What will it take for me to make you furious again?
“...”
So the Princess has finally hushed, hasn’t she? I’d have asked you what was on your mind, but I’m sure I already know. I hope you know that I am already aware, Precious Stone. You shouldn't hide your secrets from me any longer... “I can’t shake the feeling I’ve...” Twilight stopped, making a face at no one in particular, as she realized that she had been murmuring to Parasite. And being completely honest to herself, she couldn’t possibly think of anyone worse to conversate with. Not in a thousand moons. “Nevermind. It’s none of your business.”
Oh, I’m too sure it is. And I’m quite sure it’s about that little ghost that’s been haunting you, hasn’t it?
Twilight hadn’t responded, and instead, bit her lip. Parasite had already invaded on her mind, taken control of her body, and her perception of the world. And now, it was feeding on her emotions, and however possible, had grown knowledge about her. Every day, the parasite knew more. That alone, was terrifying.
But now it knew about Danny. The first thought that came to mind hadn’t been-- surprisingly enough-- not a proposition to use Parasite to her advantage and solve the impossible riddle that was Danny, himself. But rather, how terrifying anything could be who knew anything about him. And if Parasite could figure out a person from a distance, then what would be instore for Twilight?
But then that second idea came, and suddenly, a fog cleared. If Parasite could disconnect from her consciousness-- just for a few days, then maybe...
“Perhaps you are correct,” Twilight began, slowly. She felt the Parasite buzz with suspicion. “Maybe if I do shed some light, would that keep you at peace? For just a moment?”
I’m not so sure, Princess. A moment seems like a lot of time. Especially with the quick ticking of your clock, you obviously don’t have too much time left.
It seemed as if Parasite was playing its games, too. But now the field was even. Parasite may have had advantages, but now Twilight had her share.
Later that evening, Dipper had gone out again, while Ivor instructed Danny to keep an eye on him. Of course, after the two boys had closed the door behind them, they’d gone their separate ways. And Twilight only thought ratting on them was a rotten deed to do, especially since she’d already started off on the wrong hoof with just about everyone, already. So when Twilight had hesitantly asked to follow the two, to supervise them ‘just in case’, Ivor had been quick to comply.
Wherever Danny was headed was nothing of her business, but Dipper would've needed an extra pair of eyes. So Twilight hurried off after his faint figure in the distance, hoping to catch up before he was completely swallowed by the limbs and brush of the forest.
“Dipper.... wait...--”
The youngest of the trio spun around, knitting his brows as his eye caught Twilight, hurrying up to his side. “Where... on earth are... you--”
“Just... looking around a bit. No need to watch over me; I’m not a kid.” Dipper sighed, tensing at the sudden breeze that swept the woods. “It’s not too far, either. Just a way past Ivor’s territory. That’s all.”
“I’d prefer you not going as far as even beyond the river,” Twilight shook her head in disapproval. “It’s getting late-- you know what Ivor said about--”
“Why the heck do you care so much about what he says, if you don’t care about the person who said them?”
The statement had caught Twilight off guard, and for a second, she’d stopped in her tracks, while Dipper continued trotting further down the pathway. She furrowed her brows in some sort of sense of unamusement. It was a strange feeling, suddenly, and Twilight couldn't help but wander her own mind over what the youngest of the trio had said. Was it just the Parasite again? Playing these rotten tricks on her?
Only after her train of thought had passed, Twilight had noticed Dipper missing. And walking up to the top of the road slope didn’t do much more but send her blood running cold. Dipper was completely out of sight, and again, it was all her fault.
Dipper had glanced back several times and almost laughed, if that wouldn’t have gotten him caught. He was out of the mare’s sight, and she hadn't even seemed to notice. Of course, she couldn’t teleport, or use any of those spells she’d always been obsessed with. Something about an accident over at the Forsaken had drained her out of it, and now Dipper was absolutely alone. Or at least, for now.
There was a haunting place, just up ahead. And if Ivor’s novels were as truthful as they sounded, then he was sure he was headed in the right direction.
Only a way in, had he noticed the trees closing in on him, and the tops of the trees had curled over in sickly, dried arches of silver and bronze wood, cobwebs seeming to bring both sides together. These trees were mostly bare, except for the few leaves hanging loose that hadn’t just yet become a part of the earth. But growing hedges and brush seemed to be climbing up the dead trees the more he ventured through, and his attention had drifted off his suddenly narrow and claustrophobic path, to the climbing vines that wrapped around twigs, as if they were suffocating them.
Further down, the trees had appeared to shrink, crushed under the strength of the wound vines. Choked, back splintering multiple directions and needles of thorns protruding through the green plant, making thin gaps that stretched along the sides, sputtering rotted wood.
Only when he’d jumped at the sharp pain that attacked his shoulder through the thin fleece of his coat, Dipper had noticed how much this part of the woods looked like a dull hallway. And the walls were closing in on him.
“It’s okay,” he assured himself, pulling up the sleeve and inspecting the damage. “Just a scratch,”
There was only a thin trickle of blood that twisted down his arm that he simply wiped away with the sleeve of his other arm. As long it was concealed and scent-less, he’d be fine. Predators were the greatest of his worries, right now.
Ahead, Dipper could see the widened path, which lead to a much more lush looking part of the woods. He picked up his pace, glancing back once more in hopes to catch no one following him behind. And sure enough, Dipper was still alone.
“hte yob, teh byo!”
The senseless sound came from nowhere; it seemed. Dipper stopped, spinning around once more, only now, there was absolutely something there.
“tra utoh ehre to sreaeel su fmro ruo lleh?” a different one had said.
These were nothing like the ghosts he’d ever seen. In fact, these creatures didn’t look much human, at all.
They looked like the rotten skins of animal corpses, but with eyes. Human eyes on the back of their pelts, and the faint traces of human faces, as if their skulls had indented into it like clay. But the head of each skin was gone. One he was sure, had been a mammal of some sort, but there was nothing but the dry pelt of a headless deer...
“ahtw era oyu ingod yuo tiodi? tel mih tor, tel mih srufef! I ehpo teh traeh lssoawlw pu ihs hdie nad guahsl ta mih sa eh flals parat, nad tehre si gionnht felt xeetcp ihs eeys, nad shdar fo sih boen.” Another had babbled. And soon an eerie ringing filled his ears.
At that, each of the... skins, had risen from their stakes upon the trees, folding over him so an empty shadow was cast overhead, thicker than the overhead forest canopies. He shut his eyes tight, shaking his head to rid the awful sense of dread that arose. An unusual noise fell over the woods, that Dipper couldn’t exactly place, but when he opened his eyes, he watched the ghostly corpses holler in some sort of cry of rage, prepared to strike him dead.
“Uh, w-wait! I come in peace!”
Daarin hadn’t been expecting company, today. In fact, he’d decided to spend all day napping inside his little hollow. He’d grown to love it so much, it felt like a chore to have to leave and find food again. But dinner could wait. Now, all he wanted to do was--
“Wakey, wakey, little rat.”
Daarin popped open en eye. The momentary burst of adrenaline the coursed through his system had vanished, when he realized the voice didn’t sound like Danny’s, at all. No, it was horrifically familiar. And before he could process it, and hurry off, a large, red-furred mane broke through the hedges, the first sight the mutant was greeted with, a pair of glistening fangs.
“Ren...” Daarin muttered in annoyance, quivering as he tried to avoid the mangy paw that invaded his home. “Ren, please don’t--”
“Oh, what? It’s supper time, isn’t it?” he bellowed, reaching further through the little hollow hole with another paw. “You know how much I fancy for rat-on-a-stick,”
“L-leave me alone, you... bully!” Daarin had shouted, quivering in a corner, far out of reach of the Manticore’s grasp. He gasped audibly when Ren’s claw hitched onto one of the strings that tied to one of the firefly jars, and yanked it loose. The tiny glass container fell violently, and shattered, awakening the little firefly inside before it had been crushed under the pressure of one of the glass pieces falling atop of it.
“Bully?” Ren could barely keep himself from laughing. “Oh, no bullies here, kid... just simple predators. Hungry, malicious predators, in the eyes of a measly rat, maybe. The harvest season is coming to a quick close, and I would greatly appreciate you being apart of my prey pile for the Cold Season,”
“N-no! Never!” Daarin shouted back, scrambling through the brush behind him as fast as his legs could take him. He’d heard Ren grunt in frustration from behind, but instead of looking back, he only ran further. And with all these leaves in the way, it was really difficult to--
“Gah!”
The little mutant had shrieked when he felt hands wrap around his form and pull his loose from the tangle of brush. Heart caught in his throat for a moment too long, before he was pulled close to something that smelled of creosote. Shifting his head up in the most awkward position possible, he gaped up at Danny, who'd set him in his backpack before Daarin had overcome the shock to say anything.
"Danny--!"
"When we get to the sinkhole," he grumbled in a hushed voice, "Tell me everything."
Daarin happily obliged, ducking into the near-empty bag, heart doing backflips all over again. The more he ran over it in his mind, the bigger a smile it set on his face. Danny had saved him from being devoured by Ren? Just the thought alone of the werewolf and the mangy manticore in a tussle burned like a hot fire in his chest. It was a pleasant burning-- one that he'd liked the feeling of, because it only reminded him of Danny.
And now, he was in the very backpack of his new werewolf-friend. He giggled to himself at the thought, and thinking back to their cave-picnic where they shared... crackers, it was called. They were heading back to the cave, now, and maybe Danny had more plans to spend the evening together again.
A sudden violent shake of the world around Daarin alone had burst a thread, it seemed. Because in a separate, smaller pocket, something heavy spilled out from the other compartment.
"Ow! What was--" He shook his head, furrowing his brows at the faintly visible metallic object that made contact with his head. "What is this?"
Even the faint glow of the eyes of his tail couldn't dim the pitch black of the inside of Danny's bag. He would have pouted, but stopped once he realized there'd be no one to see it. So he made up his mind to question Danny himself, instead.
As if on cue, the pack had zipped open and tilted on its side, spilling out Daarin and the strange object along with him. Taking a brief glance around and an intake of breath, it was clear the new setting he had landed in, was the cave. The scent of nature after a fresh rain, and the familiar murky smell that rose from the surface and the stones that formed just at the mouth. A new feeling of bittersweetness came over, and the stale memories of his old, echo-y home came rushing back.
"Are you one-hundred percent sure you want to live out there, still?" Danny had started, setting the lightheaded mutant on his feet. "I mean, I'm pretty sure you said something about--"
"Ren!" Daarin had finished, his outburst echoing down the cave. "I should have warned you about him, I'm so sorry! I didn't think he'd come to hunt me this early into the autumn season! He usually looks for me just before Cold-Season, so I thought-- nevermind. I didn't put you in any danger, did I?"
"No, you're good." He raised a brow at the metallic machine that earlier clattered onto the stone. It hadn't looked much damaged besides a few thin scratches. "I'm just glad I came on time. You won't want to know how a rat hunt ends, believe me,"
Daarin had nodded mutely, but cocked his head when Danny had traced his finger over one of the indents on the metal-object. "What's that?"
The sudden question had caught him off-guard, and admittedly had to allow himself to process it first. Realization sparked when he glanced into the Inverse Portal in the palm of his hand.
"Uh, nothing. Nothing important," he muttered, motioning towards the bag at his side. But his arm stopped midway when Daarin had held his hand hostage.
"What's it do? It looks cool!"
"Ironic, kinda. It's actually very hot."
"Really?" Daarin glanced up, curious. "Is it one of those guns that throw fire, instead of bullets?"
"What?" Danny had to process the answer yet again. "You mean like a flamethrower or something?"
It was utterly confusing how the thought had come to the little mutant's head. Especially how aware he was of advanced technology, and how to recognize it, when he hadn't even known what crackers were, just a few weeks ago. The IP was certainly nothing of the sort, though. Was he just afraid it would harm him? Though Daarin seemed so upbeat and curious; it certainly didn't look like he was really afraid of anything.
"Yeah! One of those things!" Daarin had exclaimed, "I recognized the colors, but it certainly doesn't look like the long stick-thingy attached to it. Now that I think about it, it was kinda stupid to mistake those two. Sorry, it just came to mind!"
Danny shook his head, pushing away any other unwanted thoughts. "Uh, no. It's not a flamethrower,"
"Yeah, figures,"
Daarin tilted his head nonetheless, still curious. "But... what exactly is it?"
"..."
"Come on! You always show me all the other cool stuff in your bag!" He looked more displeased than interested, now. His curiosity was certainly lost, and now he only yearned to hear Danny's story, himself. Nothing else right now could've matched such high importance.
It was suddenly overwhelming-- the idea that he was being so secretive around him. Daarin trusted Danny with his life, and he had no shame in admitting it. And momentarily, he was almost sure his werewolf friend felt the same way.
"Please, Danny?" He breathed out, shifting to his human form to match his height. Only he still had to look up to make eye contact. He didn't stare back, though, and instead, focused somewhere that Daarin wasn't sure where he was looking at.
There was a longer silence than Daarin was comfortable with. And every instinct in his body pushed him to leave. He wasn't going to listen; not like he ever cared to, before.
"Maybe..." Danny had begun, breaking the silence. "Actually-- it's really just a protection device."
Daarin had brightened in interest. "Oh, like a hex dome?" Even in his humanoid appearance, he carried the same bubbly energy unmatched by anything else Danny'd ever seen. "My family used to work in necromancy. Or something like that,"
"Huh,"
"It's some sort of dark magic study, I think!" The young mutant continued, "I think it's kinda cool! I know all about that kind of stuff-- If I could wield magic, I'd definitely learn it myself!"
"A... Hex Dome, huh...?" Danny murmured carefully, knitting his brows as he picked up the object again. "You know all about fancy advanced tech and weaponry, yet never heard of an Inverse Portal before,"
"A what?"
Dang it, how could you have let something like that slip so easily?
"Like I said, it's really nothing. It's basically a transportation device, or whatever,"
Daarin gaped, "Whoa, seriously! Like, teleportation and stuff-- With that thing? It really looks so small and pointless," He cracked a smile to himself, glancing down at the machinery in awe. His heart lit on fire when Danny had placed it in his hand without warning. And glancing up at him, he had a faint trace of a smirk that Daarin replied to with a huge grin.
He traced his fingers over every indent and button, careful not to disrupt anything. His heart ran a million miles, and Daarin fought to keep himself conscious from the sudden burst of excitement. The silky white and lime colored technology-- each and every piece fit in harmony. He'd never seen anything like it; Every bit of machinery his family had back at home was charred up and rusted, and carried a putrid odor of iron and chemical. He was sure it was only phantosmia, though, when he always watched his cousins carry it out into battle, to protect the house from the creatures outside that threatened the lives of their family. It never seemed to bother anyone else.
Sometimes his mind wandered over the idea that it wasn't exactly the smell that scared him so much.
I listened intently on the ambient sound of my own hooves clicking against the wood floors and the howling breeze that rattled between the cracks of the front door. Ivor was asleep, and so I had the house to myself. Normally, I'd have made time in studying the physics of this world, or sift from book to novel for a cure to rehabilitate my magic. Only I hadn't been able to allow myself to relax since Dipper had run off. And without magic, I now realized how difficult it was to find something beyond the visual radius. And near hours of wood searching did nothing but dirty my pelt and burn precious daylight.
Any earlier belief I'd had in Dipper had vanished, as now my only honest concern was for his safety. Whether he was... alive, or not. Childish, it seemed, but rational.
"Where on earth are you...?"
I had half hoped my question would be miraculously answered, as my gaze sped to the door. It rattled, then settled again as the wind died down. At that, I felt an unusual chill frost over my bones and my blood flow cold. Nothing felt right about that sensation. It was as if my body were telling me to fear something, but my tired mind couldn't catch up.
Get some slumber, Princess. You are keeping me awake with your pestiferous thinking! Parasite had broken the silence.
My gaze flew over the room, squinting to adjust to the sudden illumination of the house as a cloud revealed the morning sun. A tip of the gaseous star was visible through a few distant autumn trees and faint hills at the horizon. And then it vanished again. Almost fascinating, outside of the current predicament. I felt tears prick my eyes as I was forced to adjust again, but this time I'd spun around and crept beneath the string of light that flickered to life again, vanishing when I had made way across the room.
Here-- Ivor's books.
Something about the unusual lighting of the living space, or maybe how the light reflected off the books, giving the dust some sort of luminescent glow, I hesitated. Almost without my own consent, my magic flickered, dragging one of the books off the shelf with a dull scratching until it tipped off, and exploded in a cloud of dust when it hit the floor. Only when the sound of the fall had echoed throughout the house, had I realized how... empty, it was.
That was when I realized I was alone.
A new sense of dread drowned me, every instinct in my body was screaming-- something was wrong. Something was truly, truly wrong.
I pressed a hoof against the cover, only in hopes to stop my trembling. I glanced behind me, scanning my eyes over the house. My gaze stopped at Ivor's door. Open. Empty.
Where in Equestria is everyone?
I levitated the book and shuffled only a bit further until I was sure the bedroom was abandoned. I was right-- but an ambient sound filled my ears that pulled me closer.
Flies? Bugs, maybe. White, sickly winged creatures buzzing over the bed, hungry and viscous. I swallowed, nausea overcoming me as I picked up the distinguishing smell of a rotting corpse. But nothing was there. Only the insects.
"Please... hurry."
But the voice wasn't mine. I spun around, heart in my throat and catching the sight of the flickering sunshine. Sun, that didn't illuminate the house. But instead flickered like a dry candle.
"Please, Twilight. Look at me." Something touched my shoulder and I cried out, my horn flickering loosely before I laid my sight on a figure now across the room.
I threw my gaze to my own shoulder, the thumping of my heart sounding like an ocean in my ears. I looked back up-- and now she was in front of me.
"I'm sure it was only a mistake. We forgive you," This was Fluttershy, I was sure. My nerves had finally calmed.
"But, er... please don't blame him! I-It's not his fault--"
"Fluttershy...?" I croaked, still quivering, hoping I could at least lock with my friend's gaze. Only, it was as if she were never there. I was looking right through her.
"Fluttershy, what are-- I don't understand..." I shook my head. "No. Fluttershy, where are you? Wh-where am I?"
"I'm so sorry, Twilight! I can explain! Please, give him one more chance! I take the blame for everything-- all of it!" Tears left streaks down her face, more opaque than the pegasus, herself.
"It's all a bad dream, I promise! I can fix it! Please, let me fix it!" Fluttershy gave, and dropped to her stomach, screaming, yelling, and yet I couldn't make any sense of it. A bad dream, I was nearly sure. But why had she come to cry to me about... about something I couldn't understand?
I couldn't see her anymore, but I knew she was still there. Some sort of leftover ambiance of her cries remained, and had shaken me up again. And when I thought too much, I swore she was always still there, weeping at my hooves. I felt something wrap around my foreleg, and the sounds returned. So did Fluttershy.
"I'm so lost, Twilight!" her shouts were rasped, now. "I'm lost, and I can't go back home! I'm scared, Twilight, please don't hate me!"
I suddenly couldn't distinguish the muscles in my face-- I couldn't find myself to say anything. All I knew was that I was certainly no longer in the safety of my home, and this was certainly not Fluttershy.
Only, even with the satisfaction of having that knowledge, being completely aware of my surroundings and situation, another idea dawned on me as the noise seemed to dwindle, a chill coursed through my blood.
This happened before.
The sense of familiarity hit me, and all of a sudden, my setting seemed so much more... surreal. Fluttershy was still there. I only heard her wails once my mind had wandered, and wound back to what I'd made out from her choked sobs. Only now, could I really hear her dreadful cries, and they blurred out all other noise until I could only hear her voice.
"I've gone through so much to get here, Twilight!" She finally released my hoof, only now she shrunk back, curled up in a tight ball. "I don't even want to be here! You made me come here, Twilight! And I wanted to get away!"
I remembered this. At least I knew that much. It was unclear, where, but I--
No, that surely couldn't have been it. Parasite wasn't here. I knew it wasn't. Wherever-- or whatever, this force was, it held the parasite out of my reach. And it's own. We were disconnected here.
But why?
Why.
'Why' was an obtuse idea. 'How' was more reasonable question. Or 'who'. I must admit, I did have the slightest idea-- who. Ridiculous it seemed, again. But yes, reasonable.
The Epitome, maybe. Back at home it was almost taboo to think an idea such as that, but there were enough signs to prove it to me. Nopony had to know.
The Epitome-- embodiments of people, I believe, made up of dark particles of Rovii, working as separate sentient beings to tell stories to it's malefactor in some sort of... a peaceful form of revenge, if that sounds right. It was all I could get my hooves on. Just enough for me to slip under the radar of the eagle-eyes of those townsponies. If they were to discover their highest in command, reading such illicit...
Nevermind.
I'd hate to think of the consequences.
Now awake, I'm sure, the book is still here. Fluttershy is gone, and there's an upside-down cresent dent on the cover of the book. And all the writing is still there.
