Eq Renaissance Part 9 (Ed)

Dark Visions

    “There’s danger here, it’s all around,” Zecora said to the frightened, exhausted women, “but shelter’s near, it’s safe and sound.”  She walked off, leading them away from the ruined tomb and the corpse of the monster that had almost consumed Fluttershy.
    They stopped suddenly when they realized that two of their numbers weren’t following.  They hadn’t moved at all.
    Applejack, shotgun still in hand, was standing directly before Big Macintosh.  His head was bent to look down at her.  Hers was tilted back to look up.  Before any of the others could react, her arm whipped out and she slapped him hard against the face.  The slap echoed across the foggy cemetery.
    There was a pause, and then he slowly spoke in his big, deep drawl.  “I suppose I...”
    She slapped him again.  This time he kept his mouth shut.  “How dare you,” she told him.  He didn’t react except to stand very, very still.  “How DARE you!”  Applejack reached her hand out to slap him again, but she pulled it.  Her fingers curled up into her palm and she beat at his broad chest.  “Why did you do this?  Why did you leave us?  First you went off and joined the Army.  You left me to take care of everything.  Do you have any idea how hard it is?  Then the very next day, I get two men from the War Department on my front porch telling me you deserted and they wanted to search the house, and even the barn, looking for you.  Can you imagine telling Apple Bloom and Granny that you’ve run off?  What am I supposed to tell them?  That you’ve abandoned them to shack up with this witch woman?  What kind of the man are you?”
    “What did you tell them?” he asked her.
    “Nothing, you bastard.  I’m not going to break their hearts the way you’ve broke mine.  They think you’re still in the Army.  They think you’re off fighting or something.  Better that than the alternative.  I’d rather them think you dead in war than left them.”
    Applejack beat her fists against her brother’s unflinching chest.  Then she broke down, wrapped her arms around his body, and began to cry.
    He placed one of his big hands on her back, and another behind her head.  “Why did you abandon your family?” she sobbed.
    “I didn’t,” he told her.  “I can explain.  And I didn’t shack up with Zecora.  She’s family too.”
    She looked up at him with an utterly blank expression of confusion.
    “I can explain that too,” he told her.  “But right now?  We’ve got to move, sugarcube.  Zecora ain’t lying about that.  I’ll talk on the way.”
    Zecora marched them at a fast pace out of the cemetery and back into the woods.  There wasn’t a doubt that she knew where they were going.  She led the way, and the rest followed in a single paced line.  Big Mac took the rear, and watched their backs.  Once beneath the leaves of the trees, he finally began to talk.
    He told them what Zecora had told him during his first night in the Everfree Forest, except for the parts that were private between Zecora and himself.  Some of his listeners were not completely convinced he was telling the full truth.  Then they were led past the shattered remains of Zecora’s burnt hut.  They spent the rest of the trip in silence.
    The sun was going down by the time they reached Zecora’s temporary shelter.  It was the dry patch of earth beneath a massive, partially fallen tree.  They barely all fit in beneath the gnarled roots.  Zecora started a fire, and they all sat around it in a tight circle.
    “Twilight isn’t here then,” Dash asked.  “Not with you, or any where else in the woods.”
    “No,” Zecora told her.
    “So you were using her?  Like some kind of pawn against Celestia?” Applejack asked.
    “No.  I wanted to teach her.  She wanted to learn.” Zecora paused in self-reflection.  “I worry, though.  Twilight is so young.  I worry if that is what I was doing the whole time.”
    “If Twilight’s not here,” Pinkie asked, “where is she?  Is she in Canterlot?”
    “Yes,” Zecora said.  “That is the only place she could be.  I knew Celestia would be furious if she discovered Twilight and me.  I did not know it would be so bad.  I did not expect her to punish Twilight as well.  Understand, that woman loves Twilight so much, that is why she has done what she has done.”
    “But the whole war?  That’s just a set-up?” Dash asked.
    “A ruse.  A trap.  She seeks to lure me from out of this forest.  I want to go.  I want to protect my people.  Every fiber of my being compels me to go.  But... I cannot.  I will not give that woman the pleasure of destroying me.  I must remain here.”
    “But there are people dying,” Fluttershy said.
    “I know,” Zecora said.  “Those are the real pawns in this game.”
    The fire popped and sizzled.  The people themselves remained silent as they thought.  Pinkie finally spoke up again.  “But what about Twilight?  Is she in the dungeon or something?  Do we need to rescue her?”
    Zecora shook her head.
    “Yeah, you’re magic, aren’t you?” Dash asked.  “Can’t you... I don’t know.  Teleport her out or something?”
    “I cannot,” Zecora said.  “It does not work that way.”
    “Can you send her a message?” Dash wouldn’t give the idea up.  “Maybe, like, telepathically or something?  Do you have a crystal ball or cauldron?  Can you see where in the palace she even is?”
    Zecora thought for a moment.  The tiny hairs on her arms stood on end.  “I cannot,” she said.  Dash looked crestfallen.  “But...,” Twilight’s five friends perked back up, “perhaps you can.”
    “How?” they asked together.
    “You are Twilight’s best friends.  More over, you possess the Elements of Harmony.  Even Twilight did not understand how powerful of a connection that is.  It was once the greatest single source of Celestia’s power.  Perhaps you can use the connection to find Twilight.”
    “But I’m the only one besides Twilight who knows any magic,” Rarity said, “and it’s only a single little spell.  I would have no idea how to do anything like that.”
    “I may be able to help,” Zecora said.  Then she held out her right hand to Fluttershy, who took it in her left.  Fluttershy gave her right hand to Pinkie Pie.  Pinkie Pie held hands with Applejack, who reached all the way across Big Macintosh’s lap, to Rarity.  Rarity offered her hand to Dash, who completed the circle back to Zecora.
    “So, should I, uh...,”  Big Macintosh felt left out.
    “You didn’t know her, numbskull,” AJ told him, then ignored him.
    “Well, I know her, but... ah, forget it.”  Big Mac scooted outwards on his seat, away from the circle.
    Zecora closed her eyes, and the rest followed suit without being asked.  “Think of Twilight,” she told them.  It was the only instruction she needed to give them.
    Big Mac watched from the outside.  For a long time, nothing happened.  He waited patiently, but it seemed like it wasn’t working.  Even the fire was beginning to die while he waited and they all just sat there.
    He took a second look at the fire.  It wasn’t dying naturally.  There was plenty of fuel, but the flames were diminishing.  Soon the flames were gone and only the embers remained, then those too darkened.  He could still feel the heat from the fire; if anything it felt hotter.
    Like somebody turning on a gas stove, the flames suddenly erupted again.  They were different flames.  They were white.  It wasn’t the white hot flames of a blast furnace.  It looked more like the way a campfire looks in an old black and white movie.  They seemed to emit no heat at all now.  Big Mac understood that he was in the presence of magic, but he did not understand it at any level beyond that.
    There was a sound.  It was a weird sort of groaning noise.  Big Mac at first thought it was coming from the supernatural fire, or perhaps the tree was shifting.  Then he realized it was coming from Zecora.  It came from deep within her chest.  She opened her mouth and it was almost a kind of rattle.  Then it grew in pitch to a high moan.  Zecora began to rock back and forth on her butt.  She opened her eyes and they were rolled up into her head.
    She was in a trance; Big Mac knew that much.  She looked like some kind of shaman he had seen in some old documentary about anthropology.  The trance lasted for long minutes.  Her voice rose and faded, reaching high pitched screams, and ugly guttural rumbles.  Then it began to diminish.  Her eyelids closed once more.  There was silence.
    Big Mac jumped in surprise and bumped his head on the roots when all five of Twilight’s friends opened their eyes at once.  All he saw was the whites of their eyes.  They almost seemed to glow with a magical light.  Then Zecora spoke.
    “Dark,” she said.  Her neck bent, and she started to roll her head around as if lost in some kind of dream.  Or nightmare.  “It’s dark.  Night.  Everything is black.”
    Big Mac instinctively looked around for something to write on, but there was nothing.  He would have to remember.  He would have to pay close attention.
    “It’s so cold,” Zecora said.  All six women suddenly shivered as if they could feel it.  They did not lose contact.
    “There is no end.  There is no end.  There is no end.  The hall has no end,” Zecora murmured.  “There are stairs.  I have found stairs.”
    Big Macintosh didn’t understand.  He did not know if it was important, or if it was gibberish.
    “Blood,” Zecora said.  “Blood.  The infection.  It spreads.  There is poison.  Poison.  Poison in the blood.”  Zecora started to rock back and forth again.  Suddenly, she sucked her breath in through her teeth.  It made a hissing sound, like a snake.  “It burns!”
    All six of them bent over double and gasped in pain.  Their circle seemed to contract.  It grew again as they sat back up.  They all began to rock back and forth in time with Zecora.
    “I’m lost, I’m lost, I’m lost,” Zecora said.  Something was different about her voice.  Big Mac could picture Twilight saying it through Zecora’s mouth.
    “I’m lost, but there is no other choice.  They fight.  They will die.  The way is open, but I can not find the way.  I fear.  I fear.  I fear.  I am lost, and there is no choice.”
    Big Mac jumped again when they screamed.  All six of them screamed at once, shrilly, in pain.  Their circle broke.  Each of them clutched at their right arm and fell over.  They writhed on the sandy ground.  Then, suddenly, it was over.  Each blinked, and sat back up again, confused.
    “What happened?” Dash asked.
    “Big Mac?  Did you see what happened?” Pinkie asked.
    “Y’all were in some kinda trance.”
    “Quit foolin’ with us, Big Macintosh,” AJ scolded him.
    “Nah, I ain’t foolin’.  I’m serious.”
    “Zecora, is he foolin’ with us?” AJ asked her, not really believe it.  They had no memory of the trance at all.
    They all turned towards the enchantress.  Zecora took her time in answering.  She was kneading her hands together.  Then she started to rub her face.  “I’ve seen her.  Twilight is no longer in this world,” she told them.
    “What?” Dash said.  “No way.  Twilight’s still alive.  I could feel her.  I still feel her.  I don’t know how; I don’t know magic.  But Twilight’s alive and she needs her help.”
    “She is alive,” Zecora said.  “But she is literally no longer in this world.”  They did not understand, so Zecora explained.  “There are other worlds than these, child.  Twilight herself only recently found this out for herself.  She was fascinated with the idea.  She would not stop asking questions.  This is good for a student to do, but not at the expense of her other lessons.  She was... obsessive.”
    Zecora bent her head to think about how to explain it.  When she lifted her head again, her audience leaned in close to hear every word.
    “There is a portal,” Zecora explained.  “Twilight has gone through this portal.  Where it goes, I do not know.  Why Twilight seeks the other end, I do not know either.  This portal rests below the palace at Canterlot.  It is an ancient artifact, one of many that Celestia hoardes.  Twilight must have found it too tempting.”
    “There are many corridors within that castle.  They twist and turn.  Some of them are enchanted themselves, and can lead travellers in different directions.  The castle guards the portal.  But Twilight found the portal, and she led herself through.
    “It is an easy thing to do.  The portal itself seems like it’s only a mirror.”
    Instantly, Big Macintosh and Applejack turned away from Zecora and they looked at each other.  Zecora noticed it.
    “What is it?” She asked of them.  “You know of this mirror?”
    Applejack answered for the both of them.  “We’ve seen it.  In fact, we’ve been through it.”
    “What?” Pinkie asked.
    “When?” Dash asked.
    “Back at the Grand Gallivanting Gala,” Applejack explained.  “Last spring, remember?  Remember when I set up that stand to sell some concessions?  Well, I also got a pass for Big Macintosh to help me with the catering, not to attend the Gala itself.  Anyhow, we ended up getting lost in the hallways.  They are pretty screwy, like Zecora was saying.
    “We found some room.  I figured it looked like some kind of dressing room, cause it had a big mirror and all.  So I used the opportunity to put on the nice dress that Rarity done up for me.  But when I looked close at the mirror, there was something not quite right about it.  I touched it... and my hand went right through.  A portal is exactly what it was.”
    “What was on the other side?” Fluttershy asked.
    “Some kind of dark room,” Applejack said.  “Only it went on forever.  It was like some kinda maze.”
    “The place between the worlds,” Zecora explained.  “Twilight is there now.  She is lost.”
    “Did you go all the way through it?” Rarity asked.
    “We never made it.  We got kinda turned around and we ended up coming back the way we came.  Except...”
    “Yeah?” Dash asked.
    “We saw ourselves,” Applejack said.  “It was like a mirror image.  Except it was different somehow.  I can’t remember.  We can’t remember.  It’s like we was looking at ourselves and it was different, but we were still seeing ourselves.  I can’t explain it.”
    “This is how it works,” Zecora explained.  “The worlds on either end of portal are different.  But your mind sees what it understands.  This is where Twilight has gone.  She seeks to understand.  She wants to know.  She is determined to see the other side.”
    Zecora grew quiet.  The fire crackled.  Big Mac hadn’t noticed it had returned to the original color.
    “Um,” Fluttershy spoke up.  “I don’t mean to be a bother.  But if Twilight’s in there, then we have to go in after her.”
    Zecora shook her head.
    “How are we even going to get in?” Dash asked.  “The only reason we ever went to the Gala is because of Twilight.  We would have never seen the inside of the palace at all if not for her connections.  And now she can’t help us.”
    “We break in,” Pinkie said.
    Zecora shook her head again.
    “Break in?” Big Mac asked.  “Are you nuts?  That place is a fortress.  Literally.  It’s stood for a thousand years, and nobody’s been inside that wasn’t invited first.  It’s impossible.”
    “We have to at least try,” Fluttershy said.
    “No!” Zecora finally spoke up.  “No.  It is impossible.  Celestia must know where Twilight has gone.  She’ll be guarding the mirror.  It’s another trap.  And even if she doesn’t know, her power within the walls of Canterlot Palace is absolute.  It’s impossible.”
    “But Celestia ain’t in Canterlot,” Applejack said.
    Zecora’s head snapped up in Applejack’s direction.  For the first time in weeks, Zecora had been truly surprised.  “Is this true?”
    “Sure as shootin’.  She’s in Africa.  She’s leading the armies herself.  Yeah, her face is all over the news.  Constantly talking about the eminent glorious victory.  I thought you knew.  You said the war is a trap.  Once you said that, I figured that was the lure.  She’s been taunting you.”
    “I did not know,” Zecora breathed.  “If this is true, then she does not know where Twilight is.  Perhaps she thinks that I have her.  The mirror is unguarded!”  For the first time in weeks, a smile grew on Zecora’s face.
    “Now hold the phone,” Big Mac said.  “There’s still the little matter that it’s a fortress.  There’s still the guards.”
    “I can get us inside,” Rarity said, ignoring Big Mac completely.  “I have connections myself.  Well, at least I could get myself inside.”
    “Well, if you can get yourself inside,” Pinkie said.  “I can get us as far as the gates, then you can let us in.”
    “Are you serious?” Zecora asked them, not truly believing.  They ignored her as much as they ignored Big Mac.
    “We might need a distraction,” Rarity admitted.
    “Oh, I can do distractions,” Dash boasted.  “I might have to call in a favor or two, but I can do it.”
    “What are we waiting for?” Fluttershy asked.  “Let’s do it.”
    “Wait,” Zecora said, as they started to get up to go back to Ponyville, and then on to Canterlot.  “Are you serious?  You really think you can do this?”
    “Twilight’s our friend,” Applejack said, picking up her shotgun from where she had left it.  “And we’re her friends.  I don’t know nothing about magic, but I know a thing or two about friendship.  And there ain’t no stopping us now.”
    Zecora clapped her hands against her cheeks and laughed.  She hadn’t felt this joy in a long time indeed.  “Then it is settled.  We will see Twilight again!”