"This tyranny ends now." Celestia looked in the mirror. "You must change the course of the future. You must end yourself. Not in the way you think. Do not kill yourself. It's much simpler. Make your student one of your kind. Do it!" She head-butted the mirror and broke the glass. "Celestia. Calm down. You've just been at this for much too long. You just need to take a break. A decade. Maybe two. You've earned it. Give Twilight time to adjust."
(*Ahem* That's called foreshadowing. Mark it down in your head what was just said.)
***
Garret PoV:
I set the note down. Apparently I'm to find the rest of these papers. Seven in all. One down. The papers, once all found, the obelisk will glow.
I took one step and heard the crunch of my hoof echo throughout the forest. I'm going to have to be quiet. I don't know what's out there, and I don't intend to figure out.
I walked for minutes before I looked into the distance and studied the trees off in the distance. Was that a tree? Was it? It was tall, and the correct color. But was it a tree?
I sighed and kept walking, stumbling upon a second note. I looked at it. It was simple. The same tall, thin frame with black fur and a white face. Strange, but hey, so is Lyra. I wonder if its actually a real pony?
Does it matter?
***
Twilight PoV:
"He'll be fine and that's true, but all this worrying won't be good for you." Zecora spoke in rhymes, her normal speech. "But if he is weak, he will not make it through the week." But the rhymes were still rather annoying. I haven't said it yet, but her rhyming makes me want to just... Explode.
"Thanks." Was the only thing I could think to say. I turned and walked away from her hut, touching the door before she interrupted me.
"You won't leave, he needs a hero. If you go now you'll be a zero." Her voice was calm.
I internally groaned and turned around, "Who. Who needs a hero?"
"The Hero. He needs you..." A strange voice called. It was insect-like, evil. "If you don't help him, I get to keep him forever." The voice came from everywhere and nowhere.
"And there's only one way. You've got to save The Hero of the Day. Come, look into my brew to see what's in store for you." The Celestia-damned rhymes!
"Sure..." I breathed out. "What does the stew say?"
"Brew." Her tone was sharp. "Look inside, just let it talk to you."
I sighed and looked I tithe boiling liquid. The viscous liquid pulled at my consciousness. I let the brew do what it does.
***
Twilight PoV:
I opened my eyes and couldn't see the sun. My eyes were just fine, the sun just wouldn't appear. The trees were blocking it. Great. Trust Zecora.
"Where are yooooou?" Garret's voice rang out in my ears, singsong and happy, yet sick and twisted.
"I'm here!" I shrieked and stood up quickly. I couldn't see him, but he was nearby.
He quickly tackled me down and laughed wildly, "Twilight!" His voice was twisted and insane. He sounded like a stereotype madman.
"Garret!" I squealed, ignoring the insanity and smiling warmly.
"Twilight!" He squealed. His eyes were flaming. "Hey! Oh uh! Shit... Um! Notes! Find them!" He stood up and took off, ignoring me almost completely. "I have six of seven!"
Notes? Seven?
"Gotta find all seven before we can leave. Seven. Not six. Not eight. Seven." He muttered and walked hastily. "He's too strong to fight. He'd kill me in a few seconds."
***
3rd PoV:
Silent. Deadly. His aura emanated throughout the entire forest. His black coat sent fear down the spine of all who looked upon him. His slender frame and wiry mane left his victims guessing. Was he really there? Was that actually him? Who knows?
Garret didn't the first time. His screams were delightful to the unknown figure. They echoed throughout the forest as he ran, his hooves taking him quickly away. But the time that Garret spent with that figure was nowhere close to done. He had one final test. A true test of will. It wouldn't be the test that was supposed to go down. This was just a chance for this sick being to have some fun with Garret before he makes his way out to the next test. The test of skill.
The dark figure disappeared in a wisp of smoke, leaving silence.
(Blank space. *Ahem* Shows like a lapse.)
Garret sighed and looked around. "Hey Twilight. Twilight!" His voice was still of a madman's.
"Yeah?" Her voice was quivering, she was scared. The Figure could sense it. Fed on it. Loved it.
"You see that? Note number seven! Yes!" He squealed and dove at it. As he did, he heard a small squeak behind him. He turned his body in midair to see, and crashed into the tree with his shoulder. His body bent around the tree, a loud crack echoed through the forest. Whether it was the tree or a rib is the question.
He flopped to the ground and heard only a scream as his vision faded to black.
***
Trixie PoV:
I knocked on the door to the library. No response. I knocked again. No response. The Great and Powerful Trixie has no time for this! I ran into the door and it came open.
"Yeah?" Spike's voice came from upstairs, groggy and barely awake. "Twilight, can you keep it down please?"
"Trixie demands to speak to Twilight Sparkle!"
"One second..." He basically fell down the stairs. He looked at me, eyes beaming. "Trixie!"
"Where is Twilight? Trixie demands a council!" I chuckled, it was a joke.
"Twilight isn't here." His voice was dull.
"Then where is Twilight Sparkle at?" Full names. Always full names, it's a habit.
"Out." A yawn came from upstairs.
"Out? Not here?" I turned to leave, "Alright." It was deadly silent. It didn't feel right. A cold chill ran down my spine.
Something's wrong.
***
Rainbow Dash PoV:
I popped my back and smiled, "Love you..." I scooted up to Applejack's back and sighed.
Today was going to be great, I just knew it. Twilight was with Zecora, Trixie was back in town, Applejack and I might have a foal, and I have a surprise for Twilight. I've been saving up and so has Fluttershy, Rarity, AJ, and Pinkie. We've all saved up, and we're buying her a house. But not just any house, but a new library. We have over thirty-thousand bits totally, and we're going to talk to the Princesses. It's going to be amazing.
At least, if it goes off without a hitch, eh? I sure think so.
I wrapped my front legs around my wife, pulling her into my chest. She was asleep, it was early. I just can't get back to sleep, it seems like something's wrong. But nothing can go wrong today! Today is perfect, and Twilight's going to love it!
***
3rd PoV:
Garret got up slowly, his legs weak. He saw a small glance of darkness slip out of his vision and adrenaline quickly shot through his body. He knew what just happened.
He looked back at the note, his choices clear. He could either take the note and move on, or possibly save Twilight. There was a chance he could save her, or he could definitely take the note and move on. He gulped and bolted forward, after the dark figure.
He ran for hours, the dark figure always just ahead of him. He ran until his legs felt like jelly and his heart pounded against his ribcage so hard he could feel it shaking up through his spine. He ran until his hooves were bleeding and pulsing with the pain you feel during a run. His whole body felt wind-burned and he felt like he would collapse, but Twilight was worth everything, Twilight was the one thing he would sell his soul for. He was writing his own death-ticket with this, he knew was going to die.
But The Figure didn't know this. It only knew it was taking another victim.
It stopped and turned, with Twilight held in it's dark-magic grip. As soon as it started running backwards, Garret plowed into it shoulder-first. They tumbled and rolled down a small slope, bodies tangling up and Twilight rolling to one side out of the fray.
Garret willed everything he had into one powered charge of his horn. No spell, just pure energy. One obelisk had given him more than twice his original power, he's up to a normal unicorn.
The energy shot out, between the adrenaline and the boost, he blew himself backwards.
It didn't even look like the figure was dazed. It stood up and 'looked' at him. No eyes. It tipped its head forward and ran at Garret, who was barely getting on his own four hooves.
Dark magic pulled at his skin, the Figure stopping only inches away from Garret, inspecting him. Garret's front hooves were picked up and carefully looked at.
"You're different..." A bug-like voice echoed, "What makes you different?" The voice felt like it was stretching out the inside of Garret's skull.
He gulped and stared into the face of the beast, "I-I-I'm... Not from around here. Not of this planet entirely. My own world." His voice gained confidence, his body going rigid and prepared to attack.
"I'm going to change that." The Figure boomed, "You're going to be of this world."
Garret blinked twice and threw his weight forward, sending the Figure and him both tumbling. "You won't change shit!" Garret held the Figure down again, this time using the brute force of his horn to attack, ramming it downward.
There was a sickening squelch and an ethereal hiss, the Figure reappearing behind Garret. Garret whirled around, the Figure was bleeding from its neck. However, the flow quickly stopped to a trickle.
Garret sat down. He felt no reason to even start struggling. This... Thing was much too powerful.
***
Twilight PoV:
I threw all of my weight into the Figure's back, horn-first. It was the worst decision of my life so far. I hit it, continued to fly forward, and basically pole-vaulted over it. I went flying through the air, landing softly on the ground. Magic.
The Figure, as I've taken to calling it, is not doing what I expected. It fell to the ground. Hard.
I charged forward, and Garret sat still. Good. I used his back as a springboard to launch myself into the air. In perfect movie fashion, I dove down at the Figure, my front hooves hitting him square on the forehead.
It hissed and disappeared. I stood up and remembered what Garret said. All seven notes. I looked forward, the note was in my face, merely inches away. I reached out, and plucked it from its perch.
Garret shouted, more a battle-cry than anything. I couldn't see anything, there was nothing but forest all around me. What just happened?
And just like that... I was home, in bed. There was a lot of commotion downstairs. Garret was home.
***
Garret PoV:
Twilight was bleeding. Her back had a nasty wound, deep, almost three inches wide and a foot long.
That's it. No more.
I looked at the Figure, as I've taken to calling it, and closed my eyes. I screamed a deep guttural yell, and charged forward. This was it, we were both dying right here, right now. I tackled it, and instead of going down, I flapped my wings.
We rose into the sky, past the trees, past the clouds. For minutes we rose. The Figure tore away at my flesh, my back completely raw and my wings losing feathers.
We fell quickly, only ten seconds before the world faded to black. Did I just die? No. I'm actually in mint condition.
I opened my eyes and stopped screaming. There was a room. All concrete. Large. It looked like a battleground. A massive arena.
I was approached by one pegasus. His eyes cold and fur matted. Black fur, black mane, wearing a black robe, hood down. "Welcome to the final test. Skill." His voice was like gravel, yet soothing. "You're to figh-"
"What just-"
"Shut your goddamn mouth and listen. You're to fight. Any weapon you can conceive at any time is yours to fight with. You may mould the battleground at any time. You will fight. For days."
"What the... You. Explain." I blinked twice.
"You didn't die. It did though. Obelisk touched you, he kept falling. Poof. Now brace. You have thirty seconds to prepare." And he was gone. I'm going to be fighting... What?
I thought for a moment. Any weapons I want. I figure a practical yet effective weapon for now will work.
I held out my hoof, a blade materializing in it. It was in the shape of a key, yet it didn't look like what I wanted.
It was pony-oriented. The blade was pink and purple, the handle white and rainbow. The key-piece was yellow and orange. The Materia was of the purple snowflake. The blade was heavy, at least sixteen pounds. To accent it, I managed to stand on my back hooves in a squat only known to the true wielder of this weapon. The signature Keyblade Wielder squat.
And just like that, an armada of ponies, pegasus, unicorns, and alicorns alike swarmed into the huge room.
I swung the weapon furiously, hacking away at everything in sight. They weren't real, they disappeared in wisps of smoke when hit.
And as I stepped forward, the concrete rose rapidly with me by my will. I leapt from my perch, about ten feet in the air, my body reaching an apex of about fifteen feet before I swung the weapon down on another pegasus.
I spun around and got rammed to the ground. I let out one loud breath, gasping for air. I just have to find the obelisk, or at least something like it. Maybe a pony with black and red fur? I threw my hoof back into the ground, it ran up between my legs and launched the pegasus, dead.
I stood up on two legs, throwing the blade and drawing another identical weapon. I whirled around, thrusting the blade into an earth pony.
I rose the ground up in a staircase and ran up it, twenty feet in the air. Below I made a pit deep into the ground. I used my wings to fly slowly into it, small scrapes and bruises littering my body. Idiotic ponies followed. At least thirty all died.
I flew back up and drew a new weapon, a rifle of pure technological marvel. I held it out and fired once. Never again. I flew back ten feet and landed hard on my back.
***
3rd PoV:
The battle went on for hours. Many weapons were used. The Keyblade, the Buster Sword, the Family Sword, the Terra Blade, Dawnbreaker, Duskfang, Alpha and Omega, the Dao of Pao, hundreds of spells, incantations, cards, and a limitless supply of rounds.
But he found the obelisk.
And touched it.
And then he died.
His earthly ties were cut.
His bones all broken.
His power multiplying exponentially.
His memories cleaned of all Earth.
His sanity draining.
His mind a sieve.
His body broken.
His mind refocusing.
His body healing.
And then there was nothing.
He was teleported to his home. Twilights home.
***
Dash PoV:
There was a blue sphere in the room, little bolts of electric energy crackling out of it. It was swirling and dim runes moved slowly on the surface. As it receded, Garret was in it with a true warrior pose.
"Oh my Celestia you're back!" I squealed.
"Dash..." His voice was of a madman's. "Am I ever glad to see you!" He ran at me.
***
Ooh. Is it just me, or is it like that's the biggest cliffhanger I've ever dropped on you?
Cuz it is.
Big.
But moving on.
I'm grounded. My phone isn't getting paid. Got a new concept out soon.
I have a boyfriend.
Oh oh oh!