The Cost To Know Everything

by Thunder--Dash

The Ritual

Saturday came. Lenny and I went to the gym together along with Fluttershy to exercise. Kayla woke up with that confident look on her face. This was it. That night was the night where Kayla would perform the ritual to reach channel infinity, where she would hope to find the answers she needed about the connection of the universe.

"Tonight is the night. You got this Kayla." Kayla said to herself, feeling psyched up. Fluttershy was still very worried, and so was I. Knowing that there was a 25% chance something terrible was going to happen, both Fluttershy and myself felt uneasy about the whole thing.

"You look so worried Kenneth...I am worried too. Kayla is making a mistake doing this..." Lenny said as he ran on the elliptical machine next to me.

"Well with a 25% chance of something going horribly wrong of course I'm worried. This is our friend Kayla we're talking about.

Lenny was taking a sip of his water...and pulled a spit-take when he heard there was a 25% chance something was going to go terribly wrong.

"25% chance?! Kayla must be out of her mind! Any sort of those ritual things is messing with the paranormal and that's certainly not smart!" Lenny said in a sort of panicked tone.

"Indeed it is not...but you know Kayla...sadly, it could prove to be one of the traits that gets her into serious trouble...I mean...you remember the time just before the jump points lined up Kayla overslept big time right?" I asked.

"Yep and she had to go to lunch study because of it. What's most important her health and success in school...well, and getting our friend Fluttershy back to her home safely..." I said.

"I...I do miss Equestria...Fluttershy said looking at the both of us as she pedaled on an exercise bike slowly.

"Don't worry Flut- I mean Flora, we will find a way." I said, remembering I was in public.

The day went on. There were 6 hours remaining before Kayla would officially start the ritual. She planned to start it at 9pm, when the sun was just about set. It was mid spring and daylight savings time had started not too long ago. Fluttershy and I decided to go visit Kayla since i wouldn't see her until after the ritual. Fluttershy decided she wanted to stay with Kayla.

"Kayla...I really don't think this is a good idea...you're risking so much for this..." Fluttershy said looking at Kayla as she fidgeted with her mane a little.

"Listen Fluttershy, I need to find the answer to how the universe is connected and I won't stop until I find it!" Kayla said. Kayla's tone had changed into a more serious tone, with some anger mixed in. Fluttershy winced at Kayla's tone, reminding her of when she first met Kayla in the forest. Fluttershy let out a soft whimper. There was just something about Kayla that absolutely worried Fluttershy. Meanwhile I was preparing my Mustang for the car show...and Lenny was with his family for that conference. Fluttershy decided to walk back to my place. As I was working on my mustang, I saw her.

"Oh! Hey there Fluttershy! Everything ok?" I asked.

"N-not really...Kayla...she's...changed...like...she wants to do this so bad...it has taken a toll on her attitude..." Fluttershy said with a small whimper. I sighed.

"Kayla is a strange girl. She's just so obsessed with obtaining knowledge on things. I knew she would go to great lengths to find the answer, but I didn't know it would be this bad...but Kayla needs you Fluttershy. She's risking everything with this. Stay strong Fluttershy. Do it for me, for Lenny, for Kayla, and for all your pony friends back at your home." I said smiling. I offered Fluttershy a hug. She hugged me, and started to cry a little.

"It's so hard...what if it...goes wrong..." Fluttershy said crying softly.

"It'll be okay Fluttershy. We hope that Kayla's heart is in the right place." I said slowly breaking the hug. I looked at my watch. It was 5pm. There were 4 hours left and 1 hour until the window between setup and ritual time started.

"Kayla needs you Fluttershy. I gotta get ready for this car show." I said taking Fluttershy's hand and walking her to the edge of my driveway. Fluttershy started to walk towards Kayla's house as I waved goodbye. I then worked on the final preparations for the car show, then headed out.

An hour passed. The setup window has begun. Kayla turned on the old crt tv to a static channel. Kayla then gathered the supplies needed which included two handheld mirrors, a weapon of some sort, a key, her favorite book about the universe written by Stephen Hawking, her solar system necklace (an item that Kayla held dear), a sledgehammer and her iPhone 11 (the mobile communication device). It took Kayla some time to find the the weapon, but she decided to go with axe that was also in the toolbox.

"Okay...got everything I need...and now...time to get mentally prepared." Kayla said to herself. Suddenly, there was a knock on the front door. Kayla went to answer it. It was her other friends Jenny and Kelsey. Kelsey was a huge fan of these rituals, but she had never heard of this one.

"Honestly Kayla, I am nervous for you about this one. I've never heard of it and it seems like it's very risky." Kelsey stated as she took a sip of her water.

"I'm just...here for moral support. I really hope you make it through this Kayla..." Jenna said, unconsciously leaning against Fluttershy. Fluttershy blushed lightly and moved over a little. Jenna looked at Fluttershy.

"So this is the pony you were talking about. She's quite...cute if you ask me." Jenna said smiling softly at Fluttershy. Fluttershy tried to hide in her mane.

"She's quite shy that's for sure." Kelsey said.

"Her name is Fluttershy...so...yea..." Kayla said, her voice sort of trailing.

"Huh..." Kelsey said inquisitively.

"Anyway, I need to go get my mind straightened up. I'll call you from upstairs when I need you three." Kayla said. She then went upstairs. Kelsey and Jenna tried to start a conversation with Fluttershy, which took some time, but they eventually got something going. Meanwhile Kayla was up in the ritual space. She lined up everything and looked up at the time. There was exactly 1 hour left. Kayla then went to her own room and pulled out her notes on everything thus far. The time seemed to fly by. Then, the alarm on her iPhone went off, signaling it was 9pm. This was it. There was no turning back now. Kayla went back downstairs.

"Alright everyone, listen closely. Stay outside the room until I open the door. Do not enter the space. I will give you some stuff and then that's it. Got it?" Kayla asked.

"Yep..." Jenna said.

"Got it." Kelsey said with a nod.

Fluttershy simply nodded. Kayla then led the group to just outside the ritual room and blocked the doorway so they wouldn't peak inside. She then entered and closed the door. Kayla then took a deep breath. This was it. There was no turning back now.

"And so it begins." Kayla said to herself as she started to stare at the blank static tv screen. She stared and stared. Suddenly, Kayla started to feel disoriented. This was the first checkpoint.

"F-Fluttershy...? Come to the d-door...ugh I hope this feeling goes away soon..." Kayla said. Fluttershy walked to the door with trembling steps. Kayla opened the door just a little, and gave Fluttershy her beloved solar system necklace saying nothing. Kayla then closed the door, then positioned the mirrors as stated in the directions: one reflecting the tv screen and the other reflecting herself. The remote was next to Kayla. Five minutes went by. Suddenly, there was a beep. It came from the TV. There was a question up on the screen. Kayla picked up the remote. She took another deep breath.

"Okay Kayla, be honest now..." She said to herself. It seemed she would have 10 questions to answer. As Kayla answered the questions, they started to become more deep and personal. Kayla took longer on the later questions, but got through them all. The screen was black for a while. Thinking that the image of her worst fear would pop up, she rested a hand on the sledgehammer...but it didn't appear. Instead, a whirring sound as a portal slowly opened. Kayla sighed. Outside, Fluttershy could hear the sound.

"Oh no..." She said in a broken voice, almost sounding like she was going to cry. Jenna hugged Fluttershy tightly.

Back in the room, Kayla picked up the key, her iPhone, her book on the universe and the ax. She stepped into the portal...and surprisingly landed in the same room...except...it felt different. There was a negative energy continuously surging. This must've been the negative version of the world Kayla lives in. Kayla looked around. She then exited her room, noting Fluttershy and the others were not there. Kayla felt a little nervous, however, she didn't let her nerves get to her. Down the stairs she went and to the front door of her house. She exited her house to be greeted with a red sky, grey sun and a vermillion mist.

"Surely this is the negative world..." Kayla said to herself as she walked the quiet neighborhood. The school was not to far and when she arrived, she used the key to open the door. The door opened and she walked into the halls, holding the ax and her book. Kayla entered a classroom, closed the door and sat down at a desk. Kayla then began to read her book. All of a sudden, she heard footsteps. Kayla shuddered a little, but didn't move. Instead, she kept reading. The footsteps stopped. Kayla started to count.

"One...two...three...four..." She counted out loud. When Kayla reached ten, she heard a single footstep and paused. She then resumed counting. She realized that for every factor of 10 she reached, the footstep would get louder.

"Two hundred forty eight...two hundred forty nine...two hundred fifty." Kayla counted. There was then a knock on the door. Kayla got up and answered the door. When she opened it, she was face to face with a statue of...Fluttershy. Kayla winced. She had to destroy the statue. She took the sledgehammer and bashed the statue on the head. She then used the ax to cut the left hand of the statue off.

"So sorry Fluttershy..." Kayla said to herself as she then headed towards the door. She could see that night had fallen. This was it...the final step. Kayla took a deep breath, opened the door to the outside, looked up in the sky and saw........a green.....full.....moon. Kayla felt woozy. She felt like she was going to pass out. She fell, back, but didn't hit the ground. It seemed like she fell into a void...but it was a portal back to her world. Back in the real world, a whirring sound was heard, followed by a woosh and a thud, like a body hitting the floor. The time was now exactly 10pm. Fluttershy gasped when she heard the thud and burst through the door to find Kayla on the floor nearly unconscious.

"Nooooo!!!" Fluttershy screamed, bursting into loud sobs, flying out the nearby window. Jenna and Kelsey ran into the room, trying to get Kayla to respond. She had 30 minutes left to live. It was then deep within Kayla's mind, she remembered those five dreaded words.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Fluttershy flew back to my place in tears. I left a window cracked just in case Fluttershy got home early. Fluttershy curled up on my bed bawling. After all that time getting to know Kayla, all that time trying to figure it all out...Kayla risked it all...for naught. Meanwhile, I had arrived back home and got out my Mustang. I could hear sounds coming from my room. I quickly ran inside. I recognized it as...crying. I ran upstairs to find Fluttershy curled up.

"Fluttershy! What's wrong? Tell me!" I said hugging her.

"She saw it! She saw it!!" Fluttershy managed to exclaim in between her sobs.

"Saw wha..." I started...but after a pause, I realized what happened. I couldn't believe. I gasped loudly and just had to confirm.

"You mean she...?" I started to ask.

"YES!" Fluttershy cried hugging me tightly.

"Oh shoot!" I yelled painfully.

"I told her! I freaking told her it wasn't a good idea and now she's got 30 minutes left of her life! Stupid old me! I should've stopped her. This is what happens when you risk everything for knowledge! And now we gotta find a way to save Kayla!" I said emotionally, picking up Fluttershy and carrying down to my Mustang after closing the window.