//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Adaptation // Story: The Bridge Between Worlds // by Artemis Orion //------------------------------// Adaptation "It's no use, Professor! We've been at this all day!" A young scholar spoke in an exasperated tone. "We've tried everything we know, and so far, the Stone hasn't given us even a hint of progress..." In the dimly lit experimentation room, he swept his gaze from the used chemicals, damaged equipment, and one slightly injured colleague, to a certain blood-red stallion. He was staring out the window at the setting sun, deep in thought. "Calm down, my student. You were right about one thing, we have used everything we have known... up till now..." Professor Trotter turned and left his post. In his eyes, you could almost see a plan coming into motion. The young scholar looked confused. "I'm afraid I don't fully comprehend, Professor..." "Tell me, have we really used EVERYTHING at our disposal? Spells? Potions? Curses? Elixirs?...Humans...?" "Sir... you don't mean..." "Have the Royal Guard sent to fetch the Human immediately. Request for the Princess's presence as well, as soon as her Highness has set the sun. In the meantime, I have some research to do..." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I was just roaming the streets of Canterlot contently, with six of my newfound friends. Having spent the almost the entire day with them, they seem to have accepted me into their group. It was almost as if it didn't matter to them if I was human. For now, I had gained their immediate trust. It took us a bit of searching, but we managed to find a restaurant that didn't have grass or flowers in their menu. This was another problem with me staying in Equestria. I had no way of eating meat here, humans being omnivorous and all. But it seems that the society that I have found myself in are strictly vegetarian. Maybe I could learn to hunt? No, it's too dangerous. The animals here seem more human than those on back on Earth too. I wouldn't want to hurt them, or any of my new friends, especially Fluttershy, who we all knew was extremely fond of wild creatures. "Wait wait wait. So let me get this straight..." Rainbow Dash broke my train of thought. "We have been watched for almost our entire lives? And the guys watching are HOW OLD?!" "It most commonly ranges from the age of 13-45 years old." I said without much concern of the fourth wall any longer. I had broken the news to them, but not in full detail. I kept out a lot of the fandom's more... negative and mature content. It would freak them out anyway. Applejack chimed in,"And yer' sayin' that this show is called...?" "My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic." The six ponies stopped dead in their tracks. I turned round to face their awestruck faces. They immediately burst out laughing. Before I knew it, I was laughing too. We laughed harder than when we saw the expressions of the baffled townsfolk that caught sight of me. "That's what we are called?!" Rarity guffawed, on her knees now. "That sounds sooo lame!" Rainbow Dash was barrel-rolling with laughter in mid air. "You guys should make it sound cooler!" Her face lit up. "I know! The Adventures Of Rainbow Dash!" She gleamed with pride, unlike her friends whom shot her looks of haughty derision. "And her friends of course... hehe..." "Oh, Rainbow Dash, thats so cliche!" Rarity began, "And it's not always about you my dear..." The other five nodded in agreement. I turned towards the sky and watched as the sun lowered, signalling that it was almost the end of the day. But something caught my attention. Out of the side of my eye, a silhouette of a sort was flying towards us. I squinted, trying to block out the sun's rays. Celestia's Royal Gaurd? It landed gracefully in the middle of the street, it broke the ground running, in our direction. I suppose this means they need me back now... How right I was. "Sir!" The gold armoured stallion skidded to a halt, maintaining balance on all four hooves. It was almost as if it was practiced. "The Princess has requested for your presence in the Scholars Court Room! It is of utmost importance!" "Thank you. Tell her I'm on way to the palace this instant." The Guard bowed and took off once more, heading back towards the palace. The Mane 6 showed anxiety in his words. "Huh. I wonder what that was all about." "It has obviously something to do with the Harmony Stone! We should head back right now!" "But Twilight, dear, we are on the other side of the city! I doubt we shall get back anytime soon..." "Not if we teleport! I can't teleport all seven of us, but I can move one other person... you guys make your way back. I'll get Keith to the Palace... or at least closer to it." "Take care, Twi... we'll see you at the palace!" With that, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy ran off, hastily making their long way back up the mountainside. "Hold on tight, Keith. I've never teleported anyone else accept Spike before, let alone a Human." "Just try, Twilight. We have to get there as soon as possible!" And so, holding on to nothing in particular, I watched as a small ball of light protrude from Twilights purple horn. In a flash, it engulfed us. I was pretty sure I felt very hot in that one second, but the next thing I knew, we were outside the palace, the drawbridge was still down and the golden gate still open. "That's as far as I can take us," Twilight was gasping for breath. "I'm afraid we might have to run from here." "Close enough." I shrugged it off and began making our way into the palace... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I shoved the door to the Scholar's department open, and strut up to the reception desk. Behind it was an elder stallion wearing a coat, indoors. He seemed to be busying himself by sorting wooden shelves and scrolls with magic. "Where's the Princess?" The old colt's ear perked up at the words. He spun round only to come face to face with the first human he ever saw. "E-E-Expermient Room O-O-One..." He raised a shaky hoof towards the rows of wooden doors that marked with the words 'Danger: Experimental Area'. Room One was all the way at the end. Wasting no more time, I made a dash for the corridor, almost knocking over Twilight and a few other Unicorns. Lunging for the door handle, I pushed it open. We arrived just in time to see Mr Trotter apply a small drop of liquid on the Harmony Stone, only to have it fizzle and cause a miniature explosion. There were a few other Scholars there as well, examining the stone with fixed amazement. I briskly entered the room, noticing Princess Celestia standing among numerous rows of seats, flanked by two guards.. The room seemed a lot like a small auditorium, but with more equipment and chemicals then I ever saw in my High School Chemistry Classes. "Ah, Keith! Glad you could make it!" Trotter's expression brightened, "now that you're here, we can conclude our testing so far." At this point the scholars have turned to the next object of astonishment; namely me. Trotter came up, a slightly fearful look was in his eyes. "Now Keith, this might hurt a bit..." *Jab* "Ow!" I flinched. Without warning, a sharp pain entered my neck, moving my eyes, I saw the floating needle inserted into my artery. I watched as my blood filled the syringe. The needle than magically withdrew from my neck, a trickle of blood appearing where it had once been. Another Scholar came up and used magic to stop the bleeding and heal it. "Our apologies, Sir. It is required for us to continue..." "Indeed it is! Let us enlighten you with what we have discovered! Please, have a seat." Trotter gleefully glided back to the lone table in the center of the room, where the Harmony Stone lay. I stepped up the rows of seats, still rubbing my neck. Twilight tailing me, we bowed to Celestia as we sat one row beneath her. It wasn't really a chair, more like a pillow, almost sitting fully on the ground. An old, rotten looking book floated into my lap. "Here," it was Princess Celestia controlling it. The title read 'Ancient History Or Mythology?' "This book was written from a collaboration of scrolls found throughout the land." She flipped through the pages magically, stopping at the first chapter. "The stories found in here have been in existence for many a millenia. Even before we were born. But having been passed down for such a long time, facts become legends. And legends become myths. Unfortunately, no one has been able to tell the truth, from the lie in this book for centuries." "That was until you arrived Keith." Professor Trotter donned a protective clothing, as did the others. It looked like a horse's hazmat suit. "We don't have much time for you to read the entirety of that book, so allow me to give you a summary." "In the beginning, as early as possibly recorded in the book, ponies lived in Peace with Humans, on the same planet, or so the book says. However, Humans had a rather... destructive nature at the time. It is recorded that another, wiser and less violent Human, by the name of Noah, wanted to save the Humans from their aggressive behavior, and the animals as well. It is said that he built a humungous boat, in predictions of a great flood that would wipe out every species on the planet." I skimmed through the first few pages of the book. True to Trotter's words, the story was becoming extremely similar to that of the bible. From the Ark, to Noah, to the Animals. Could it have been linked? "On the day of the flooding, it was written that 'two of every species' would enter the boat, and survive the horrible disaster. However, our ancestors disagreed with the plan. Now, it was said that at the time, there were unknown forces that created that world. Noah had seen the stubbornness of our species, and it that it was futile to attempt to convince us. And so, from the same unknown force, the Human Noah showed mercy, and granted us ponies special abilities. He gave two of our ancestors Horns, and another two wings. This segregated the Unicorns and the Pegasi." "However, throught the entire chapter, Noah only spoke once, as was recorded from Noah himself..." My eyes caught the line. It was given a fair amount of open space around it away from the other paragraphs. It read: "Although I dispair at your disagreement, I can only wish you well, as you go forth and create your own world. But take heed of this warning; where you go, no God will be watching you. Every decision made by one, cannot be amended by another." "It was said that he himself, had a form of magic..." Trotter continued, without turning his attention from his work. "After those words were spoken, a link was made. Noah had created a sort of... bridge. It lead to another place, empty and dark. But it was there that our ancestors created their own way of life, and it was there that the our world was made!" Now it was Princess Celestia's turn to speak up. "That was the first, and last recordings we have ever had of Humans related to our kind. However, it is still believed that Humans, have hidden inside them, another kind of magic, which came from Noah. It was a sort of Aura..." "And if the myth is true, this Aura can only be found in Humans. But how they have used it since then is unknown..." I tuned out the voices, far too deep in thought. How could this be? Why was this not in the Bible? Do Humans really contain an unknown force...an unknown magic? "Do...do I contain magic?" I spoke my thoughts aloud. Staring into my hands. "We believe so Keith." "But... I'm nobody special. I'm just an ordinary guy, with an ordinary job... with a less than ordinary life..." Celestia muzzled my shoulder, "It is written that Noah had children too, the sole survivors of the flood. If all the Humans have descended from them, it can be assumed that all of their descendants hold the Aura as well. "But I have never seen this 'Aura' before. I don't even know what it's supposed to look like..." "It's probably because your kind hasn't come to know of it yet. But it's inside each and every Human to the present, Keith, including you." Trotter returned to the Stone, telekinetically controlling a test tube of a colourful chemical. "It could also be because you cannot access it yet. Maybe what is required is a certain catalyst...an amplifier... to activate it..." He magically picked up the syringe that was filled with my blood, and very slowly, added a drop of it into the mixture. "Through this entire day, we have found out something about the Harmony Stone. For one, it is in fact, not a stone." I put the book aside and leant forward in my seat. I was barely aware of Twilight as I somewhat dumped the book on her head, her horn almost piercing the book. "This material isn't even stone! It is a physical magical barrier. It prevents the finding of the true source of magic inside of it." Trotter knocked at it with a hoof. "It is protecting something. Something that cannot be opened with the knowledge and power of our species. But it has reacted once, and that is, to Humans." I thought back to when I found the stone on Earth, after the storm. How it opened the bridge, how it brought me to Equestria and how it built the link between the worlds. "So you're saying there is something inside that stone... and you need my help to break it?" "Correct. That was why we required your blood, which I'm terribly sorry about, but we can't risk you touching the stone in the process." Trotter nodded his head to the other scholars. They respectfully returned it, and moved up the rows of seats themselves. They settled down, scribbling away in notebooks or waiting anxiously for the experiment to start. The blood red scholar then approached the stone, with the test tube of mixture in his magical grasp. "Your Highness, I'm afraid it may be a little dangerous for you to be here, especially without the Magical Protection Suit..." "I'll be fine Professor, I have full confidence in you and your Scholars." "Thank you your Highness. As for you Keith, I doubt this might affect you as much." "Then go on ahead Trotter. I'm already gratefully for what you have found out so far." I smiled warmly, trying to encourage him further. He began at last. "Scholars, Keith, your Highness. The effects of what lay inside this barrier are completely unknown. It may affect us, maybe the whole of Equestria. But for the purpose of learning, of magic and knowledge, we shall soon find out..." With that, the blood red scholar gently tilted the test tube. It's colourful mixture, extending out of the test tube by a single drop, hung on the rim. It began to fall. I broke into cold sweat as the drop splashed onto the stone. ...nothings happening...? At least that was at first. I was beginning to think that the experiment had failed. But then, it started to fizz. It was small at first, but it grew. The slight fizzle grew into a spark. The spark then burst into a flame, but it never once spread, or left the surface of the stone. The flame slowly grew bigger, until it touched the room ceiling. But it wasn't hot. It became more controlled, turning into a blue pillar, almost like the type of flame produced by jets. The flame went from blue, to purple, to dark purple, to grey, to black. And then, magic took effect. An ethereal wave emmited from the pillar of flame! It was like a black Sonic Rainboom! The radiating pulse emitted from the stone went through all inanimate objects. It went through the experimental walls, the magical barrier guarding the castle, the town of Canterlot. It didn't affect anything tangible. Sadly, I couldn't say the same for me. As the wave touched my chest, it felt as if someone had drove a baseball bat into my solar plexus. The wind got completely knocked out of me, and my head began to spin. I fell to my hands and knees, barely conscious. Everypony else seemed unaffected. I, on the other hand, was getting weaker by the second. I rolled onto my back, and found Twilight's head above mine. The bright light of the black flame that still burned, reflected off her mane. "Keith! Are you okay?!" She showed a genuine look of concern, and it became blurry as my eyelids slowly shut.