//------------------------------// // Chapter 28: Discoloured Memories // Story: The Bridge Between Worlds // by Artemis Orion //------------------------------// Discoloured Memories "Keith, we need to talk." "Yeah, Daddy?" "Son, you can't keep living in your dream world." "What's that mean, Dad?" "This planet; this world right now. It's not the perfect world you see it as. Life is not going to let you just cruise along." "But why?" "Maybe you're too young to know what this means, Keith. But later, when you're older, you'll be out there; providing for yourself and others. But until then, I want you to ask yourself this question: when you're grown up, how will you live your life? And how are you going to do it?" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A cold splash of water pelted my face, bringing me back round to reality. I sputtered, trying to sit back up. But trying was all I could do before I froze and cringed in agony. All the pain returned, along with the remembrance of the reasons they got there. "Easy, now. Moving that fast will just hurt you more." I opened my eyes to the clothes that Rarity had made me. I still wore them, now torn and stained. Slowly raising my head, I met the eyes of the grey Alicorn. They were the same shade as his colourless coat. "I don't know who you are, but I guess I owe you one..." I tried to ease back down, without causing more searing pain than I needed. "Big time." From the corners of my sight, the six ponies that I came to know and love gathered back. It seemed like a really long time since I had seen them. "Welcome back, cowboy." Applejack swung a water skin above my head. Emptying its contents onto my head and into my mouth. The refreshing water quenched my unnoticed thirst and coated me in it rather than my own sweat. After gasping for breath, I leaned back, but not on the stone floor. It was somepony's soft coat. Fluttershy was there, resting my head on her side. "Oh, Keith! You're safe, thank goodness!" "Thank Celestia!" Chimed in Pinkie Pie, who joined the embrace and ignoring my blood. It darkened her natural shade of pink. I flinched at the tightness of of the hug. "Pinkie..." I gasped, "too... tight...!" "Whoops, sorry!" She let go, blushing. "TRAITOR! YOU HAVE RAN LONG ENOUGH!!" I froze in fear. That shout could have projected thousands of voices at once; it was all too familiar. But a second, more shocking realization hit me. I felt around my chest for the object that brought me here. "The pendant! Where is it!" I jerked up and coughed violently, tasting blood fill my mouth again. "Relax, friend. I have it." The grey Alicorn levitated it off of his neck. "It really has been a long time since I held this." He then placed it lightly in my palm. "You shouldn't have taken it." I spoke, shutting my eyes and attempting to lose the pain. "This thing is dangerous in more ways than one." Slowly, I rose to my feet, expecting Legion to attack at any moment. "Don't worry, he can't see us... but not for long." The Alicorn said confidently. I looked around to find we were in another dome; one that was above the surface, for the sunlight seeped in through the cracks and holes. "And correction: I know much more about that Medallion than you." The lavender pony I knew too well came to the Alicorn's side. Twilight's face was cross with anxiety and fear. "How long will this spell hold, Sir? It's been a while, and... well... ethereal camouflage spell are fairly hard to control." "Longer than you think, Twilight. Trust me like you would have in the previous timeline." "Ethereal camouflage? Previous Timeline? What?" Most of the minor cuts and wounds had sealed and, to my relief, a large amount of the hurt. There were bigger and more serious injuries, but they would recover with time. Now, all I wanted was answers. I looked to his flank, but there was no cutie mark there. It looked scratched out; faded into darker shades of grey. I couldn't tell what it once was, even if I tried. The Alicorn never once smiled, and spoke gravely. "It looks like it has really been done." The Alicorn eyed me with interest. "Everything still goes according to plan... well... for now anyway..." "And you are...?" "I don't have a name." The Alicorn hung his head and sighed. "I have failed Equestria too much to deserve one." "What are you talking about, your highness? Our kingdom seems in perfect order-" Rarity asked. "Don't call me that! I am not royalty, and I never was! And one reason why Equestria is peaceful in this day and age, is because of me!" He magically pulled at the Medallion, and at my neck. "It is also the only reason I created this." "Wowie! You made that?!" Pinkie Pie chimed in. "And why are these people after it? Why do they call me a traitor?" I sat up against a podium. It looked like a statue had been removed from it. "Because to them, that was everything. And when it was taken from them, they lost everything." The Alicorn turned back towards the city, looking beyond its aged landscape. "It was something that I created, along with the people, to help them remain true to themselves, and to others." "You... you created these guys?" Rainbow Dash gaped. "Yes, Rainbow Dash. I did. Funny how your response is the same as it was last time..." "Last time?! What last time?! This guy is really driving me nuts!" "And how did you know howto create these humans? How did you know what they even looked like?" "Simple; I wasn't always a Alicorn. In fact, I was like you, and like Legion. I was Human." The Mane Six and I shared looks of disbelief. The only thing that broke the silence was the noise of buildings collapsing outside, with Legion looking for his target. "And not just any human. I was like you." He towered above my injured being. "I was from Earth. Listen carefully, now. Everything I say to you is of utmost importance." "Yes, I was a human once. Until I came to Equestria, I was a normal person. But when I did, things were different. Much different. It is not around you now, but it was during another time." The Alicorn gloomily sat down opposite me. The Mane Six sat around as well, listening intently. "Many events occurred in this time, and Equestria was at war. It had fallen to the creatures outside the bounded lands. But I was there. I did not care at the time how and why I was there, or why I was an Alicorn. I just wanted to save everypony. But... I failed. Many ponies selflessly gave their lives for the battle, but to no avail." He looked up at the Mane Six, hesitating before he spoke again. "Everypony gave their lives. Including, and especially the six of you." The surprised faces of the six candy-coloured ponies turned to horror. "And still... through all this torture, I had a second chance. At the time, I had grown so powerful, I could travel back in time. I took the chance. The chance to change the events of that time. I went back, a long long way behind in time. I wanted to build a force, strong enough to repel what I knew what was to come in the future. So I made them." He gestured at the broken city. "I made them exactly in man's image. I thought they were perfect, and I created this. This symbol of harmony, to keep them at peace. At first, everything went according to plan." "But I realized my mistake. One day, the medallion was taken from them; stolen by thieves.When they found out, they cried and suffered beneath their own deed. I wanted to help them and stop the madness. I left my people to search for the Spirit of Harmony. It didn't take long for me to retrieve the Medallion again, but by the time I returned here, it was chaos. The people had turned against themselves, and the harmony was no longer enough to bring them out of it. They had relied so much on the Medallion that they lost sight of the harmony within them. To me, I had failed Equestria again." "I decided to leave them be; to let them wipe themselves off the face of Equestria. I hid the medallion from them, because it had become an item of greed, and I slept. I slept for a long time. I was woken up before by common thieves and bandits, but I chased them away, warning them of the force that I trapped in their own city. This was because that I knew, when they all were gone, their souls and auras still lingered. In death, they had put aside their differences for their common goal: getting the medallion back." "But I couldn't let them. It would feed their power, and they would create another thriving race.At the same time, I couldn't destroy the medallion. It was, and still is precious to me; for in that medallion holds the last remnants of the Elements Of Harmony." He looked around at everypony. "Yes. Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Applejack. A part of you exists in this pendant, a part that is harder than anything to destroy, and I couldn't do it. Instead, I had to make another plan. Something that would correct both these events, but not cause a new one." He stood back up, glaring down at me. "And it looks like you're it. Fortunately for you, this pendant has chosen you to be its bearer." "But why? I'm no different from anyone else. There's a whole six billion other people on Earth!" "Don't question it, kid! I sent it out to find a suitable bearer, but that doesn't mean you will survive it! Many things await the bearer of Harmony, and not all of it is going to be nice and sweet." He brought his face threateningly close to mine. "The question is, are you worthy of it?" I held my head in my hands, wrapping my mind around everything this Alicorn had just said. It was like in the movies, when an ordinary person was 'chosen' to become the hero. The only difference was that this was far too real. I looked back up to the Mane Six, now looking at me in a new light. I wasn't sure whether their looks were the response to the Alicorns predictions, or to the fact that I was unofficially the 'chosen one'. Could I do it? Could I survive whatever it is to come? Could I even defeat Legion? "Our-... sorry... Your friends have told me that you have survived quite a few ordeals to get here already. As impressive as it may be to any human, you have to know that you were only lucky." I slowly rose again, trying to stand. I flinched as I felt the pang from nerves in my leg. Fluttershy came to my side, smiling to hide her concern. As much as I had recovered over the conversation, some things still required time to heal. With the support, I limped to the view of the city. A small figure of Legion in the distance was seen, crashing through wall after wall in a barbaric manner, looking for me. "You're can't leave with Legion like that. Even if you tried, he will get you." Everypony watched as Legion continued his futile hunt. "Unfortunately, he must be defeated, and I've become far too weak over the years to stop him." Everypony turned to the Alicorn, who turned to me. We all knew what he was going to say before he said it. "It's all up to you, Keith." "Oh, buck no!" Rainbow Dash retorted instantly. "Have you gone mad?!" "Look at him! He's in no condition to fight!" "He might... die!" Everypony was defending me. It made me glad that I had their support, but I knew that there was no other way this time. The Mane Six didn't have the elements and the Alicorn was too weak. I sighed, curling my hands into fists multiple times. "I'll do it." "WHAT?!" All six ponies replied in unison. The Alicorn merely raised the corners of his mouth slightly. "Heh, I missed hearing conversations like these!" "This is all part of your 'proving your worthy' point isn't it?" I asked. "It is. And there's no time like the present... not that you really have a choice." "But he's godlike! Isn't he, like, immortal and made from souls?!" I was desperately arguing, but he always replied in calm. "If I remember correctly, when I left Earth, video games already existed." He smugly said. "And as I recall, every boss that you fight has a weakness?" "You gotta be kidding me..." "Well, I did create these people. All you have to do, is find his weakness. And then..." "Finish him?" I grinned. "Oh, Mortal Kombat still exists? Glad to hear it's gone beyond it's second installment!" For the first time, the old Alicorn let out a small chuckle. It was hard imagining him as a human before, but it seemed that there wasn't too big of an age gap. "COME OUT AND FACE ME YOU COWARD!!" Legion's voice only confirmed the decision. I grudgingly turned to the stairs I saw that lead back down. "But you're going to tell me how to get back home right?" "Yes, if you live long enough." He casually threw out his comment. At this point, Fluttershy stood in the way of stairs. "Keith, you can't do this! You're already really hurt and-" "Fluttershy," I knelt down to bring her to face level. "can you tell me honestly, that there is another way?" She hung her head, allowing her mane to cover her face. She knew there was none. "But can you tell me, that you won't die?" I hesitated. the risks were very great. But I knew that if I failed, it wouldn't only be to the Mane Six, but, if the Alicorn's words were true, the whole of Equestria. "Don't worry, I won't." I stroked her neck one more time before leaving her side. "Pinkie Promise?" Pinkie Pie added perkily. I silently turned and limped back down the stairs, no longer in view of the six ponies and the Alicorn. "I Pinkie Promise."