//------------------------------// // The Math Doesn't Add Up!! // Story: On the Brink of Tomorrow // by JackTheEpic //------------------------------// It was a normal day in the land of Equestria, and in the town of Ponyville all the ponies were going about their daily business. Ponies were shopping at the market, the woodcarver was carving a new park bench, the stonemason was chipping away at a block or marble, and the smith was hammering away at a piece of iron. And up in the newly added crystal tree a certain lavender alicorn was on the verge of a mental break down. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ POV Switch: Twilight Approximately 1 week after the fall of Tirek I was sitting there, in my lab, in my new crystal tree palace. Looking over the calculations time and time again. Adding each variable to the equation one at a time. And always getting the same unfortunate answer, that there is no way that even with the power of the Tree of Harmony that we should have defeated Tirek so easily. Ruffling my mane with my hooves, I then proceed to throw my hooves in the air and scream in frustration, and in the process scaring my friends and Spike who were behind me. "Uh... Twilight. You really should calm down." said spike "Calm down!? Calm down!? How can I calm down when none of this makes and sense!" I scream turn towards Spike as I toss my hooves up in the air "You know, Spike is right Twilight. Besides, you freaking out can't be good for your mane." Said Rarity "You just don't get it do you?" I ask "Tirek had the magic of all the ponies-" "And myself might I add" Said Discord as he proceeded to turn a certain bunny into chocolate and eat it. "And Discord, so even after the battle that I had with him, there should be no way that even with the powers that the Tree of Harmony gave us, should we have beaten him so easily!" "I think that you are overthinking this Twi." Said Rainbow, "Besides nothing can beat us when we had the power of friendship on our side!" "I'm going to have to side with Twilight on this one." Discord said "It just doesn't seem likely that with all that magic, that friendship alone could have beaten him. There must have been another factor that we are unaware of." I looked at Discord with a surprised look, "Wow, that was... actually very logical and orderly of you Discord." "Eh, I have my moments." He said "So if what you said is true, what are we missing? Some kind of belated effect? Outside interference? Or maybe a spell?" I said as turn back to my work. "I have a bad feeling about this..." muttered Fluttershy "You can say that again." Confirmed Pinkie ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ POV Switch: ??? Pre-Tirek defeat "How long has it been?" I think to myself as I stare at my self encases in a pure magic crystal from 3rd person. I have been like this for who knows how long. Ever since that battle with that weird red centaur with horns, I have just watched the world age. It has sped by like someone video taped it then sped it up. Day and Night flicker back and forth rapidly, trees sprout from the ground, mountains form, volcanos erupt, and waves crash against the shore. "I was foolish." I think to myself. If I hadn't gotten so close to that...thing... I wouldn't be in this situation. I had gotten so close to it, that it had actually drained my magic, and in the process my body tried to replace the magic that I lost from the ambient magic. Unfortunately my body tried to absorb too much magic too fast, and as a result the magic crystalized around me. As I just float outside my body, a large crack appeared in the crystal. This caused the speed of witch I saw everything to slow down to a halt. Like I was watching the world as I would before this all happened. Though this crack I was able to probe the air with what little magic I did absorb before it crystalized. And I felt something strange, the air seemed... dry. Not like "Oh its so hot out that just breathing the air makes by thought dry." but more like, "The magic is gone." dry. It's almost as if something had taken all the ambient magic and sucked it all up... wait... could that thing have done it? I attempt to probe out further and I sense a large "wet" spot in the air. That must be were all the magic went. As I did this another crack appeared in the crystal. Shifting my focus I can see why it's cracking. The pure magic in the crystal is trying to restore balance to the ambient magic. Sort of how an area of high pressure go to an area of low pressure until both areas are of the same pressure. I watch as more and more cracks appear until I feel myself being pulled back towards my body. It was quite unpleasant as it felt like I was a solid square object being pulled through a circle hole. I opened my eyes for the first time in a long time and the world looked blue though the crystal. With it at it's weakened state and it trying to flow away from me, I release a small burst of magic and the entire crystal shatters. I fall to the floor with a "thump" as I land on my back. From my new position of looking at the sky, I try to wiggle all my extremities to make sure everything works. From fingers to toes, I wiggle each one, one at a time. Then I slowly turn over so I'm on my stomach and I attempt to get to a kneeling position. Which was surprisingly easy. Maybe muscle tissue doesn't degenerate while one is stuck in a magic crystal. From there, I stand up and can see the world with my own eyes for the first time. The gray and brown of the city is gone, and is replaced with green hues of trees and plains. "How long was I in there." I ask myself aloud. As I stand there looking at the changed landscape. A large explosion rocks the ground and a huge ball of magic energy appears in the distance. Changing the green hue of the grass to a dead brown. Using this as a perfect excuse to test some of my magic, I apply a enhanced vision spell that allows me to see for insanely far distances. From this I see that red horned centaur that stole my magic in the first place. As I quietly rage, a beam of light strikes it. Wondering who is fighting it I adjust my gaze in the direction the beam came from. And at it's source a purple horse stands there, except it has wings and a horn. Now Unicorns and Pegisi were more of a rare creature in the magical world, but to see a combination of the two is a first. I continue to stand there and watch events unfold. In truth, it was quite impressive battle considering that the red horned centaur was at least 7 stories tall, if not more. Though it suddenly ends when several orbs appear around the centaur, each containing a creature ranging from pony, Pegisi, Unicorn, and a Chimera I think. At this point the Lavender horse seems to offer it self up to cave the others. and once they are released a conversation occurs followed by them all dashing off to some where. With them out of the way, I continue to watch the centaur from my vantage point. And it looked like he was celebrating its victory, when a bright light appears out of the ground, and as I watch the centaur tries to absorb it's magic... but fails? This is a first, looks like its over for it. At this point beams of light start to strike it, and at first it looks like he can stand against it. But this is my chance to take my magic back, I reach out to the centaur while its busy defending against the light and it is easy to take my magic back, and because of this the centaur gradually starts to loose, until he suddenly starts to shrink and then disappears all together. With my magic back, I watch as the light splits into six parts and shoot off into the distance. And Several minutes later a rainbow appears out of the ground and lands over in a town. Which I just noticed, and from the end of the rainbow a large Crystal structure appears. "Well, now I have a place to investigate." I say to my self. As I start to head over towards the town, I remember that I didn't grab my gear. Turning around I smash the base of the crystal and grab my steel plated gauntlets, boots, leggings, and chest piece. Followed by grabbing my robe and flicking it over my back and pulling the hood over my head. Well, time for a new adventure.