//------------------------------// // 1: Down the Rabbit Hole // Story: Finding a place // by orioncorey //------------------------------// Manus’ POV, UNKNOWN time, UNKNOWN location I slowly came back to consciousness. I’d been throwing up in the bathroom, but now I was lying on a soft surface. Maybe a bed? My vision was still a bit blurry, and there was a ringing in my ears. The last thing I remember was being sick in the bathroom, but I obviously wasn’t there now. Don’t panic, I thought, Andrue probably found me and got me to a hospital. I groaned and slowly lifted myself up off the surface I was laying on. My head was feeling better and the ringing had stopped, but I still felt like that one time, when I’d run 3 miles in 15 minutes at school and collapsed. When I opened my eyes, everything was still slightly blurry. As my vision started to sharpen and I looked around, I did a double take and stared. There was… nothing. I was floating on nothing, and staring into nothing. Okay, now I can panic. “Hi! How’d you get here?” Came a voice from behind me, “there aren’t supposed to be any creatures except me for another 1000 years or so!” Okay… Now I’m trapped in here with a crazy lady, too. I’m SO going to die in here... Manus’ POV,UNKNOWN time, UNKNOWN location “Who are you?” I said, slightly frightened since I couldn’t see them, “and what exactly are you talking about, and where am I?” She-the voice sounded feminine- said, “I’m Lauren Faust, of course. Who are you?” My head was reeling by now. I had to be tripping balls right now, since I never dreamed anything this weird. Lauren Faust, creator of My Little Pony, talking to me invisibly in a place where there was nothing at all, even no ground? Yup, I was seriously messed up right now. Did that merchant guy slip me something, or did I eat some bad mushrooms, or what? “Oh, you’re Lauren Faust? Cool, ” I said, deciding to just go along with it, “But where are you?” She chuckled. “You’re looking the wrong ways. I’m below you, not in front of, behind, or on the side of you.” “Wait, really? That’s… weird… um… Are you a pony?” I’d looked down and saw that it was Lauren’s pony character -the one that looked like an alicorn with a red mane, white fur, and a quill and ink cutie mark- talking. “Well, I’m the first in creation here, so I’m Lauren Faust, not a pony, but for all intents and purposes, yes, I’m a pony.” She had an aura of power around her that made it hard to look her in the eyes, and she had a weird medallion on her neck where the aura noticeably deepened. I looked around. “So… this is creation? Wait…” I said, getting an idea as to how my drugged mind was thinking, “Is this My Little Pony’s creation? Like, all the alicorns, and draconquei, and all the ponies and species for the series?” Her smile told me I was correct in this assumption. “Yeah, I’m charging up to create all that. You see this medallion? It charges my power a thousandfold, and stores the power of a billion unicorns’ horns. I think it will take about 1000 years to charge it enough to make all that. I’ve been charging the amulet for 200 years. In the meantime, I’m thinking up new things to make, how to make them, every detail of it.” I smiled. This was a pretty cool acid trip, and I didn’t really want to wake up. Andrue had probably realized I was gone, and was panicking. This slightly saddened me and I felt bad, but I might as well enjoy this while it lasted. “That’s pretty cool! But doesn’t your mind get filled with all those things? Why not write it down?” “Well, as you might have noticed, there is no paper. On a unrelated note, though, what’s with your… outfit?” I chuckle and looked down. I realized that the box of collector's edition Dark Souls merch had traveled with me. Almost as if I’d meant to do that the entire time I’d been here, I bent down and opened it. I gasped when I opened it, as everything looked… real. The catalyst looked like real wood instead of glossy plastic, the talisman looked like actual black hair, the pyromancy flame flickered and glowed, and the furysword glinted wickedly and glowed, looking very, very sharp. The book had looked like paper before, but now looked more like papyrus, or some sort of reedy paper-like material. I could now even read the book’s strange symbols, which had been unintelligible before. It was titled, Words of Magicke, and had an aura of power that was close to Lauren’s aura, but this was more… mystic, for want of a better word. I opened it, and certain words jumped out at me, like “power”, ”magick”, ”spells”, ”pyromancy”, “miracles”, and ”sorcery”. I was so absorbed in the book that I didn’t even remember Lauren was there for a second. I snapped out of it when I saw her move in front of me. I looked at her and said, “Sorry I spaced out there for a sec. Well, I was wearing this as a costume for a convention, and I got these at the convention, but… ” I motioned towards the box of items. “They just… look so real now. And this book… It suddenly makes sense to me, and I understand it.” She tilted her head and looked inside. “Wait, is that a sword? Why do you have a sword?” She looked again, and tilted her head even further, like a curious animal. “And those objects emit a lot of power. The sword and flame are very flame-oriented magic, the stick is like my horn, and the hair… is that… Divine magic?” She took a look at the book, and her eyes widened. “The book… is pure magic. It’s full of fire, and lightning, and poison, and divine, and a whole load more magic types...” She suddenly looked very excited. “Can you read it to me? What does it say? This could bring down the time until I can create by a thousandfold!” I slightly chuckled. ‘’You’re pretty excited. All right, just a second... ” I cleared my throat. “Prologue: This is a guide to using miracles, sorceries, and pyromancy to the best of their fields uses, and making your own. There are 9 beginner miracles, 11 moderate miracles, and 3 advanced miracles, 20 beginner, 4 intermediate, and 2 advanced sorceries, and finally, there are 6 beginner, 7 intermediate, and 7 advanced pyromancies. ‘’It is recommended to start with pyromancies, as they are the easiest and simplest. Sorceries are next, and then Miracles. When mastered, each of these 3 ‘’branches‘’ are very deadly and powerful. It is recommended to spend 3 months on beginner levels, 6 months on intermediate, and 9 months on advanced as a minimum amount of time. ‘’There are a few spells that are so hard and dangerous that it is highly recommended to spend at least on month on them individually. These are spells like Power Within. Power Within increases your power and physical ability, but at the cost of draining your life force. This spell was kept secret for eons due to it’s dangerous nature. Others are White Dragon Breath, Crystal Soul Spear, Acid Surge, Gravelord Greatsword Dance, and Sunlight Spear. ‘’I will have theory sections, a ‘’quiz‘’ section, and experiments with magic. I also have a section in the back on a highly dangerous and hard part of magic- making new spells. Only start this section if you have mastered at least 2 advanced sections, and only then. This part takes into account physics, chemistry, AND magic. Therefore, I also have a science section before the section to learn what you will need to learn for it. Happy casting and reading, Big Hat Logan, Laurentius of the Great Swamp, and Quelana of Izalith.” I was in minor shock by now. This was an awesome drug! It all felt real, and it had magic and My Little Pony in it! I grinned and said to Lauren, ‘’I’m going to start learning so I can help you with creation.‘’ ‘’By the way, do you have enough energy to make me a floating study in this place?‘’ She was starting to get over her shock. She smiled and said, ‘’Of course I do. Small, Medium, or Large size?‘’ I thought about it for a second. “Extra Large.”