Chapter 50: Uplift
Chapter 50: Uplift
“Who are you?”
Ah, Flare, it is a pleasure to finally meet you. I am Thael, alternatively known as the Metaspectre, or to the people of Reality, the Devil. Of course you wouldn't have met us. You attract the righteous to you like a beggar to food, which might be applicable, in this case. Our dealings are with the desperate and the despairing. We’re the last resort for the people in this world.
“You sound like a liar and a cheat.”
I would be lying if I said I didn’t like confounding those who think themselves wise. But those who prove themselves worthy of praise, well, they’re rewarded greatly.
Temperament spoke up. “Why do you speak in the third person? And then switch to the first?”
Forgive me, it’s a bit of a quirk I’ve picked up. I carry with me the souls of thousands, all those who could not live with the consequences of their short-sighted desires. I speak in the third mostly out of respect, for even in the lives of the fallen are lessons to be learned and wisdom to be gained.
Flare sniffed in disdain. “So you work in one-sided deals that steal souls? I’m sorry, but I don’t think we’ll get along well.”
If you choose to look at it in that way, we suppose you could, but I consider myself a force for good. Fear not, my intent is not malicious this day. We come bearing a conditional gift.
“How conditional?” Eclipse asked, eying the Metaspectre carefully.
Do you all agree to hear me out?
“Well, now that you’ve brought it up, we kind of have to know.”
A fair point, Gemini. It would be most cruel for us to leave it on such a cliffhanger, wouldn’t it?
Thael lay down in what remained of the snow, after Flare’s blast. Despite what you might think, I’m not here to impede you. Note how much we’ve stayed out of your way as you’ve journeyed across this land. Speaking to Twilight specifically, of course.
“Of course,” Lustrous answered.
I, the core personality, am quite interested in what this world has to offer. There’s some hidden quality of faith for a better world that I’ve never seen in all of my travels. I’m interested in preserving this faith until I can understand what makes it survive. And so, I give you these.
With a flash, four hovering scrolls appeared, their runes written in dark red ink. The runes seemed to shift and melt about the page, making them hard to read.
These are time-travel scrolls. Each one will transport the caster into the past, at a point of their choosing. However, they can only transfer their consciousness. Once you arrive, you will either need to rebuild your body as an infant and risk losing your memories until something can revive them, or you’ll need to possess somebody already in the timeline.
Eclipse looked from the scroll to Thael, then back again. “The concept is interesting, but what good do they do us?”
The past is not a secure foundation. Your very existence is variable. Most will never notice it, but the timeline is being destroyed and reformed constantly. Many outcomes dictate your demise. But with these scrolls, you can give yourself a second chance. If you're about to die and you have one on your person, it will activate and save you. I have essentially given you an extra life.
“But we already come back to life after dying, right?” Spectral Slash looked around at the others. “Tell me I’m not crazy here.”
You are quite correct. But that only holds true in this world, the Forgotten Realm. Once the worlds merge, things will be quite different. Death will be permanent, mistakes life-changing, relationships strained and trust almost non-existent, at least until things settle down. By returning the past, you will have the ability to influence events to ensure your future comes true once again, as well as growing powerful enough to actually make a difference when the time comes.
“Just how far back can we go?”
Theoretically, back to the beginning of time. But unless you find a way to escape mortality, it won’t do you much good.
“What's the catch? Beyond the restrictions, there must be some sort of penalty attached to using the scrolls.”
You just assume that there's some hidden penalty? Do you not trust us? Well, you're right in your assumption. If your past self who used the scroll directly interacts with your future, or rather, current form, before the current self realizes what they are to become, both past yet future and current form will cease to exist.
Temperament rose a brow. “So you're saying that the scrolls could have already been used?”
Indeed. All four have.
“So four of us are running around in history somewhere?” Shuddercry chortled heartily. “Well then, what's the point in offering the scrolls to us? If it's already been done, it's not like we have no choice in the matter.”
You're looking at this all wrong. Allow us to make an extreme example. Let's say we offer you two options. You may either be fed, sheltered, and cared for for the rest of your life and thus allowed to devote your energies into bettering yourself or your goals, or you have the option of being scalded for days on end, without rest, by hot coals wielded by your worst enemy. Which do you choose?
“Is that even a question? Who wouldn't choose the first one?” The others nodded agreement to Applejack's interjection.
Well then, was it a choice or predestination? I knew with certainty that you'd answer that. Does that mean you couldn't have chosen the other, painful option?
“Well, no, I suppose I could have.”
I give you the choice again. Which do you choose?
“The guarantee of comfort.”
Again?
“Comfort.”
Once more.
Jackie stepped forward. “Alright, we get it. How does this tie together?”
As I said, it was an extreme example. However, the lesson holds true. You as a person would make the same choice every time if you were given the same opportunity, with the same memories, in the same circumstances. The mind does not make its decisions based on chance. It chooses right and wrong based on the morals you know and what you've encountered in the past. Every wrong you did, you would do again. Every right as well. But it was still a choice. So, while I can now say you were predestined to choose the comfort option, since it has now happened, until the moment you consciously made the decision, it was still undecided. Even though I was sure you'd choose comfort over pain due to the nature of life, you still had the potential to surprise me.
When you look at the past, it seems everything was meant to be. Things could have gone another way, sure, but then the world you know now would cease to be, and that just seems inherently wrong. Yet you had to be there to make it happen. This is why I leave you the scrolls. The catch is thus; by using them, you will be thrust into a new situation, largely out of your control, where you will likely make mistakes, and cause terrible, terrible things. It will be your choice, but it is also already written in the books of fate. You will have to live with your mistakes, but the reward is thus; once you have caught up to your time, the future is once again uncertain. And then, with all the knowledge you have gained, you can make the future brighter.
With a slight flourish, the scrolls rolled up, a magical seal holding them shut. The Metaspectre handed them over to Gemini, who took them cautiously, placing them in her saddlebag.
Now then, we will be off. We shall meet you in Windark. We look forward to it.
“Wait!” Eclipse reached into her saddlebag, retrieving the confiscated black crystal.
The Metaspectre narrowed his eyes. Oh? What's this?
“Twilight Sparkle took it from your altar. I'm not fully aware of the circumstances.”
Gemini stepped forward, and Twilight began to speak. “At the time, I wasn't fully aware of what you were. It was when your soul was unresponsive, just after you appeared in Reality.”
Yes, we are aware. Had we wanted it back, we would have taken it from you. It served its purpose in getting you this far, but I don't think you should have an unfair advantage from here on out. The Metaspectre's smoky form surged forward, and grabbed the crystal. Funny that you chose this crystal, in particular.
“Why's that?”
It was the first piece of alchutine given to me. It grew next to my soul, and as such, it's both sentimental and attuned to me.
“Alchutine? Is that what the crystal is made out of?”
Yes, the most precious of materials, in the practical sense. They have limitless potential for energy storage, and due to its habit of growing next to our forming souls, it was quite important in my people's religion.
Gemini's ears perked up. Now this was interesting. “There's more than one Metaspectre?”
There were. To my knowledge, I'm the last of them all.
Gemini looked down. “Oh. I'm sorry.”
Don't be. It was so long ago, and most of them had already given up their immortality out of despair or boredom. Being a sentient non-organic creates some interesting, though different, struggles.
“If they had given up so long ago, why haven't you?”
Stubbornness, to be honest. I've found that life is ultimately pointless, but I refuse to pass from this world until I am proven otherwise. I don't want my life, nor my people's existence to be meaningless.
Flare rose an accusatory brow. “And so you entertain yourself by ruining other people's lives?”
I need not explain my actions. Thousands of years of experience has taught me not to argue with those who aren't ready to listen. With a deep, exaggerated bow, he bade farewell, and with a flash of light, was gone.
Eclipse stepped over and knocked Flare over her head. “Great job scaring him off.”
“I don't trust him one bit. I don't know how you can.”
“I don't, in particular, but as long as he isn't actively working against us, we should try to take advantage of his unpredictable ways. And the more we know about him, the better we can help ourselves and avoid yet another enemy. For somebody who's lived in the Forgotten Realm, you seem rather oblivious about basic tactics.” Eclipse stepped forward threateningly.
“Or you're overlooking the fact that keeping him around would likely cause contention in our group, which is something we don't have the time nor the resources to deal with.” Flare stood her ground resolutely. Eclipse frowned and stepped forward once more.
“Disagreements are easily dealt with. Lost opportunities are more costly than a little mutiny.”
“Well, you–”
“If you two lovebirds are finished, I'd like to get a move-on. I don't particularly want to wait for the armies to find us.” Shuddercry began walking in the general direction of Windark without waiting for a reply. The rest of the group quickly mobilized, even the reflections of Justice and Mercy recognizing the need to continue towards their goal.
“Twilight, can I see one of the scrolls?” Rarity was trotting alongside Gemini expectantly. Lustrous sighed internally, but allowed Twilight to reach into the saddlebag and hand the scroll over.
Rarity began turning it over, careful to not undo the seal. Temperament trotted up besides her. “They seem to be very well made.”
“Yes, as much of a smooth talker as the Metaspectre is, he has wonderful crafting skills.”
“Quite a bit of power in them,” Eclipse called out. “I think we can assume they will work as advertised.”
“I advise against their use, however.” Flare ran forward to join the group gathering around the scrolls. “Time travel is not a light matter, and despite what the Metaspectre says, staying in our own time is the most prudent decision.”
Jackie sighed. “Alright, we get it, you don't trust him.”
Flare was silent for a moment. “I've met some of his victims, those few who were lucky enough to make it out with their lives. That was just about all they had. No, I don't trust him, but don't pretend for a moment that it isn't reasonable.”
The party continued on for the remainder of the day. Just before dark, they came to a large cliff.
“This is what we get for staying off of the main road. The thing about roads? They usually avoid things like this.”
“It's alright, Shuddercry, we'll find a way over this.” Gemini rubbed her temple as she thought. “I mean, you and the other pegasi can fly over, it's just a matter of getting the rest of us up.”
“We could try ferrying you up, one at a time.” Spectral Slash jumped into the air, holding out her front legs in offering.
“Good plan. Two pegasi to a pony, is that reasonable?”
Fluttershy nodded. Shuddercry laughed. “Can you even get off the ground with those wings? I don't know how you're going to help carry anybody else.”
Fluttershy grit her teeth. “As a matter of fact, yes. I'm not the best flier, but I can hold my own just fine.”
The two reflections looked at each other for a few moments. Shuddercry rose a brow, but finally turned away, her temper neutralized. “Very well.”
The pegasi got to work, carrying Gemini and Jackie first. “It'd be easier if you were already an Alicorn,” Rainbow Dash commented.
Thorn flew up with them. Spike sighed. “Man, I wish I could fly.” Thorn turned to look at him, then flew down and grabbed his arm, flapping as hard as he could. It was a noble effort, but due to his smaller size, Thorn just didn't have enough lifting power. Spike laughed cheerfully. “Hey, thanks man. At least I know somebody's looking out for me.”
Thorn stopped and looked into Spike's eyes, landing on his arm. Behind his fierce animalistic looks was a spark of intelligence that seemed anxious to help.
“Heh, you know, maybe you're not so bad after all.” Spike stroked Thorn's spines. Thorn purred in delight.
With a flash of light, they disappeared. Gemini looked down. “What happened?!”
“I'm not sure, they just disappeared!”
“Oh.” Gemini knew where this was going.
With another flash of light, a single being reappeared. Great, leathery wings stretched from his back, smoke flowing from his nostrils, and his body glowed with a powerful aura. Upon realizing he had returned, he patted himself down to make sure nothing was missing, only to find several new additions.
“I... merged?” The combined personality seemed to maintain Spike's intelligence and demeanor, while gaining Thorn's wings and more adult-draconic features. Spike's formerly gentle name-sake spikes traveling down his spine had been swept back and sharpened. His wings, unlike Thorn, did not replace his arms, but instead granted him another set of limbs. Their body seemed to have age a few years as well, making him the size of a middle-aged dragon teen.
“Three down, a bunch more to go,” yelled Jackie. “How soon until the rest of us merge, I wonder?”
Gemini was set down at the top of the cliff. “Thorn! Or, uh, Spike! Can you fly up here now?”
“I'll try!” He gave an experimental flap, then began in earnest. Quickly enough, he was airborne. “Hah! Is this what I've been missing?”
Rainbow Dash grinned. “I'll have to challenge you to a race someday once you're used to flying.”
“Oh, you're on.”
After a few minutes more, the rest of the group had successfully surmounted the cliff face. They walked a short distance away before Gemini decided it was getting too dark to continue. “We'll camp here for the night.” The others nodded their understanding, and went about setting up camp.
“How worried should we be about attackers?” Pinkamina asked while the others were busy.
Gemini thought for a moment, looking the way they had come. “Not too much. Perhaps they'll discover our tracks, but it won't be until they've had their fun with the Abbey, and in any case, they won't send the combined forces after us. No, I think we should make ourselves as comfortable as we can tonight. After all, it's tomorrow that everything comes to a head.”
She looked up to the almost-full moon, just beginning to rise. “The solstice is tomorrow, and one way or the other, this comes to an end.”
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When me phone gave me the little notification that this had updated, I dropped everything and booted up my browser, and you lived up to and went beyond expectations.
Another excellent chapter, can't wait for the next one!
EDIT: Thanks for pointing out that double negative, fixed.
Another has merged? That was fast.
*Ahem* Who shall start the endless cries for MOAR!!
....
No, one?
*Sigh* Oh very well...
MOAR, MOAR, MOAR, MOAR
Uh, I had this story figured out and now you've thrown in time travel and now I need to take into consideration that Flare and Eclipse don't have
to be other halves of Celestia and Luna but they are/were/will be actually past Celestia and Luna in the future!
ARGH will somebody finally invent some correct tenses to use with time travel?
Also Spike's merging is very timely and convenient...
Who's next, Fluddercry?
Anyone else having problems selecting the chapters? When I select the latest chapter, it just loads the main story. When I select the previous chapter, it selects the current one.
Is it just me?
The "Devil" seems a bit too reasonable with his offering of the scrolls. I sense big time shenanigans to come...
Four get-out-of-writing-corner-free cards? Thanks, Devil! (inb4 they are never actually used, or used trivially)
Sorry if I was "meh" about this chapter...
2150065
FiMFic has been doing that for a while now. I think it started with the UI changes a few months ago.
2149217
Watch the double negatives sonny.Thanks, people like you keep me writing. I'll do my best to make it worth your while to keep coming back.2150289
Somebody's using their brain. Nothing good's ever easy, and that which is easy is seldom good.
2150444
Recall that Thael mentioned that all four scrolls have already been used in the future, and their users are somewhere in history already. He also says that their future-and-into-the-past selves are not to directly influence their current-but-to-them-past selves. As far as being meh, no worries, the nitty gritty parts are coming up soon.
2150065 Problem with the UI. For some reason the chapter lists on your favourites skips number 18 in the counting, using 19 for chapter 18 and continuing from there. The reason the main story comes up instead of the chapter is that the url for the last chapter points to a non existant chapter number i.e. 51 instead of 50
5:30am? Bah, I wasn't sleeping anyways. Onwards to reading!
Also, will Twilight finally become an all knowing Alicorn of... Something, I can't remember. Time maybe. Magic. Bliss. No wait, That's Cadence.
So, Spike and Thorn have suddenly merged? Well, that was unexpected.
I wonder what will their combined name be? "Sporn"? 
2149217
Hmm...He didn't fail, which means he succeeded, to disappoint.
2150065
Something like that has been happening to me for awhile now, just with THIS story though...
I click the chapter I want to read in my favorite list when this shows up..it teleports me to the page that SHOULD be the latest chapter, but it can show the previous, or the later (in the event I have more than one to read)...back around the 20's somewhere I skipped 2 chapters because of this :(
2150592
Yeah, I gathered that it was making pointers the next chapter in line, and therefore to things that didn't exist, but I didn't figure that the UI change had something to do with it, especially since this is the ONLY story that has been doing this sort of stuff to me.
2149369 MOAR!!!
2150589
I find that this venn diagram applies to pretty much everything.
donniebelldesign.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/cool-graphic-design-infographics-01-xl.png
So, it all comes down to the solstice... but if things don't go as planned they can fall back on time travel to rewrite the current future. This reminds me a bit of Zelda: Majora's Mask. The impending doom brought about by the moon, can only be averted by traveling into the past to alter the outcome of the future... I always liked that concept.
2151280
My vote is 'Spork'
less so in this chapter but the previous one was full of typos and grammar mistakes, might want to look it over again.
that aside, i'm looking forward to seeing how this will all play out when the worlds inevitably merge... and what celestia is up to in her world.
2174812
I respectfully disagree. There are certain moral absolutes that transcend personal interpretation, which can be blinded and myopic anyways. Ask anybody on the street, and with the exception of perhaps a select few, they will all agree that murdering children after sexually molesting them is wrong, if not downright abhorrent. The people who argue that it isn't wrong are blatantly messed up, and their opinion is invalidated. With the establishment of this, or other extremes, it becomes clear that there is indeed a right and a wrong, and by their definition, a good and an evil.
Just because people disagree on something doesn't make it any less factual. The earth is round, but there are people out there who will argue vehemently that it isn't. That doesn't mean that the shape of the earth is up to each individual to decide.
I digress. If you are offended or annoyed by my logic, you'll likely want to drop my story now. The upcoming chapters are largely about morality and the elements that the unicorns represent.
That being said, thank you very much for pointing out that Chapter 49 has some issues, I'll have to give it a look over when I have a moment, and then I'll re-upload the revised copy.
2175931 first off, epic comment is epic
Second, WHY YOU NOT BE MAKING MOAR CHAPTERS
On a more serious note, I read through this story and just kept on reading. This could be made into a book for crying out loud. I was thoroughly disappointed to find that chapter 50 wasn't the end! Hell this could be or even not be only half way through the story if you write your words right (terrible pun is terrible). I would love to see this updated and features again, it was one of the few stories to deserve it. I'm going to stop rambling now and let you get back to your day.
2232192
What would you say if I had almost four new chapters ready, planned to be five by the end of Saturday?
Now, the reason why I'm holding them off is for the very reason you stated; this could be made into a book. And I really want it to be. You're getting a little bit of advance notice here, but I'm going to run a bit of a fundraiser for that very purpose. Getting a physical book published takes a little bit of money, and sadly, that isn't something I just have on hand. This, coupled, with college costs, means that if we want this to be a book, my fans will have to help me out. I'll release different incentives, including an eventual copy of the finished, bound, edited etc. book signed by me, but this is the big, final push. I only have three months until I'm out of the country for two years, and if I don't do it now, it will never happen.
So here's how it's going to go down; I'll try to set some reasonable amount, and if that much is donated, then I'll release another chapter immediately. If the fundraiser turns out to be a flop, I'll still release the chapters, independent of funds raised, at least once every two weeks. If we get to the point that every chapter has been released, I'll do all within my power to get another one out, without harming the quality of the chapter. And, I know it's a faraway dream and unrightfully greedy of me, but if enough is donated to essentially make my job a moot point, I'll resign from it to focus all non-schoolwork time to the completion and publishing of this story. I'm not sure exactly how many more chapters you can expect out of me, but you're correct. If I don't purposefully rush things, we could be here for quite a bit longer, and I don't want to leave you readers, nor myself, on any kind of cliffhanger as I disappear of the face of the earth for two years. That would be cruel and unusual, wouldn't it?
Anyways, check back either sometime late tomorrow at the earliest or early Monday at the latest, and with any luck, I'll have the next chapter out. And, if you want the fundraiser to be a success, tell your friends about the story! Even if they end up not donating, perhaps they'll enjoy the product itself.
2235273 I would say, HOLY SHIT. I'm so glad you were just holding out on us poor readers and not quitting
.
So, your making this into a book ehh? Damn, I can't wait to buy it XD seriously I'm always looking for more content on my shelf.
Now answer this truthfully, how long did it take you to write that?
Good luck with the whole book thing. I completely understand the college situation I'm just about to go to college myself. So happy you can find time to do something you enjoy in between the conflicts of life.
Heh I might donate, I would love to see this published.
Have a nice day, thanks for taking time to reply. Talk to you next time.
2236081
How long did it take to write what? The chapters, the response, the counter argument on morality?
Anyways, I've set the publishing drive up, and now for the next four hours or so I'm going to hammer out another chapter so we can get this on the road!
2240783 the response to my comment before the last one
the extremely long one about the book
2240839
Heh, only like five minutes, to be honest. It's pretty easy to write if I just sit down and do it. Plus, it'd been on my mind extensively for the past couple of days, and I needed someplace to spill it out.
2241361 your story comments, feel free to puke all over it
Quick question, since this involves the main 6 (mane 6???) shouldn't it have their picture
2241824
Sorry, I'm probably just having trouble because I'm tired, do you mean the book cover, the publishing drive logo, etc. should have their pictures? Or, wait, do you mean FimFiction's little "the ponies in the story" buttons? Because, sadly, they only allow 5 now.
Forgive me if someone else posted this thought before me.
a possible name for the new dragon? Alduin
Im sorry, but I love that game, and the merge created (in my mind, at least) the image of a purple and green Alduin
Huh, kinda expected Spike's merge to be that simple. I mean, we already knew Spike wanted wings and Thorn probably wanted a voice.