The Bridge Between Worlds

by Artemis Orion

Chapter 19: Blissful Night

Musical Suggestion: Stars - Vafrous Coyote
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Blissful Night

The moon began its daily rise, beginning to shed its luminescent rays onto the undisturbed Sky Desert.

Twilight Sparkle came to a slow halt. The rest of the Mane Six followed suit, tired from the days travel.

"Alright... it's getting late, we should stop for the night." Twilight spoke between deep breaths.

"Phew!" Applejack wiped away beads of sweat from her forehead. "Gotta admit though, that felt like quite a distance!"

"How could you tell, my dear? There's barely been a change in the scenery." Rarity proceeded to retrieve the supplies from the Caravan. "How far have we gone, Twilight?"

Twilight batted off a small piece of cloud from the everlasting platform. It was just big enough to see through. She peered through the gap, lifting her head every once in a while to cross check it with her map.

"We've actually covered quite a bit of ground." The lavender hue of magic rolled the map back into its original form. "A few more days, and we should have found this 'Lost' Civilization!"

Having been stuck in the purple Air Balloon basket for hours, I desperately needed to get out and stretch. After I tossed a few sleeping bags and tents over to Rarity's magical grasp, I climbed out of the confined space of the Air Balloon. I did it ever so slowly, to prevent the muscle aches and pains from returning.

My feet touched down onto the soft, harmless clouds for the second time, the effects of cloudwalking ever-present.

"Sorry for being useless this entire time, girls." I said sincerely. They had technically pulled me along the entire time.

"Oh it's no big deal, Keith." Fluttershy thrust a sleeping bag into my arms.

I watched in expected amazement as Pinkie Pie set up a campfire on top of a moulded cloud stand which she somehow managed to make in the pass few seconds. Even though I have seen such things before, it never ceased to amaze me. I felt my face turn into a longing expression to help.

"But you can still help set up camp." Fluttershy noticed it. "But don't strain yourself. You could-"

"It's alright, Fluttershy I'm fine!" Reassuringly, I stroked the side of her neck. I then stood up, determined to do anything, as long as it meant making myself useful.

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We sat in a circle around the campfire Pinkie Pie made. The clouds were not only platforms, but they were softer than any bed on Earth. We still had set up tents around the area and had sleeping bags anyway.

The seven of us lay there, talking. Just talking about life, how things have been in Ponyville, and some events that were not mentioned or seen on the Television. After much discussion, we realized that the events broadcasted on Earth, though still unexplainable, had quite a bit of a time lapse between when it actually happened in Equestria. Although it did somehow vary at times. We decided to leave the fourth wall at that, no longer to attempting to explain or break it. With the exception of Pinkie Pie.

After dinner, we turned our backs to the ground, and gazed at the stars. Twilight spoke of everything she knew in astronomy, and of constellations. And although I wasn't really paying attention, it was nice to see her, and the rest of the Mane Six, content in spending time like this together. As friends.

A sudden urge took over me. It was one of curiousity, and it involved the strange blue potion that Zecora had given to me.

It wouldn't hurt to try it...

I got up and strode to my tent. I returned a moment a later with my backpack, my hand fumbling for the glass container.

I got a hold of it and pulled it out, showing all of the Mane Six what is was.

"Where'd you get that, Keith?"

"Zecora handed it to me just as we were about to leave."

"What is it?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure either. She said something about being able to 'see' magic." I rotated the bottle in my grip. The sludgy blue liquid moved the appropriate manner.

"I've heard of those!" Twilight went into nerd mode once more. "Those potions are quite hard to come by, let alone make!" But her expression changed from excitement to worry. "...But, uh..."

"Something wrong with it?" I inquired. I wasn't prepared to consume anything that would kill me. Not at this stage.

"It's just that... well, that potion has only ever been used on ponies." She began, "Certain Potions and Elixirs may have a different effects on Humans. This one especially since... you know... Humans don't really have magic."

"We don't have magic, but we have Auras." I popped the cork of the container. "Let's try it out shall we?"

Without waiting for a reply, I brought the potion to my mouth, taking a small mouthful of the potion in caution. I put it back down.

"Huh... blueberry." I wiped the remnants from my mouth.

"Feel anything?"

"Nope. Not ye-" The statement soon became false.

Within a few seconds, my vision began to blur. It wasn't the type of blurriness that meant knocking out. It felt like quite the opposite. I felt something in my brain kick into a drive I never sensed existed. It felt like a strange overdrive.

Or there's always a possibility I was just high. I couldn't tell, because I've never been high before either.

After the initial state of confusion, my vision flashed into a different state. I felt my jaw drop as the Mane Six was replaced by silhouettes. Colourful silhouettes.

"Uh... Keith? Ya alright there, cowboy?" Applejack's voice was still loud and clear, but an orange mix of smoke and mist had replaced where her body should have been. It took the shape of each pony, and the colour which each pony represented in harmony. The smoke never faded, and was contained in the physical being of each pony.

I blinked multiple times, but the effect wasn't that temporary. I looked at the rest of the surroundings. The clouds, stars and night sky were a faded tinge of dark blue, even though it was in the night.

I looked down at my hands, and noticed that a white vapour was what replaced my limbs. My next thought was the only thing that I found reference to in a situation like this, because it felt so similar.

HOLY CRAP! I HAVE EAGLE VISION!!

"That white mist your looking at inside you is me by the way."

Thanks for telling me, Captain Obvious.

I surveyed everything else. Anything that contained a life force or magic could be seen through my eyes. But the effect soon faded as well. My sight returned to normal in another flash. The physical forms of the ponies could be seen once again, along with everything else.

I realized I was smiling crazily without knowing. Everypony looked at me in the same way. My mind suddenly went from hyper back to normal. It even made me tired.

"Aww, it's gone." I blinked several more times, ensuring the results.

"The potion isn't meant to last very long, but one symptom is that your entire eyeball pupil and iris turns totally blue while under effect. That's exactly what we saw." Twilight explained.

"You may not have noticed this, dearie, but the silhouettes of Unicorns are slightly denser than those compared to Pegasi and Earth Ponies. Obviously from the fact that Unicorns can control magic." Rarity tossed her mane back while she spoke.

"Well, this is cool and all, but I'm going to sleep. My nap schedule is totally messed up from this trip!" Rainbow Dash pulled a cloud aside and threw herself onto it, assuming a sleeping position. She went was out like a light.

"Well Ah'm not sure 'bout you folks, but I'm hittin' the hay too. We got a looong way ahead of us!" Applejack yawned and retreated to her tent.

"We all definitely need our beauty sleep! Goodnight, darlings!" Rarity trotted away to her tent.

This left Twilight, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie around the campfire with me.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm sleeping under the stars!" Twilight levitated a sleeping bag to a slight curvature in the cloud's platforms.

Pinkie Pie wished everyone a quick goodnight before pulling a pink nightcap out of nowhere and jumping back into the Air Balloon basket. This left me and Fluttershy left at the campfire.

We didn't speak for a few moments. But Fluttershy suddenly spoke up...

"I... There's nothing between me and Big Mac anymore, Keith." The yellow pegasus' mane covered her face once more, but there was sadness in her voice.

"W-Why?" This news upset me a little. I didn't like to see Fluttershy sad, but I never expected relationships not to work out like that.

"It's... nothing..." Fluttershy got up, and clopped back to her tent. Her head drooping, she said one final quiet...

"Goodnight..." She then disappeared to the confines of her sleeping space.

I was left there to wonder what she had meant. It troubled me, but maybe I was too quick to assume from the start.

Maybe I'll ask her friends tomorrow...

I shook my head in slight frustration, and picked up my backpack and sleeping bag. I had decided to camp out under the stars as well that night.

Moving further away from the firelight, I formed my own little slope in from the clouds, and lay down there, the moonlight still as bright as any Sun's.

"Oh hi, Keith! Camping out as well?" I hadn't noticed Twilight a few meters away.

"Yeah..." I drew in closer to the lavender unicorn. Now was a better time to ask than any. "Can I ask you something? It's about Fluttershy."

"It's about Big Macintosh isn't it?"

"Uh... yes... you knew then?" It took me by surprise. Maybe I was out of date in news.

"We all do. But she doesn't know that yet." Twilight continued, "You just got here, so I wouldn't expect you to fully understand. It was a 'Spring Fling' sort of thing, y'know? It started out a couple months ago, but... well let's just say, feelings change overtime. More drastically so, since preparations."

"What do you mean? Do I have something to do with this?"

"No! Not at all! It's just that when you arrived, Fluttershy and Big Mac weren't really hitting it off like they used to. Why do you think we hardly see the two in one place nowadays"

I thought back when I saw Fluttershy flying away from Sweet Apple Acres. The doubts began to kick in.

Could I have seen it wrongly?

"I'm not sure what's been going on more recently because of this trip, but I'm a little worried about her." Twilight turned to face me, she was serious now.

"Keith, you know how Fluttershy is almost always quiet?"

"Yes..."

"It's been part of her nature since she was young, she can't help it. But she still sees the need to make friends. The need to be cared for. The need to be... well... loved."

"How is she not loved? She has you girls?"

"Not in that way, Keith. She hasn't seen her family in so long. She has tried to find other ways to fill that gap. But the truth is, she's just a little lonely, Keith. And even though we're her friends, it's a little hard trying to get closer to her."

I took in what Twilight said. I never thought that such a quiet pegasus would turn out to be like that, but it explained a few things. It also explained the need for her to constantly care for animals. Was she trying to fill a gap in her heart all this time?

"Thanks for telling me, Twilight... I'll sleep on it..." without waiting for her response, I moved away, back into my own privacy. Laying down once more, I needed something to get my mind off the subject.

I withdrew the Book of Thieves from my backpack. Flipping to the section that read 'Humans'. I read through more of the parts I had missed.

They are an intriguing race. They speak as we do, and are quite peaceful. They seemed to guard a certain something. Something that was of utmost importance to them, and it is now our objective to find out what.They only referred to it as 'The Medallion'. But other than that, they would not speak of it...

I continued to read. I figured the more I knew on them, the better. The book told of their culture and traditions. They seemed to have evolved very similarly to those of men in medieval ages.

Before long, I felt the waves of sleep take over. I pulled my hoodie over my eyes once more. I removed troubled thoughts from my mind, realizing how exhausted I was. I shut my eyes, letting sleep bring me slowly into a blissful night's rest.

Comments

[Artemis Orion]

Happy Chinese New Year everyone! (Just so you know, it's actually spelt 'Gong Xi Fa Chai'. Just sayin')

I tried my best at describing what I thought felt best for the Potion of Truesight, but then I realized how similar it was to Assassins Creed's. So I thought what the hey, let's have that reference!

I say again, there is no FluttershyxKeith. I wouldn't think of it, and frankly I find ponyxhuman stuff a little weird. Expect a little MLD type of relationship though.

I don't own AC or Eagle Vision. I don't own MLP: FiM, and Fluttershy is still best pony. Goodnight!

Artemis Orion

[Mard93]

Good chapter and I called it with the potion, I knew you were either going with eagle vision or clerevoyance in skyrim

[Phoenixfire92]

Even if Keith will have more of a MLD relationship with Fluttershy...maybe he plays match maker for her. Can't have my favorite pony lonely

[Azzazel]

Yes Artemis we realize you will ship her with Keith , might as well put in that romance tag now since you've been found out LOL!

[Artemis Orion]

155640
Oh, you funny commenters, always assuming things! Maybe you haven't read that part in my previous comment above.
So i'll tell you here and now, i'm not shipping humans with ponies in this story. Pinkie Promise!
Now friendshipping on the other hand...

[Fragment12]

Silly author that's a funny way to spell rainbow dash

[Happy Thoughts]

EXCELLENT story! MOAR!!!!! please :)

[ArtyTheReader]

Fluttershy is best pony! I look forward to more~

[Primordial Deomontus]

epic