> An Unexpected Guest
>  by PropsValroa
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter I
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Blu sighed as he looked around the small house, when the realtor said that the place was a fixer-upper... well, barely standing would likely have been a better description.

Still, it was watertight, mostly, it would do until winter at least, but he hoped by then to have moved on, Fillydelphia wasn't quite far enough away from Princess Sparkle for his comfort.

The house was mostly empty, he didn't own much beyond the clothes on his back, the briefcase in his grasp, and the food that Spike had sent ahead for him. The layout was fairly basic, a combination kitchen sitting area was the first room through the front door, down a small hallway was a bathroom and a single bedroom. He was almost glad that his crush had declined to leave with him, they would have had to be very close to share the space.

He set the briefcase down on the bed before heading for the bathroom, he prayed to whatever deity this world recognized that it at least had a working water heater.

Cali had entered in the town, wearing a cloak. She occasionally got looks from other ponies and didn't interact with much else. She sent a while casing stores for a robbery or a break-in. Lamenting mentally on the fact this place had some good robbery potential. She walked by his fixer-upper house, mistaking it for an abandoned house. She would flee to that one after her robbery this night. 

She ducked around a corner when nobody else was looking and her cloak was taken off. She smirked a bit as she brought out some sort of paint brush and painted over her 'cutie' mark, painting over it to form some sort of mirror with a light reflecting off it, to hide her real cutie mark, that being of a lock and a key. 

She went to go get something to eat, paying for it with stolen money, but the pony she ordered from wouldn't know. She ate up and later that night, she was back in her cloak and outside one of the stores.

The store was some sort of jewelry store, there were no guards. She silent lasered out a side of the wall, the section of the wall quietly being lifted up onto the roof with red magic. She  went on her way in and immediately stole everything not tied down, it going into a red portal. Even the desks, chairs were taken. An alarm sounds and she flared up her horn and an electrical spark shot at a piece of wood in the room starting a flame. By the time she was gone, the place was on fire.

Other ponies had arrived on the scene but she was long gone by then. Nobody suspected her of that. She then saw Blu's house, once again mistaking it for an abandoned house and snuck in through the door in the back that he had left unlocked. Her red eyes scanned the house, she smirked.

"The deed is done..." she whispered to herself.

A number of things went through Blu's mind when he heard some strange pony in his house, a few of them were how he could make a scene, how he could defend himself against a home invader. But given what he had seen in this world this intruder was more than likely some drunk who had wandered into the wrong house, or...

He quietly sighed as he got out of bed, the voice had come from the hallway, he cursed his laziness for not locking the door, not that the doors were that sturdy to begin with, and prepared for the possibility that this intruder would take a bit of convincing to leave. He prepared a small construct, a simple ranged stun charm he held in the gloves he carried everywhere (similar to a low powered taser or a strong static shock) and opened the door to confront the surprise guest. "And what deed might that be?"

Cali immediately heard his voice call out to him there. It took her a few seconds to fully recognize that he was, indeed standing there, and that this house was not abandoned. A few ideas ran through her head. Should she run? Maybe. Should she stay and find out who this pony is? Sure, why not. If anything goes wrong she could just leave the town and never be spotted here again.

It took her a second or 2 to compose herself before her red, and also glowing eyes said "The deed of all times, and the deed of that of which you'll never know of or understand. But that doesn't matter, does it? The deed can be whatever you wanted it to be. And besides, who are you? I thought this place was abandoned." her eyes rolled. She had a weird accent. 

Blu was a bit put off by the glowing eyes, they weren't typically a good sign in his experience, and so wasted no more time in turning on the light. The bare bulb wouldn't provide much illumination, but it was better than nothing. "What, is it poetry night? I didn't bring my snapping gloves. And well, this house is recently not abandoned, as it is my house now. Which begs the question of what you're doing here? Not many savory types go looking for abandoned houses."

He was getting wary, and wished he had turned up the power in his construct, she'd probably be able to take a few hits as it were.

Her pupils shrunk somewhat. She had a deep blue coat, and a sort of brown-esque mane. Black framed glasses that were sort of strange. The light reflected strangely through the lenses. Her cutie mark appeared to be something of a light reflecting off a mirror, however something was off about that cutie mark. He couldn't tell what though. She narrowed her eyes at him as if slightly irritated but that faded quite quickly as she kept it in.

"What I'm doing here is well, let's just say I was passing through the area and I needed a place to crash for a little while. Snapping gloves, what you mean by that?" she slyly strayed over to the light switch and put her hoof near it. Her hoof having a red glow around it as she got closer and seemed to sense where the wire was, dragging her hoof along where the wire would be behind the wall.

Blu wasn't reassured any, if anything he was a bit off put at how similar they looked, sure the colors weren't exact, but they were closer than most other ponies were. Plus she wore glasses like he did, which was a certain rarity in a world where magic eye surgery was easily attained.

"I suggest then..." he sighed, "You're going to turn off the lights and jump me if I tell you to leave aren't you?" He stepped back into the bedroom doorway so she could pass, gesturing to the living room with a hoof, "Go ahead and help yourself to whatever's in the living room. As long as you don't disturb me I'll try and forget you were here."

Cali rose an eyebrow at that. She had expected for exactly that to happen but she smiled slightly and went over to the couch and sat down on the cushions looking over to him. "What's your name? My name is Cali." she said much calmer than before. Her eyes blinked calmly. She seemed well aware of her surroundings. "Quite curious why you'd want a place like this..." she noted its status of disrepair. 

She was an odd one, that was for sure, "Blu, no e. And I don't want a place like this but it's what I can afford. Being a ward of the state doesn't pay much when your career funnels all the state money into 'investments in your future' or more accurately just buying more books that she won't let me read."

He shook off the dark mood that was creeping up on him, "Still, I know of a number of cheap places to pass a night in the near area, why not stay there? You certainly don't smell like one who couldn't afford it."

Cali seemed to grow irritated with the talk of 'state' and the talk of how he was payed certain things. She huffed. "They talk a lot about friendship and all those lies yet they leave ponies like you and many others in the dust and forget about them. Our 'beloved' Celestia...presides over the suffering of thousands and to think she even deserves a single iota of admiration...hah! They will all fall some day, I tell ya..."  she rolled her eyes though it wasn't directed at him. Merely just her frustrations with what he said and what he was experiencing.


"I am no ordinary pony, I am the eleme-" she cut herself off there and then continued "I am very against our...Princess Twilight as well. She lived the privileged life, saved the world from all these threats but yet she can't even campaign for something so simple, that everybody suffers from. I would love that position for myself.." she admitted, rambling on a little bit. It's clear she wasn't like any of the other ponies for sure. 

Blu rolled his eyes, "Tell me about it! I was all set to get adopted by this wonderful family, the same family that saved my life, but Princess Sparkle had to meddle with the process." He sighed, "Now, she's not a bad pony, totally unfit to rule of course, but a good sort... usually."

He adopted a relaxed posture in the doorway, a bit of a curious look on his face, "But you say something interesting... you hate the princesses yet desire their position? frankly there's a better way, no one can hate you if they don't even know you exist. You don't want to be a princess, you want to be an advisor. More often than not you're the one writing the laws, they just sign them. On the off chance it goes wrong the ponies go for the princess, and the princess has no idea who wrote it, and would never admit to not writing it herself." He chuckled, "more than a few times I switched out Princess Sparkle's proposals for better ones, set up my escape and got her to sign my emancipation all without her knowledge. Now..."

His gaze grew more direct, "You said you were an element? An element of what exactly?"

Blu carried himself like a full grown stallion, but it was clear he was barely of age, at least physically, his eyes betrayed a much more mature intelligence.

Cali listened intently. She was a little impressed by his words. Finally someone who isn't like the others. Someone who has brains. "Finally someone who isn't brainwashed by the stupid sort! Such concepts may be morally good..." she stepped off of the couch and put one hoof on the table triumphantly. "But they are simply not practical." she says in a bit more of a direct tone.

She then pulled an element necklace. One much like the elements of harmony but....different...

"I'll let you guess, and when you guess right...I'll tell you a little more maybe..." she grinned with a sly smirk. One that wasn't too trustworthy. 

Blu took a more direct interest in the necklace, "Well, by imagery alone I'd have to say it serves as an antithesis to the elements of harmony, by the diamond, representing generosity, I'd assume it is the opposite, perhaps selfishness? If we are to say that the opposite is not inherently evil you could say that the opposite of generosity is self care, but to be honest you don't look like the element of self-care."

He turned his attention back to Cali, "So, is it selfishness? Hoarding? Simple Greed? Avarice? I assume something of the sort?" 

Inwardly he thought of the implications, If there is such a thing, would the antithesis of Magic be Science? Might I in fact be the very undoing of Princess Sparkle?

Cali simply relaxed back down onto the couch with a bit of a slow chuckle. She smirked widely and was impressed by his deduction there. "Greed."  she simply said before putting the necklace away. "Whether you like it or not we all have our desires as conscious beings...ponies like Twilight and all the rest like to hide them, pretend like they don't exist when Greed is one of our base instincts...when you have nothing left to lose, you have so much to gain..." she said to him. 

"Of the elements of disharmony, I am the element of Greed. There are other elements out there...I am sure of it but they haven't came around and shown their face just yet." Cali added in response to that. 

Blu snorted, "That may be true, but that hardly means one should relish in it. I've seen creatures so twisted by greed they become monsters, slave owners, abusers, so gluttonous for power they'd do anything to get it. The problem with greed is that you're never satisfied, never happy, always hungry."

He laughed briefly at that, "They don't exactly sound like the sort that would get along, sounds rather discordant in fact. Still," he focused his gaze again, "Embodying greed as you do, I'm surprised you had to find some abandoned house. Can't you afford some nice hideaway? With enough money you could simply bribe the guard away, turn their own greed against them."

Cali shrugged. "I could easily do so much things but that would take the pleasure out of life. I can do so much, so quick but the real pleasure is the challenge and learning from the mistakes I have made." she said thinking rather highly of herself for saying that. "If it is true that I embody the element of Greed...that the elements of disharmony are real it means they would be separate rather than as one unified as force as that'd be...harmonious." she said thinking.

"If you've ever heard of Stratusburg, I found the fabled golden door somewhere around in that area. I found this...element of disharmony in there. Calling me so to speak, but whether it is the real thing or not, I'll never know." Cali says to him. She seemed a rather matter of fact despite having a high sense of ego, as it seemed.

Now that's something interesting.

"Stratusburg? I think Princess Sparkle may have mentioned it at some point, but I can't say I'be seen it myself. Given the name I assume it's a cloud city? This door you found would have to either be beneath the city, or you have impressive magical endurance. I wonder though if it is not just some cursed artifact you've found, have you ever had it inspected? Checked for curses or dark magics?"

She nodded. "I don't know who made it but it is a storage of lots of spell books, potions and the such. I have learned many...spells from that place in my time of being there. I never told anyone else of exactly where it is, and even if you did, you wouldn't find it." she smirked widely with a sly grin.

"It is on the ground around the area but, you mention that false princess Twilight a lot...you know her personally?" 

Blu looked intrigued, "Something special about finding it then? Some sort of spell, incantation, or planetary alignment in order to find the door? Perhaps we could have some sort of arrangement later."

He snorted, "She's no less legitimate than the rest, but yes. I was, until recently, her ward. She'll tell you she adopted me out of the goodness of her heart, but she took me away from a family that would have loved me, and then couldn't be bothered to even get to know me. Which is why I left, I wouldn't be surprised if she hasn't even noticed my absence yet."

Cali shrugged absently. "I'm afraid how I exactly found it was unknown. It just came to me. I just knew where it was one day." she comments and listens to him more. She was definitely surprised by his answer. "Seems like she puts her own interests over that of others even if they don't wish it. What do you know about her, what can be used against her? I want to take her down. And while I definitely have the power to do so, I want to see what happens." she says quite confidently, perhaps too confidently. 

Blu raised an eyebrow in intrigue, "Tell you what, you bring me to this golden door, no tricks, and not only will I tell you what I know I'll personally assist you in getting close enough to do some real damage." He floated a glove over, it was the sort of glove that a griffon or Minotaur might wear, made of a dark colored cloth that might be leather. He extended it like a griffon would for a hoof shake, "What do you think? Do we have a deal?"

She smirked and stepped forward. Her horn lit up a brilliant red, forming another glove out of translucent red energy which shook the other glove. "And if I am to uphold my part of the deal...I am hoping you do not use it against me. And besides the contents of the golden door are nothing you are probably expecting. It's an ancient hall of records from sorcerers and legendary beings...even legends from when the fabled Starswirl was young!" Cali exclaimed with pure greed in her wording.

"Prepare for the journey of your life-time. I already had a chance from the start, but its not fun if you take it the easy rout. It has to be hard...and challenging, or else you don't better yourself. Twilight will fall before our hooves and I will place her wings on my own back." she grinned very menacingly, not really directed at him. More of just a subconscious thing probably.

An ancient hall of records... I'll finally be able to study the old magics that my constructs are based on. I'll finally unlock their true potential.

Or I would... if she were here to join me.

His crush would not likely be too fond of him trying to overthrow Princess Sparkle, but that would be a problem for another day. He'd have to see what this archive contained first.

Blu nodded at the culmination of their agreement, "I wouldn't have it any other way. Should we set off immediately? Or is a good night's rest in order?"

Cali yawned slightly. "It is best for us to sleep. Plan...get our minds rested for the morning when we head out." she said as she got off the couch and walked quietly, looking for a bedroom. "I'm not sleeping on a couch. I want a comfy bed." she said, seeming a bit demanding in saying that so.  

Blu chuckled at that, "If you manage to find one, let me know. I'm pretty sure the floor's better than that squeaky mattress this place came with, but if you want it it's all yours."

He'd proceed her in entering the bedroom, quickly grabbing his briefcase before allowing her to enter, "Sleep well then, we'll talk more in the morning."

He would take the couch that Cali had vacated unless she changed her mind about the bed, in either case he would sleep with his head on his briefcase.
> Chapter II
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Cali was a little confused about him taking the briefcase before realizing he probably had something important in it. Oh well. There is larger fish to fry in this world. She took the matress, detesting it and sleeping with her head rested on her front legs and hooves. She passed out, today's magic exertion made her a little tired. The mattress squeaked annoyingly throughout the night. He could hear it too, but she fell asleep eventually and slept deeply. She wouldn't be the first one to get up, that was for sure.

His sleep wasn't the best, first night in a new house and all that, plus the house had a bit of a draft and didn't hold warmth well. In all, it was still better than Princess Sparkle's crystal palace. Crystal beds leached heat like nothing else, especially in the winter.

Still, nothing a copious quantity of caffeine wouldn't cure, which was something he was looking forward to trying now that the Princess wasn't dictating his diet. He set about making breakfast from the food Spike had sent ahead for him, he honestly didn't know how to use most of it, but he was able to cobble together something resembling breakfast by the time Cali would wake up.

Cali didn't have the best sleep but, she was no stranger to that. After all, her mind was rested after the events of yesterday. It was a bit cold but, it could have been worse. She hated that mattress though. She isn't going to want to sleep there again. She stirred awake and yawned and slowly got off the mattress and stretched. When she walked into the kitchen where he was cooking, she looked to see what Blu was cooking. And if she would approve of it. 

Blu looked over at Cali when she came it, he was cooking what looked like pancakes, they smelled decent enough quality. Cali might notice that rather than grabbing the pan and spatula directly with his magic Blu was holding a pair of gloves with which he operated the pan and spatula.

He turned his attention back to the food he was cooking, "Good morning, you want some?"

Cali looked at his cooking in a slightly disapproving manner before shrugging. "Sure." is all she said. She took in the smell of the food. It's been a while since she's smelled something like that. As she waited for him to give her some of the pancakes she thought about a plan to how to get to the Golden door. She knew the site well enough within her mind. She was still somewhat tired but shrugged it off.

About fifteen minutes later Blu would come over to where Cali was waiting, a pair of plates with a short stack of pancakes on each held in the grip of his gloves. He held out one of the plates to Cali as he motioned to the kitchen, "If you want something on them other than maple syrup, you're free to whatever you can find in there."

If Cali went looking she wouldn't find much other than butter and peanut butter.

Blu would start eating, operating a fork with his glove, without waiting for Cali.

Cali nodded silently and just ate up at the table. She wasn't that much of a small talker. She was also surprised this random pony apparently knew of Twilight and was accepting of her the way he was. Perhaps something she'll look into later on. Outside they heard some commotion. It looks like the police were looking around the town for something, or someone. Cali ignored it.

Blu on the other hoof was less calm about the commotion outside, "Shoot, she must have gotten the ticket salespony to talk. I know Spike wouldn't rat me out or they'd be here already."

He set his plate down and held his gloves as a pair of circles, with a flash of magic the circles started to glow, he held one up to his eye and held the other up to a gap in the blinds. The magic he cast would let him see through the circle he held up to the window, he was looking to see if the guards were near and how they were looking around while not showing his face.

"If they come looking for me, you saw me leaving town by boat."

He saw 2 local police stallions in their normal attire. One was a Unicorn, the other was an Earth pony. They were going door to door questioning ponies where they were last night. Blu's house was up next for questioning. 

"If you say that then we better hide or would you want me to answer for them? Talking to them could give insight as to what is going on. You can hide upstairs." Cali replied to him. The 2 police moved to Blu's front door. The Earth pony knocked.

"Hello? Anyone home? If anyone's home we have a few questions we would like answered." he said in a very police like voice. "It'll only take a few moments, an incident happened last night further in town. We are looking for answers." 

Blu shook his head, "You think I could afford a second floor? No, Princess Sparkle wouldn't send the local guard after me, I'll answer."

He stowed his gloves away, took off his glasses, and stood where they wouldn't be able to see his mark, he made sure the door chain was affixed before opening the door to peer out at the guards, "Can't say I saw anything officers, I was here moving in all last night. I haven't even seen the town center myself yet."

Cali stayed hidden but ready to fight just in case. She listened in on the conversation intently, though.

"Ah. I see." said the Earth pony.

"The local jewelry store was burnt down. Nobody saw anything and no answers had come up yet. Strangely enough, everything in the store was gone. All that was left was burnt remains. It had to have been a pretty big blaze." the unicorn said, his eyes looking into Blu's house as if suspicious of him.

"But don't you think that's a suspicious story? I was moving in on the night something happened? Pfft." the Earth pony rolled his eyes.

"No need to be rude, Edler. Ponies come and go all the time." 

Blu didn't look amused, "I don't much appreciate being accused without evidence. Now, I've already told you I don't know anything, didn't see anything. If that is all, I intend to finish my breakfast before it gets cold."

Blu would of course wait for the officers to leave before closing the door, he knew better than to antagonize the law. He was relieved that they didn't seem to recognize him, then again, Princess Sparkle hadn't exactly been very public about him before.

The Earth pony one was a little angered by that statement but the other one seemed to shut him up before he did anything out of line. 

"I apologize for the...out of line conduct of my trainee here. He has much to learn. Anyways, is there anyone else here that we are unaware of? The governor has told all citizens and those within our city that all needs to be questioned." he stated calmly.

"...Doesn't he realize that such a perp that caused this likely left the city already? I mean, who burns down a building and leaves no trace, only to stay in the residential areas of this place? They probably high tailed it out of here before anyone realized. Governor Dumpf really is a failure. What a joke." he seemed like the type to be out of line, yet rational.

"As much as I am inclined to agree with you, our orders are orders, and besides, who are we to question them? Anything is a possibility. If nothing is found here the governor requested that a research team would be sent in from somewhere else to really research this event as nothing like it has ever happened here." he looked to Blu, hushing up his trainee and waiting patiently for an answer.

Cali didn't make a noise.

Blu snorted and rolled his eyes, "I'd be hard pressed to fit another pony in this place, but no. My marefriend didn't want to make the move up with me, so I'm by myself at the moment." He thought for a moment, "You know, if I were you, I'd post a survey with a small reward for information, that does seem to get information a bit easier than going door to door. Sure you might get some false reports, but you're more likely to get something if ponies volunteer it than in these porchstep interrogations."

The lead pony nodded. "I actually suggested something like that to my superiors. Waiting on my report. Good day, sir." the 2 of them walked off with the trainee giving a weird look to Blu as they walked away, presumably to question other residents.

Cali then looked to Blu. "Typical cops. Using inefficient strategies while acting like they own the place. No wonder why nobody likes them." she stated with a scowl.

Blu sighed as he closed the door before quickly putting his glasses back on and setting his mane straight, "I'm surprised they didn't scan the house, would've told them real quick how many ponies were inside, but I think they need a warrant for that."

He returned to his cooling pancakes, "Now, when are we headed out? I don't want to be here if they make a second pass or if Princess Sparkle does come looking for me."

Cali stood at the door. "Why not, right now? Get what you need and we'll go before this place gets dicey."  Cali said and waited for him at the door. She wanted to get going just in case more police would come by or something of that sort. She wanted to get out of here. Oddly enough, she waited quite patiently. 

Blu was quick to finish off his food before heading to the bedroom, he came out garbed in the same outfit that he had entered the city in, a long coat that did well in the rain the area was known for, and his briefcase tucked into one side of a pair of generic saddle bags. He motioned towards the back door, "Probably best if we didn't go out where they or the neighbors might see us. They'd be right suspicious if they saw someone other than me leaving."

Cali simply laughed at that. "Oh, they won't see anyone other than you alright..." she said in an almost show-offy voice. Then suddenly in a red flash, her body turned into mist and assumed the form of a pendant that floated towards him,  and went around his neck. "I am capable of turning into most things I see." Cali said in a rather arrogant voice, proud of herself for that 'simple' task.

Blu was quite surprised by the mare's transformation, and shuddered when she set herself around his neck, "I'd... um, appreciate it if you had warned me first. I don't much like being touched, and this is weird."

Nonetheless he would still proceed out the back door to travel by way of the wilderness around the city. He was headed in the general direction of the train station, "So... which way should we be headed?" He looked around to see if anyone was watching him, it would certainly look suspicious to be seen talking to himself.

Cali thought for a minute. "If my memory is correct, we should be heading towards the north-east." Cali had said to him. "You know fun fact, I was the one that robbed that place in town that the police were talking of." Cali spoke proudly, once nobody was around the place. "It'd be better for us to fly there."

Blu snorted as he turned his course towards the direction she indicated, "I thought as much, greed plus looking for an abandoned house to lay low in. You're lucky they didn't seem to be offering any sort of reward, not that they could offer me something more valuable than you're offering."

Blu scoffed, "Last I checked, neither of us had wings. Personally I don't intend to grow a pair, too much responsibility involved, so I wonder what you have in mind."

Cali scoffed at that. "Hah, you are now letting us see the real you. Everyone's out for themselves." she said as the pendant glowed. "Time for you to grow a pair, at least for a little while."  she says and he suddenly feels metal growing out from the pendant, over his back and a pair of metallic wings formed from the metal which widened. Carefully around his body, sort of forming 'holders' as the wings sprouted. "Ready to go? I see no reason for us to stick around here any longer." 

Blu stopped as the metal wings appeared, "Woah woah woah! I didn't agree to this. I'm not a pegasus, I wasn't meant to fly. I've got no desire to fly. I'm not flying especially when you could just drop me. I can't say I trust you that far."

"Too bad." is all Cali said as the wings flared and jolted off into the sky. He was held into place safely enough. But still the jolt of suddenly rising into the air at a great, un-natural pace was quite jarring. Cali spoke no words at all as she let him experience this. She didn't care how he felt, not at all. Maybe she wanted to scare him, maybe she wanted to impress him. He didn't know. Once at the height of the clouds the wings stopped and he was suddenly still, hundreds of feet above the ground before jutting off in a certain direction.
> Chapter III
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blu was shuddering in her grip, legs tight against his barrel and eyes shut tight. He would be fairly unresponsive for a good bit even after they reached the ground again.

He kept muttering to himself that it was happening again.

Cali stayed silent as they soared throughout the clouds. It was weird, turbulent as she flew. She flew rather oddly through the skies. After minutes, breaking the silence, "Enjoying the ride?"

Blu appeared to have started hyperventilating, likely caused partly by the reduced oxygen at the higher altitudes, the other half by his ongoing panic.

"Nonononononononononononononononononononononononononononononono!"

Cali simply laughed before diving down, lower to the ground to allow him to be at ease, or so she thought. "Come on! I know you enjoy it!" she mocked evily. "Hahaha...all you ponies are so weak, when I am the best there is! Oh wait, I'm a pony too!"

Blu's breathing got a bit deeper but progressively more ragged once they were lower. If this kept up he'd likely pass out soon.

He vigorously shook his head, "Nonononononononononono!"

He tensed up before daring to open his eyes for a bit, before shutting them tightly again, "Nononononononono!"

Cali realized that he wasn't fairing too well and landed him down in the middle of some grassland somewhere that he's never been to. "Okay fine, your no fun." she said, not having much concern for him, at least, from what he could tell. She actually did though, deep down.

Blu would get as close as he could to the ground as he could once they had landed, it would take him a bit to recover, "Get off me. I don't want to hurt you but if you don't get off me right now I'll try and pry you off."

Cali scoffed once more. "Hahahaha, thats impossible. But if you say so..." she mocked and the wings and pendant melted away into a red sparkling mist that simply floated infront of him in a cloud-like configuration. She just kept it in that form, content. 

He rose up on trembling legs as he continued to steady himself, there was a bit of steel in his eyes as he stared Cali down, "Princess Sparkle may have been a terrible carer, but she did teach me a few things about defence. Don't sell me short in that department, you aren't the first enemy she's had." He took a few more steadying breaths, "I think it would be best if we continued on hoof, I may not be an earth pony but I'm no stranger to long distances."

He looked around, "How far did we get exactly?"

"Not me, you. I don't see why you'd want to walk for DAYS, its a long time away. But hey, your precious energy and not mine." the cloud moved in a way that suggested a shrug like action. "Twilight's magical power doesn't admit to a hill of beans, but, I'll never under-estimate her. Shes a rich spoiled brat." Cali said with a spitting tone.

Blu simply sighed, "Let's get moving then, should I forage along the way or do you think we'll run into a village or two during our travels? I can't say I'm too familiar with this area, wherever we are."

Blu would follow Cali's lead as she floated, looking to get a good view of their surroundings before turning his attention back to Cali, "That cloud form of yours, does that not cost energy to maintain? All that transformation stuff you did back there plus flying, how do you have such a pool of energy to draw from? I'm not sure Princess Sparkle could have pulled off all of what you did in one go."

Cali floated along, leading the way through hills and fields. "When you get used to things for a long time, it becomes less than second nature. And besides, for all you know I could not even be a pony." she said as if hinting at something. "I'm used to shifting forms rapdily. Let's just say that, in other encounters I had to think quick and fast. Not getting into the details that." her tone changed a bit, clearly not wanting to talk about that. 

Blu thought for a moment, "You know, you remind me of Princess Sparkle's depictions of King Sombra, he too had a sort of smoke form like the one you use right now. I don't remember if it was something he learned or an innate ability he had." He shrugged, "I doubt she knew, or cared to know. She would never look into anything that Princess Celestia had forbidden."

He'd walk quietly for a bit before chuckling to himself, "Might not be a pony eh? Well, that may or may not make two of us."

The cloud swirled and sparkled in a sort of shrugging motion. It was more of a cloud of sparkles and electricity, if anything. "King Sombra is an interesting one, from what I have heard. I would definitely be into that...restricted section. I'll have you know that the Golden Door didn't have any of that, or so I noticed so far. And yes, you'll never know what I truly am." 

Blu shrugged, "Then I guess I won't share what I might be then either. Still, if you're not a pony, why pretend to be one? I mean, there's plenty of other creatures in the world, ones that are more powerful, more imposing, more attuned to greed. I guess I'm assuming you could be something other than a pony." 

Cali laughed incredibly deeply before answering, "Ponies are easily the most common accepted species of your world. I can be anything but, ponies themselves are all unique in their desires of this world. I've been to many worlds, I'll have you know. Maybe my story is all just a lie, maybe it's not. Thats up for you to believe in." Cali said slyly. "Free will is what greed is about, doing whatever you want, getting what you want, and not letting you be stopped by it."

She had thought back to other worlds she had went to, and other various things, but it was quite clear that she was out of this world in many aspects. 

Blu looked intrigued, "Well then, I hope one day you feel like sharing more about that then, it sounds like it would be quite illuminating to listen to. Though it does beg the question... if you've been to so many worlds, and I assume that means you have the ability to travel between them, why would you stay here when you despise Princess Sparkle so much? Wouldn't it be simpler to simply go to another world and leave her behind you? She seems, if I'm being honest, beneath you to be concerned with."

Cali scoffed a bit at that. "Going to other worlds is not so easy as one may think. It takes time, energy, and interest that I frankly don't have at the moment. As opposed to other realities where I was constantly under threat, and outclassed by my 'rivals' if you will...this one is safe in that regard." she floated along., leading him along.  The cloud floated rather calmly.

Blu nodded, "That does make sense, of the two that I know this one is much calmer. If I'm correct in guessing that moving to a new world is a somewhat blind jump it further would encourage you to stay in a safe world rather than risk jumping to a much more dangerous one. Still, that doesn't explain why you care so much about Princess Sparkle, do you have some history with her or something?"

"I suppose I can enlighten you on my true nature, as to what I am. Although I will keep some details vague. Twilight Sparkle...I pick and choose my enemies. I don't like the authority, generally. I am interested in what you talk about, of another world. But if I am to tell you, you will not tell anyone or anything of this." she said in a rather serious tone. Whatever happened in the past, she was very serious about it. The cloud began to shift form slowly over time and glowing brighter. She was changing into something, slowly.

Blu would watch intently as Cali started to transform, "Of course, I would hardly think to tell anyone, I hardly have anyone to tell anyway."

He briefly considered taking some sort of notes on the occurrence, but decided that would pose a risk of the info getting out, and what he needed to know about her he should be able to remember anyway.

The form shifted into a... helicopter of all sorts. It was a black helicopter. It was surely something he hasn't seen before, it's blades rotated un-naturally for sure. "This isn't it...haha, but if you know worlds, you would know what this is." Cali had stated to Blu, triumphantly.  She wanted to confuse him a little bit, maybe a lot.

Blu stopped and sighed deeply, "You sexually identify as an attack helicopter..." He looked back up at Cali with a tired expression, "Looks like you were in my world at some point then, or a world similar to it. Though I guess saying that does give me away a bit." He considered explaining, but he figured he'd see how she reacted before potentially giving away too much information.

The helicopter jerked rapidly before vanishing in a show of red mist. The cloud of mist seems more excited or jumpy. "W-WHAT?! HOWS IT POSSIBLE YOU KNOW WHAT THAT IS!?!" Cali shrieked in extreme surprise. That is the last response she expected. She expected him to be extremely surprised by that, but he wasn't! How was it possible? Her mind was going at an extremely fast rate and she had a hard time calming down.

Blu rolled his eyes with a bit of a smirk, "I mean, I pretty much told you but still. I'm sure you're smart enough to figure out how I know about that very old meme." To be honest he hadn't thought about helisexuals in a very long time, there wasn't exactly much here to remind him of that joke.

He pulled out one of his gloves, wiggling the fingers, "Why do you think I carry these around everywhere?"
> Chapter IV
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The cloud took a bit to resonate those thoughts within her head as it slowly began to assume a human form as she spoke. "...you know I was thinking about a backstory to hide all of this before but...there isn't a point now." she said. "I've been her for who knows how long and I've been able to mingle in with the population here, in my own way..." Cali said, her tone changing to seemingly more defeated but also one more down-to Earth.

The red cloud formed a human shape and in a flash, Cali was standing before him in her human form. Wearing white boots, a sort of skirt / short shorts, her hair was a mix of blonde and brown, her eyes a red-salmon color. 

Blu looked genuinely surprised, "I guess I should have expected something like that, but it just proves you've been to earth, or at least have a general idea of what a human is." He stowed his glove away before looking Cali over, "You look, what, early to mid twenties?" He shrugged, "I'd show you what I looked like, but I can't transform like you can. Been stuck like this since I got here."

Cali walked towards him, being human she was taller than he was. "Can't imagine what it'd be like to be stuck in that puny, pathetic equine form. But that is how the...ponies here live. I was born on Earth, maybe not exactly the Earth you were from, but I was born there. How I got here is a another story." she seemed un-nerved by the fact that he couldn't turn back to normal.

"I mean really, when you look at this world it's just so colorful, there's rarely anything interesting that goes on...it's just too cuddly if you know what I mean.' she said, her arms crossed in a rather un-amused way. She looked around her surroundings to make sure nobody or nothing was around. They could see some farms in the distance, they were in one of the un-used fields nearby to one, but it didn't seem like anyone else was about. 

Blu was, truthfully, relieved, "Hence you see why I want what the door has, maybe it's got something I can use. While magic is certainly a major plus being a pony does still have its drawbacks. Mostly because when I arrived, oh four or 5 years ago, my body was that much younger. I was twenty five when I left earth and got here stuck in the body of a fourteen year old... or equivalent as time and age don't seem to pass the same way they did back home."

He motioned out to the world, "Where you see cuddly, I see opportunity. There are a few ponies out there who aren't afraid to take advantage, to empower themselves, they make the mistake of going public, getting noticed. Still, sometimes it's the simple pleasures that bring the most joy. But those can wait until Princess Sparkle sees what I'm truly capable of."

Cali listened to what he spoke. She was very intrigued. "Well the first thing I want to know about you is, how did you arrive here? Was it by accident, or something of that sort?" she paced around him in a slow circular motion before placing her boot upon a nearby boulder before saying.

"Trust me, that Twilight Sparkle is not going to know what hit her. What you say about 'going public' is a mistake I have made far too many times." she rolled her sleeve up and there was a scar on her arm. "See that? That is what happens when you go 'public'. I learned from that mistake. It's been...4 years since then but still. Still did it after and I almost lost my life because of it." she seemed sort of pained as she show that scar but she felt like she had a point to make. "Those that did this to me are dead. Or so help me god they are." a bit of rage was in her eyes.

Blu shrugged, "Can't say I know exactly what happened, I was on my way to deliver... well it doesn't matter, and I got jumped by some goons. Next thing I knew I was in the middle of a dark forest, and a small blue unicorn. It wasn't as surprising as it could have been though, there were ponies on my earth, they had only started appearing... oh about 5 years before I got here, so I understood the basics on arrival, but this world is different from the one the ponies back home described."

He didn't comment on her second statement outside of, "Could we keep moving? This doesn't look like a good place to spend the night."

After a bit he would ask, "So, born on earth, as a human I presume, when did you become a sentient cloud?"

Cali was confused about his background there. She got off the rock and continued to walk, but soon just seemingly floating along in the air next to him, her body weirdly going where her mind wanted. "Sentient cloud, that's just my energy form...this energy is merged with my conscious form. I just simply will myself into certain forms. Some are easier than some." she kept floating as she talked.

"Ponies appearing on your Earth? Must not be mine then. I have a deal-breaker question...one that tells where you are truly from. Pardon the strangeness of this question. Is Texas a nation stretching from the gulf sea to the pacific ocean on your world?" she asked with a weird sort of glare. 

Blu looked curious, "Texas? Last I heard Texas was just a state, didn't even cover half of the gulf. But things may have changed since I left. Things were getting rather hectic with the discovery of a new set of sentient creatures and the whole existence of magic and all that." An idea struck him with a smile, "There was a Sombra there too, he became some big crime boss before... well, reverting to a pony, he was running for some political office when I left."

Cali rose an eyebrow. "Yeah that's nothing like where I am from. The whole pony thing came after I left, it never was 'real'' when I was there. Texas is an independent nation in it's own right...they are allies with the Americans. My world also has a so called  "Greater German Empire" which influences most of Europe...Japan much of Asia. I'm sure you'll also find that interesting too, but I never heard anything of Sombra or ponies where I am from. My world is devoid of magic and...otherworldly interference at least for the most part." she states, stating the facts in a matter of fact way, she doesn't seem to believe the thing about ponies.

Blu nodded, "Very different worlds then, Scientists had always suspected there might be alternate universes, discovering it was supposed to be some great achievement, not so..." he thought for a moment before motioning around, "Mundane?"

He picked up that she didn't seem too believing, and shrugged, "Is it too far a stretch that if there are multiple earths there could be multiple equestrias? Still, I'm not surprised, Princess Sparkle didn't believe me either until... " he paused, seeming to realize something, "After a trip to the Crystal Empire... she was telling her friends about this place she had seen in a magic mirror... the ponies on my earth said there was a mirror on the other end of their portal..."

He smacked himself in the face, "How did I not see it sooner?! There's some sort of portal in the Crystal Empire!" He chuckled, "We'll have to go check it out once we've taken care of Princess Sparkle."

Cali was intrigued by that proposition and of what he had said. "Multiple worlds, Equestria's...all of that is very much a possibility. I've been to many worlds so its not out of question. But I admit, the thought of this world being combined with your Earth is a bit insane. And now that you mention that mirror, we'll check that out some time for sure." Cali said as she floated along, she darted an eye to him. "Perhaps it might be your key to get back to your world, if you wish it so. But, we are better off getting rid of Twilight first. Getting her out of power or banishing her

Blu nodded, "Agreed, he was always a roadblock to my progress. If she hadn't stepped in... I might have finally had the childhood that I had been robbed of twice over. Instead she stole it from me for the third time. While I don't look forward to being thrice orphaned, it seems a necessity if things are to be made right."

He'd look around again, "Not to be that guy, but how much further do we have to go?"

Cali raised an eyebrow at his questioning. "Your not really going to like this but Stratusburg is rather far and beyond Equestria at that. I don't think you are going to want to walk that distance. So we will have to fly." she replies. 

Blu sighed, "If it can't be avoided. Though actually, since you've already demonstrated you can be a helicopter, any reason who we couldn't do that instead of wings? I've always wanted to ride in a helicopter."

Cali seemed to shrug and her form melted away into mist. The form changed into that of a helicopter, one's blades that mysteriously didn't rotate but still floated. It's door was opened for him to get in. The helicopter was black. Once he would get in he would notice the interior is quite spartan, no gages or anything of the sort. It was odd. Cali didn't need to form those. "That's a good question."

Blu wasn't surprised that she didn't make a full interior, there were a few different reasons why she might do that, she may not have really seen the interior of a helicopter before, or it may have required too much concentration or energy to generate what was effectively superfluous. Blu nodded once he was inside, "This will work nicely, enough of a separation mentally from what is effectively the same thing. Anything I can do to help? Or at least not make it more difficult for you?" 

The helicopter took off, flying towards it's target at an un-natural pace. They went over a few farms. Not known to them, was that a few farm ponies had seen the helicopter fly over. It's shadow was quite large. They could only stop their work, their mouth's dropped at the sight of something they had never seen of or thought of before. But before they knew it, it was gone over that of the horizon.

"I don't know, really. Just sit there and try not to distract me." Cali had stated, the helicopter's interior changed a bit every now and then in subtle but not very noticeable ways. If he were to look behind himself from the 'seat' he was in, it would almost entirely be open to the air, though the seat was formed in a way he couldn't easily fall out. Wanting to preserve energy and focus, in all likelihood.

Blu was quick to fix his attention forward once he saw that the back of the helicopter had gone missing. As long as he couldn't see the hole he could suppress his fear of being sucked out of it. He was about to confirm verbally that he understood, but decided to err on the side of caution and simply nod to indicate he understood. He was sure Cali could notice if she cared enough to.

He would spare a look out at the passing landscape every so often, building up his tolerance to the sight as they went as he figured they would be taking a similar method to return after they had gathered everything they needed from the door.

The helicopter flew at almost un-natural angles, the blades made no sound at all. Cali was changing the way the material was, alignment of atoms, etc to make it the most efficient of holding such a form for a long period of time. Cali was silent. It took several hours but the Helicopter would soon touch down in a field nearby to a large forested hill. The city of Stratusburg lied in the distance amongst the clouds. Nobody was around. A few Pegasus flew overhead, but none noticed the oddly shaped Helicopter.

Blu would have fallen asleep by the time they arrived, having grown used to the sensation enough to be comfortable enough to sleep. While it wasn't the best sleep he had had, it was much better than his night on the couch.

Cali sighed. She shook the chair he was in, realizing that he was now asleep. "Wake up! I don't have time for this!" she scolded, annoyed. But deep down a bit, she was amused. After the chair shook she reverted back to normal, causing him to fall onto the grass. It wasn't that much of a fall. Much like falling out of a chair, one that would surely wake him up. She would be standing over him, in her human form, her hands behind her back.

Blu was less than pleased with Cali's rude awakening. He was mostly awake when she disappeared the chair, but still stumbled into the grass. "We here already? I guess that was much easier than walking."

He would look around the area, "So, what are we looking for?"

Cali turned her back from him, not helping him up. "Nothing in particular." she said in a mysterious way. Once he had gotten up, she began leading the way towards the hill, through the trees. "You may have noticed my so called...cutie mark, correct? After I changed form the first time...my covering fell off. Do you remember what it was, my real cutie mark?" she asked, already knowing the answer, but wanting him to say it.

Blu shrugged, "To be honest it'd be hard to tell what about you is 'real' or not. If I remember correctly though I think it had something to do with a key?" Blu would follow her path towards the hill, "Since you're bringing it up I'd assume it has something to do with finding/opening the door."

She smirked. "I am the only one who can open this door. That is because of my abilities. I can shape shift into any sort of key I desire. The only other ones that would want to open up this door would probably be the creators of the door itself. Which is not stated anywhere within it." she walked calmly but also joyfully. It had been a while since she was here after all.
> Chapter V
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blu was thoughtful, "That is certainly a useful ability, it would make opening locks quite easy I think. Though it does open the possibility, since you had to take the physical form of the key to open the lock, a key could exist. It is likely of course that this key has been lost or destroyed since the door was made, but if a key existed, a duplicate could be made." He shrugged, "Of course, I have no doubt the lock was no simple task to open, the key must have been something quite complicated, maybe even unique."

Cali shrugs. "There probably is one out there somewhere, we will never know for sure if there is. I really do wonder who created this and why, and how long ago. But I found no clues of that so I guess we'll never know, not that it really matters all that much as this door now belongs to me." Cali said with some sort of gesture, it was hers now, and that was never going to change no matter what. "And you are right, the design of such a key is very weird to say the least. Not something you'd normally make." 

Blu nodded, "I suppose you would be the best to lay claim to it, in the absence of the original owners. Given what you told me about it I'd guess at least a few centuries old, but seeing the contents I could likely pin down at least which century it was built."

He looked around again, "Speaking of, night will soon be upon us. Will we be reaching the door tonight? or will we arrive tomorrow?"

Cali simply smiled to him as if knowingly. "Neither. The door is very close. Any minute now. It's been a bit since I have been so, allow me to get my bearings....' she said, looking about. They had walked further into the trees up the hill. The trees were pine trees, it smelled of pine leaves and pinecones which were scattered against the ground. It was completely silent besides the wind. The sun was almost setting. 

Blu was confused, "Neither? You say we won't reach it tonight, nor tomorrow?" He sighed, "By tonight I meant today, as if we reach it at any point between now and tomorrow we will have been there by tonight."

He made sure to give Cali the distance she needed while still following, using one of his gloves he pulled a small gemstone out of one of his coat's inner pockets. "If we're looking for magic, I've got a few tools that are good at it."

Cali didn't respond to his answers. She walked over and up the hill, a group of trees was clustered around a seemingly certain spot. "Not tonight, not tomorrow, but right now." she said. The hill had gotten quite steep although they could still walk, but with a good deal of effort. There was a ledge of stone covered in leaves and pine needles. The hill seemed to be above it. "Now you shall see...the Golden door." she stepped onto the ledge, the leaves crunching under her boots. Her hand glowed with a red electrical light and she threw an orb at the hill...in a few seconds a sort of a 'hologram' faded away, revealing the massive construction of the golden door. It was at least 3 times their height. The large empty keyslot lay in the middle. It looked quite old. 

Blu gave a low whistle as the door appeared, clearly impressed. He had done his best to scan the spell Cali used to reveal the door, but unless it was a relatively simple spell he wouldn't get more than the basic idea of the spell. "Most impressive. Shall we go in?"

The spell scan reveals that it required a certain energy to reveal what was behind the hologram, most likely Cali's magic. She looked to him, although she didn't reply. Her form melted away in a cloud of red mist and it took the shape of a very odd key. It looked like 2 semi-circles within a heart-ish shape with a 3 pointed shape on the bottom of it, it had weird jagged edges in certain areas. The form solidified into a certain type of dull gold material, much like the door itself. The 'key' floated into the large lock and its form seemed to shape into the lock as if correcting itself. There is a resounding click or unlocking sound. Then the key floated back out, she resumed her normal form.

The door slowly opened up from the top, retracting into the ceiling. Candles with dim yellow-orange flames illuminated a sort of arched hallway. Cali began to walk into the hallway. 

Blu was quick to follow Cali through the doorway, eager to see what sort of secrets lay within. He idly rolled the small gemstone in the fingers of his glove, waiting for an opportunity to use it.

Once they were inside Cali looked to the back with an idle sly smirk. Another red orb forming in her left hand that she casually flicked across the floor and it hit the bottom of the door, curving upwards. It then started to slowly retract back down. She didn't want anyone seeing this, or any possible intruders getting in. That went for animals too.

She walked further down the hallway, it went on for quite a distance. Far enough that you could barely see the door itself. The walls and archways made it seem to be brighter than the torches should have been. They crackled with a bit of a soothing ambience that resonated within the arches of the hall.

They then approached a wooden double door with a circular black handle that stuck out. Cali looked at him and finally spoke. "Welcome to the main part of this area. The library." she said, and then opened up the double door in either direction with her hands....

Blu was a bit unsettled by her closing the door behind them, but he figured there was enough magic and knowledge in this room that he could escape if he had to.

If it was even half of his expectations, he'd hardly want to leave in the first place. He marvelled at the archways and torches, they had to be magical in nature, it didn't seem likely the builders would have stored enough combustible material to keep them lit so well for so long. It must have been built over a leyline, directly tapping into the source to power it directly.

He followed closely behind as Cali opened the door to the library, soon he would have access to all the knowledge he could ever want.

The double door opens and it reveals that they are on what appears to be the upper level of the library. It is fairly large, roughly three to four times the size of your average living room. The 'balcony' is adorned in simple yet unique ways. The floor transitions to being made of wood. There were other torches that flare up gently, illuminating the entire library for him to see. There are three different 'stories' to this, must have taken a large amount of time and effort to make this.

It more or less resembles this here, although being more of a darker-ish tone and the lack of modern amenities. The ceiling is made of carved stone and wood that intertwine perfectly. A design of the Sun and Moon merged together in a spiral pattern adorns the roof itself. He notices other doorways leading to various areas. The books them self seem to be well organized. 

"Something tells me we are going to be here for a while."  said Cali.

Blu was transfixed, both by the architecture as well as the apparent wealth of knowledge. He wanted to rush off, to pull the first book he could grasp off the shelf and open it, but he decided it would be best to show some restraint. He had plenty of time after all.

"That depends, is there food here? Otherwise we may need to leave on occasion to acquire some. Beyond that... It could take months, maybe years to understand the wealth of knowledge here! A bit longer if it isn't in common Equestrian, but that will only be a minor hurdle."

Cali could only smirk to that. "There isn't, unfortunately. We will have to go in and get some later on, however in my time here I was only able to learn a fraction of what is truly here. I focused in honing in my electrical and shape shifting magic even more so then I had anticipated. I can now assume more complicated forms for a much longer period of time, and charge up and discharge electrical energy with ease. Seems to play very well into what I have as my ability set. However, I would be very interested in learning other magics. Eventually I intend on gaining mastery of the concept in it's entirety." she stood on the 'balcony', her hands rested on the 'fence of it as she looked to him with a bit of a gleeful look.

"Tell me what sort of magic you want to learn, I will lead you to those spell books to the best of my memory. It is time I learn something different than shape shifting, lasers, and electricity. You decide what we will learn first. I am sure you are...quite eager." she said with a little bit of a cackle in her wording. She was quite eager as well. 

Blu nodded as he made his way over to the railing to look down on the lower levers, "My specialty, as represented by my mark, deals mostly in runic magic. When I first came here and first learned spells I discovered that spells were made up of components, and for the most part unicorns don't even know what those components on their own do. I found it was much like a computer program, once the individual components could be understood they could be rearranged into new spells, and further... built into constructs."

He charged up the gemstone he had been carrying and tossed it over the railing. At the zenith of its arc it sprouted wings of light, shaped similarly to that of a butterfly, and it started to hover in place. After a moment it would slowly head to the nearest source of active magic.

"That is something I was able to make, it uses a few simple runes, detector, storage, release, the wings are mostly decoration, but it keeps it from storing up too much energy."

He looked over at Cali, "That is the sort of magic I'm interested in. The root magic all other magic is based on."

She listened and observed what he had done and said. The gemstone with the wings would slowly head towards the walls. Probably some form of ambient magic hidden within the walls. Probably some sort of barrier or anti-aging spell on the construction of it, since it looked so good. She walked down the spiral staircase to the second floor. She paced about for a minute before finding the runic magic section. 

"The books on the lower sides are for simple stuff, but the higher they are on the shelf, the more complicated the spells are. From my time here they seem to go left to right. I suppose we'll study Runic Magic then." with her magic she levitated over a chair and a table and pulled out the book on the far let and brought it infront of her and then showed him.

"Some of these books were written by Starswirl the Bearded himself, or at least copied from some of his works very well. Could be original, could be copies. Hard to tell, but the contents stay the same. I assume this place was created to hold either the originals or the copies themselves from dangerous events out in the world where nobody would know." she said, handing him the book. She took another one, and began to read. 

Blu pulled up a seat opposite to Cali and accepted the book, he glanced over it briefly before pulling out his briefcase. He set the briefcase carefully on the table before unlocking the few different combination locks on it. Inside the briefcase were what Cali might recognize as a pair of computer monitors, one taking up most of each half. He set the briefcase up like one would a laptop.

He turned the computer on and opened up a database of runes and components he had been compiling, he then turned back to the book he had been given, each rune he learned about he drew into the database with a description of its meaning and function.

Cali looked at the briefcase and then back to the book. She didn't disturb him. She read through the book's contents in its entirety. She was learning a few Runic spells and seemed to practice them out as she read. She seemed quite a novice at first. As time went on, she put the book back and got another. She handed the ones that she had been done reading to him, so he could learn those spells for himself, and instructed him to put the books back in order.

She also said at some point later on, "Since you have been doing Runic magic yourself, you can also teach me it too, and I can do my best to teach you my shape shifting abilities and such after you read through the books on those. Must gain a solid understanding of the concept and spells before you can really learn or teach. We'll focus on Runic magic until we have mastered it. Then next, is whatever you want it to be. I am fine with whatever." Cali said, her mind a bit strained from the magic that she had newly learned from the books. But, she kept going.

Blu spared a glance away from his studies when Cali spoke to him, "Sounds reasonable, most of the applications I know for this magic is best expressed through gem carving like the seeker I showed you. If you can get some gems of exceptional clarity I could show you a thing or two about rune carving."

He'd take notice at her practicing, "Careful! A poorly drawn rune can be even more dangerous than an incomplete spell, you have no idea what a misdrawn rune might do."

Outside of that, he would be fully enthralled with learning and cataloging the runes he was learning. Most runes, by definition, were rather simplistic. Hardly useful compared to spells when used in casting, but that's because they weren't designed to be cast, they were designed to be activated. Carved or written out and then charged with open magic. The activator had little to no control over the effect, that was for the scribe to decide.

Cali simply smirked at his instruction and simply followed along with it. “I pawned my gemstones off in exchange for gold. Some time we will be snatching some from a nearby town. Although the ones that I took last night were more of diamond and Opal.” 

She continues to read and practice, this time more carefully. She gets onto a the next book, giving her previous one to him. “Although we should swap roles as you know more than I...” she said and then did exactly so. 

Blu snorted, "You're going through these books far faster than I am, as you aren't compiling them all as I am." He briefly considered telling her why he was taking the time to draw each rune into his computer, but decided he would wait until she asked to say why.

"If you want me to teach you, you're going to have to find a runemancer's tablet. Given they have so many books on runes here I've no doubt they've got tablets. They're usually clay or stone about the size of a sheet of paper, with a series of protection runes going all the way around the edge."

Cali rose an eyebrow at that. "I never knew about that. Let me go look for such things, if they are here that is." Cali had stated and got up from the chair. It took her a few minutes of looking around the shelves, but she did indeed find a dozen or so of those tablets in here. There was probably more but she stacked them up on the floor by the desk. She looked to him with interest, "I suppose it's not as simple as just reading a book. I mean, I understand some of it now but there is a lot more to it. So teach me...." she says, gesturing to the tablets. "Or should we read through the rest of these books here?"

Blu looked over at the stack of tablets she had acquired, as well as what remained of the shelves of books. "If these books continue getting more complicated at the rate I've been seeing, we'll be here for weeks or months before we get through all the books on runes. Especially if some of them are written by Minotaurs. We may as well get started on practice."

He grabbed one of the tablets and detached the stylus that came with it. "As long as you're careful to not cross the protective runes, you should only need one. The stylus is very important first because it engraves the tablet temporarily as well as not activating the rune as it is drawn. Many unicorns fail to use runes for that reason: their magic activates the rune as soon as it is drawn, or earlier. So be careful as you draw the rune to not let any magic touch it until you're ready to activate it."

Blu used his glove to manipulate the stylus, gently drawing a fire rune. He then drew a much more complicated rune lower down, and connected the two with an odd line. "The fire rune you should recognize, this other one is what I call an activator rune, it collects and stores magic before passing it on to connected runes by this line, which is made of triangles to ensure the magic goes one way without changing the structure of the rune. This is very important for rune sequencing, but we can get to that later." He set the tablet down on the table, away from the very precious books, and pressed on the activator rune with the thumb of his glove. After a short bit the line started to glow with the same blue light as his magic, then the fire rune lit up and a small flame appeared over the rune.

Once he stopped touching the activator the fire remained above the rune for a bit, the same amount of time that it took to activate, before disappearing. 

Cali observed the runes he had drawn and listened to his instruction. She drew the air rune on another tablet and then activated it, forming a little bit of an airblast over it that they felt a little bit. Wasn't too strong but they definitely felt it. She smiled slightly, but it wasn't a sly smile at that. "Could see so many potential uses for these sorts of things. Combinations of various things but, I am curious how one would use these in a battle. Maybe overcharge them and use them as bombs or something of that sort or set off certain spells at enemies." she suggested, watching the air rune disappear from that of the tablet. 

Blu nodded, "That is one of the issues with runes, they are not typically mobile. That is of course excepting the whole school of golemancy, which is the application of runes to power and control golems. Outside of that, runes are most useful in defence and traps, not in attacking."
> Chapter VI
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cali nodded, "That makes a lot of sense. I think that Runes are a decent too to use in small areas however, having the power of magic from your mind or...horn rather is much more useful I would imagine." she said and then proceeded to go back to reading. She took out another book about the runes and proceeded to read, absorbing the information but also practicing drawing more types of runes on the tablets, however taking careful steps as for nothing to go out of control or to not make mistakes. 

Blu shrugged, "There's levels to it of course, what you can draw on a tablet is only so much. But they can become so much more when you know what you're doing. That seeker for instance, that is all runes. You'd be hard pressed to find a unicorn or even alicorn that could enchant a gemstone like that with spells."

"So much more indeed, however that will come with time, and practice." she said and continued reading and practicing on. Though she gave more books to him to study from and input spells into his 'computer' if he wanted. Though eventually there came a point where she closed the book and said, "I think that's enough rune studying for today...we could go study something else. There are plenty of magics in here to learn from, what would you like to learn next?"

Blu paused where he was and thought for a moment before he shrugged, "I guess I could give it time to recompile for a bit while I learn something more directly useful. I am a bit defenseless without my constructs at the moment."

He looked around a bit before turning back to Scar, "You know of anything the ponies out there might consider forbidden? They can't exactly defend against things they refuse to understand."

Cali simply laughed at the question, almost a cackle. "Why of course there is!" she stood up from the chair and said, "The most forbidden thing that I could think of, would probably be dark magic, necromancy, blood magic, or powerful mind control. King Sombra himself was a very powerful user of dark magic...he probably invented many of the spells and abilities that are written within some of these books here. So, pick your poison of the forbidden things and we'll...take a look." it was something that she had looked into before, although in the past she was more focused on robbing and making money rather than bettering herself. Now in a better mindset, she has other plans. 

Blu shuddered as she listed off the darker magics, "No no, nothing like that... I'd like to keep my soul uncurdled thank you very much." He thought for a bit until he remembered something. "A bit of a national secret, from before Princess Sparkle was Princess Sparkle. I found some old letters between her and Princess Celestia that explained why she was so interested in caring for me. She thought I was related to a pair of researchers who had been dabbling in forbidden magic. She referred to it as anti-magic, a compound that negated magic around it, and could dispel any magic used against it. Now that would be a powerful tool against Princess Sparkle."

Cali rose an eyebrow at that and put her hand to her chin in a thinking way for a moment, thinking about that for a few moments before sitting back down and saying. "Now that you mention it I had an idea for such a thing a long time ago. If such a compound exists, which if very likely does...imagine putting that inside of a mold of a unicorn's horn and forming that into a wearable 'tool' that you could put on someone's horn to stop them from using magic at all. I'd call it a horn inhibitor." she said in a rather deep thought as she got another idea as she grinned.

"Or using runes to generate such an anti-magic field. Like a grenade or a device triggered when there is movement in a certain area. I don't know if this place has anything related to that, it's a very specific thing that we'll have to look for." 

Blu looked thoughtful, "Hmm, I've heard of magic dampening rings, they use them when imprisoning unicorns as well as, to a lesser extent, keeping unicorn foals from hurting themselves with their own magic. If we could find the spell that they use to enchant the rings, we could break out the component of the spell that nullifies magic. Though I get the feeling the rings work more by disrupting the spell formation rather than nullifying the magic."

He looked a bit more excited as he closed up the briefcase, "Nonetheless, any research is far more effective when it is motivated by a singular problem to solve. Already I can think of a few rune combinations that could work, maybe engraved in a shield or woven into a garment, once the database compiles we could test some. But in the meantime we could see what other routes there are to find in this library."

"Perhaps we could break into such a prison and...steal some of those rings at some point and then somehow identify the spells used to make it or figure out how they are made in the first place." she nodded and walked through the sections, thinking. Her hands behind her back. "Your ideas of a shield or woven into a garment remind me of...barrier and shield magic. I am capable of such things but it's electrical in nature rather than magical..." she stopped infront of a section that seemed to be exactly that. "Perhaps we should look into that."

Blu nodded, "I don't think we'll need to steal the rings, there should be examples of them in here as I've no doubt powerful mages like the ones who built this would have had magical enemies to subdue. Barrier and shields are certainly a good idea nonetheless, being able to withstand her attacks will be critical, especially if we want to set down runes."

"Definitely. If we fighting her, we need to deny her any opportunity to gain an advantage. That goes for her friends too." Cali used her levitation magic to take the chair and table over to where they are now. She sets them down and pulls out the first book and begins reading it. Smirking, it was easier than Rune magic for sure, at least for her. When she was done with the first book, she handed it over to him, wondering how he might go about learning it.

As Blu read through the spells in the book, if Scar were watching, upon learning a spell he would immediately try to modify the spell, switching out or modifying components or even switching some components out for runes. In general, when Blu cast a spell it was very different from most unicorns. Usually a unicorn cast a spell quickly, building up the magic in their horn and then casting it directly. Blu however charged up the magic more slowly, the spell components forming in a ring around his horn as they were powered, then they remained so long as he maintained the spell. Doing it that way took longer to cast the spell, but he could hold the spell active longer as well as change out components as he cast the spell instead of needing to hold the whole spell in his head as he cast it.

With enough practice he would be able to even change out components while the spell was active, taking a magic shield and turning it briefly into a wall of fire and back as he swapped in the fire rune at a key location.

Every now and then Cali had glanced up at him, observing him for a few moments. Unlike Blu however, she was reading more. She hadn't been practicing just yet. After a few more books, which she had given to Blu she had set hers down and walked out. Being in her normal 'human' form meant that she had no horn of course. If Blu was watching she'd stand roughly in the center of the room.

Around her would form a blue spherical shield. She closed her eyes, changing the shield's shape to various geometric shapes such as cubes, pyramids, octahedrons, dodecahedrons. She seemed to experiment with the thickness and intensity of the shield itself. Doing a slight spin and watching how the shield / barrier around her spun and slowed own. She was gaining a liking to this. It was non-electrical in nature meaning that it was impossible to tamper with by striking it with electricity. She then experimented upon hardening the shields with electricity, a sort of red shimmering effect going over it  almost like an enchantment. 

"I can already tell you, that right there is a massive improvement. Now these shields are pretty much unbreakable but, I have yet to master such magic..." the shield vanished as she sat back down with a poofing sound.

Blu looked over at Cali's comment, "I suppose, with a magic pool as deep as yours, it's easy to make very powerful shields as you don't need to worry about how much it drains your magic. Not everyone has that advantage." There was a bit of edge to his voice as he spoke, and he quickly returned to his studies. It would be clear that he was focused on refined and efficient spells.

Cali simply smirked at that and continued to read. "Wasn't always like that. I sort of grew it more as I practiced more I suppose. Although there should be a way to make it even deeper...so to speak. But as for now, we will finish these." she said, continuing her studies. Every now and then she practiced more in depth and complicated shielding spells. Giving the books she read to Blu, and then making sure they went back to the right spot.

Blu shrugged, "I suppose my own reserves have grown as I've practiced, but most unicorns I've talked to seem to believe that, like musculature, there is an upper limit for most standard unicorns. Alicorns are exempt from that and even the least magically inclined is many times more able than the strongest unicorn. You seem to share in that deep pool, so you may be an even match for Princess Sparkle, though I don't think she's ever run out of magic."

Blu focused on directed shields rather than full surrounding ones, which cut the cost to about 1/5, or would allow him to make a shield five times stronger on one side.

"You know, with a large enough gem to power it, you could, theoretically, work these shields into a construct, have a remote shield that stays up while you cast other spells, because the main downside of most shields is that you can't attack while casting the shield." 

Cali nodded to that. "As I am from another universe practically, my magic may not entirely be within the confines of this one. In other universes there were others, such as my...enemies that almost killed me in several occasions. They had access to something called "strings"...strings that connect all magic points within a reality so to speak and they could pull on them, cut them to cause extreme pain. They had no real other magic other than healing and re-growth. I am not sure if that...string magic exists here..." she replies.

She pulled out a few of the diamonds and opal gems she had stolen a few nights ago. "Think these would work?"

Blu shook his head, "At least so far as I've understood the magic lessons, there is a field of magic, like the magnetic field, that everyone draws on to feed their magic. The stronger you are the more magic you can draw from the field, and it is returned as you expend it. I wouldn't be surprised if your magic draws from another source than the field, I believe that alicorns also have access to some alternate well of power, otherwise they can simply pull the grid far more than any of the rest of us without the aid of artifacts."

He looked like an idea struck him, "You know, if something can pull on the field, theoretically something could push on it as well, make it harder for those around to pull on it. That would be half of the anti-magic problem, if we could somehow push the field away we could create a zone where no magic could be cast, or at least it would be significantly harder to draw magic in that area. It wouldn't stop a cast spell though, nor drain magic brought into the area."

Blu shook his head, "At least so far as I've understood the magic lessons, there is a field of magic, like the magnetic field, that everyone draws on to feed their magic. The stronger you are the more magic you can draw from the field, and it is returned as you expend it. I wouldn't be surprised if your magic draws from another source than the field, I believe that alicorns also have access to some alternate well of power, otherwise they can simply pull the grid far more than any of the rest of us without the aid of artifacts."

He looked like an idea struck him, "You know, if something can pull on the field, theoretically something could push on it as well, make it harder for those around to pull on it. That would be half of the anti-magic problem, if we could somehow push the field away we could create a zone where no magic could be cast, or at least it would be significantly harder to draw magic in that area. It wouldn't stop a cast spell though, nor drain magic brought into the area."

She smirked upon that idea. "Why draw magic to a certain area...if your not draining it into a device or some way to transfer ambient magic into your own 'well of power'?" she asks as she watched him sort out the gems that she had given him. "If my enemies were to somehow locate me in Equestria, I would be interested in finding a way to manipulate the...strings themselves or to stop them from affecting me in any way. So that way I could get rid of them without a single scratch... their names are the Huntsman and Bayonet..." she said with visible rage in her eyes.

"The Huntsman can take upon mostly any form...usually a humanoid person with a TV as their head. They were also known as 'The Snarl', an...embodiment of rage. I know nothing of which their origin is though it was alluded to me that they are controlled by another entity or in cohorts with someone else. They are beyond the general multiverse and can generally travel anywhere. They have extreme luck and usually find ways to negate my attacks on them almost miraculously. Can somehow go through my shields...avoid my attacks with ease. I somehow pissed them off in another world and they followed me through other worlds...with the intent on killing me.' she pauses, taking a moment to think about that and to take a breathe. 

"And the other, is different. Of all things he is a transformer. He is extremely irritable, violent, and prone to extreme violence. He resembled an older style classic car, and transforms into a mechanical dragonfly. After I killed him, he somehow rebuilt himself into a much more powerful version of himself, taking upon the form of a Dodge Challenger Hellcat sort of car. He can manipulate the strings. The last I saw of him, the Huntsman embedded his essence into him, basically merging the 2. But with pure luck and help from friends...one such friend I never saw again after I killed off the enemies in a massive blast of magic and then...fleeing the dimension using some sort of transponder technology." it was quite the tale, really. She had been through so much. But a part of her enjoyed the battles, as much as she hated it.

Some of the gems appear to have exceptional clarity, worth a lot after all. While others were of decent-ish but not really all that great. 

Blu had a decent amount of skepticism on his face in regards to Cali's story, but simply shrugged at the end. "I can't say I've seen anyone even close to that description, nor heard of any like that here. I would think that something so advanced would stand out rather prominently in this sort of world, so I doubt you have anything to fear. Still, I can only defend against magic I know, and formulate counters to attacks that follow rules I understand. If they're attacking you outside of the field or even extra dimensionally as it appears they are, you'll need extra dimensional defenses to counter them, which I think is a bit beyond even what these accomplished mages were capable of."

He pointed out the extra clear gems, "I'll be able to do some pretty impressive things with these as I'll be able to get runes inside them." He pointed to the less clear ones, "I'll only be able to carve the exteriors of these, so they're no more useful than ordinary stones."

Cali had petty much expected that sort of a response. "For dimensional means I am only able to do...portals into other dimensions by gathering up all of my energy to create a portal with it. It is extremely costly and leaves me with little to no magic after I do that. It is dangerous. But like with the technological element of it that I was able to construct with the aid of others, there is no telling where you will end up with it. My friend Gina, had a great deal of dimensional and spacial magic however even they were able to counter-act her magic...she had her ear-drums blown out...by a cannon more or less...and then after we left I never saw her again...I hope she got that fixed and I hope she's alright..." she said, showing visible distress at that. She looked saddened by it and just simply nodded to what he said about the gems. 

Blu was a bit surprised by this sudden compassion/remorse on the part of Cali, "That doesn't sound very Element of Greed of you." He shook his head, "Jokes aside, I... I can understand what it's like to lose someone close to you. I'm twice an orphan, my second father went missing not long before I came here, he wasn't the best father, but he did his best."

He sighed, "You know, I'd be surprised if there wasn't studies here into portals and the like. I mean we're both proof of other worlds and other universes and the possibility of transport between them. Maybe we'd be able to get a stable, directed portal built with enough effort. How about we look into that once we're done here?"

Cali nodded in agreement, she definitely understood what he had been through. "Definitely. If I can find Gina again somehow...that would be great. I am not at all sure where she could have ended up but...she's smart and she'll find a way to fix her hearing problem, wherever she learned her magic from...she could walk through walls, phase in and out of dimensions and stuff.. And yes I am sure there is, however if the portals we could learn / create here are able to do such things, why wouldn't it become more...mainstream?" she said, slowly taking upon more of a different tone / look. 

Blu looked confused, "Are you saying there would be more portals in the world if the research exists here? Or are you asking if we make a portal that more portals might be made?" He shrugged, "To the first, there are a few scattered evidences of portals having existed, including the one in the Crystal Empire. As to the second... personally, I don't want to leave. There's nothing back home for me but humanity. There are beings who genuinely care about me here. I'm not the successor to some megacorp here, I'm free to do whatever, be whatever I want to be. So if we were to make a portal to get you somewhere, I'd be sure to close it behind you, keep anything else from getting through. If that's your concern that is."

Cali rose an eyebrow as she sat back down into the chair and sighed. "That is the problem. We have no way of possibly knowing where my friend could have ended up at. Maybe she ended up somewhere here for all we know, or maybe she ended up back on our Earth where we were from...either way, she's smart and will figure something out I hope. There is just no way of knowing, and there is also no way of going back to...where we were before to retrace our steps..." she sighed. "There are infinite realities out there, I am sure of it...and that just makes it harder." Cali sighed.
> Chapter VII
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blu nodded, "True, even if we find Gina, there's no guarantee that it's the same one you knew. But there's no need to give up before we've even tried right? Maybe we'll find some way to tune the portal, make some sort of multiverse scanner to find your friend. No need to dwell on the possible failures without looking at the possible triumphs right?"

Given the little he had just learned about shields and runes, and how much was left to learn in this library alone, he was sure they'd be able to do quite wonderous things soon enough. Especially if his compiler could be set on solving the problem. Let a machine designed to efficiently try everything do the bulk of the testing for them while they continued to learn.

Cali agreed with that. "All that is entirely possible however, we haven't got much to go on really but, we'll find something eventually. I have been here for...I wanna say half a year? Maybe a few months? Time seems to pass here differently in other worlds...called moons here. This world's moon is different than the Earth's moon, at least my Earth that is. I am sure that our Earths have little minute differences after all." 

She really wanted to find Gina again, however she didn't know how at all. He did bring in mind some interesting ideas that she had never ever thought of, though. Although she had all this time, this is when it really started to dawn on her that she could really get back. All it would take is to find a way. 

Blu looked quite surprised, "Only? I've been stuck here for almost 4 years now. But that does explain why you're throwing yourself against Princess Sparkle, you never really had the chance to know Luna or Celestia."

Blu rubbed his horn, "I think I've reached my limit on practical studies for the day. Maybe we could find some artifacts or the like that augments my ability to pull on the grid, that would certainly even the field on my end at least."

"Luna and Celestia seem like god-like rulers. From what I know of their history they had their issues in the past and are not beyond...corruption itself no matter how perfect they claim to be. Tired already? I suppose that's fair...and you mean like artifacts or something that boosts your. 'well of magic' as you put it? I suppose there could be something like that here." she stood up and started looking. 

Blu shrugged, "I can't say I ever got to know them personally, Princess Sparkle thinks the world of them so she may not be the best source for an unbiased opinion. As to artifacts, something that isn't cursed would be preferred of course. Extra magic wouldn't do me much good if I'm not fully in control to use it."

He'd let Cali go search while he finished up the theory in the book he was reading.

Cali looked around for some time. After a few minutes she came back with what looked like a normal-ish but green bell. '"I found this on one of the shelves. I am not sure what there would be a bell laying around this area. Do you think this could be an artifact?" she asked and set the bell onto the table near to where he was reading at and looks at it further.

Blu had a bit of a blank expression as he stared at the bell, "Well, it's got as good a chance of being one as anything else here, but it probably isn't a good idea to just try things on a whim. Besides, most artifacts have some sort of activation ritual, the good ones at least. Maybe one of the books near where you found it could offer a description on how it is used or what it does? I don't want to put it on my horn if it turns out to be carnivorous."

Cali agrees with that, she had a lot of suspicion on how this artifact would be activated if it was one. "Definitely. However I personally think this one, if it is an artifact would be activated by ringing but, I didn't see any books near it. Was kinda on its own shelf....hmm..." she then went back to looking and after a while she had came back with a book with the same green bell on it and sat down. "I hope this has some answers..." she said and gave the book to him so he could read. 

Blu was examining the bell closely without touching it when Cali returned with the book, he stepped back when she presented the book to him. "I would guess that this book is related, or it's a coincidence."

He would open the book so Cali could read it too if she liked.

Cali would examine the bell. "It's green, appears to be made out of some sort of metallic but seems a bit corroded. Maybe it was copper and was corroded away, that would be my guess. I haven't looked in the book yet so you'll be the first to see it. Gives a nice element of surprise I suppose." Cali stated and read along with him, wondering about what the bell would do.

According to the book, this bell was enchanted to a sort of resonance with the grid that, depending on how it was struck, would open a portal to another world for as long as the bell rang. The rest of the book was mostly a series of notes on tests performed by prior researchers indicating how different strengths and methods produced different results, as well as discovering the, admittedly small, degree of tolerance for getting the same result.

Blu shook his head, "Good thing we didn't try to ring it without reading, wouldn't want to open a portal to, say, the bottom of the ocean. Corroded as it is, I don't think any ring would last long enough to safely investigate the other side. This could work towards finding your friend, but we would have to be insanely lucky."

He got up from the table they were at, "Maybe there are other artifacts over where you found this one? I'll say this is far more interesting a subject to study."

Cali was very surprised by that. She had thought that the portal thing would take a long time to find or research but here it is, a bell that can open up portals. She smiled at the part he said about the ring. "If what that said is true...then could one of us just stand there and constantly ring the bell when the other goes through or is it talking about the actual....reverberation of the ring itself? But yeah...could potentially find my friend this way however, there is no way of knowing which world she's in or if its even the same Gina that I know." Cali shrugged but was quite impressed with his answer.

Blu shrugged, "It warrants some testing, getting this corrosion off will certainly help it ring longer. If we had some of the antimagic compound, or if we find a magic dampening rune we could build a proper testing chamber, ensure that the portal doesn't get away from us and that we could close it before anything undesirable came through."

He set the book down, "Still, this intrigues me. If they have an artifact like this, what other secrets might they have in store? It would be good to find something a bit more immediately useful, artifacts are typically leagues more powerful than any one creature's casting potential, at least in a very specific application. Finding one suited to our aims would ease our burden tremendously."

"Well first things first, let's find some other artifacts in here. Maybe there are some better ones in here, than this one. If now we can maybe clean off the corrosion of this bell then we can work on testing it out. Of course such things would definitely ease our planning, but lets not get ahead of ourselves." said Cali with a smirk. She stood up from the table as she looked at the corroded bell. "You go look for more artifacts, let me clean off this bell." she walked towards the bell and faded away into a red mist that floated over the bell. It formed a sort of wire-ish mesh that started to tighten down over the bell, examining its angles and features before moving over it in weird ways, the corroded bits slowly fall off as the mesh rubs. 

As Blu got up to search for artifacts he tossed a comment over his whither, "You could try an electrode bath, I recall that helping remove corrosion well, it would be a good application of your electrical magic."

That said he would wander the halls seeing what sort of artifacts and topics he could find. Every so often he would pull a book off a shelf to see what it was about, mentally building up a catalog of subjects for future study as he searched for artifacts.

Eventually he would find a small room with a number of artifacts on shelves and pedestals. He would call back to Cali, "I think I found a room full of artifacts!"

Cali took his advice into action and proceeded to give it an electrode bath, as well as the physical rubbing. By the time that he had called out, the bell was entirely polished smooth and back to it's original color. She reformed into her normal form and then followed where his voice had come from. She walked into the room, quite amazed at the myriad of artifacts in the room.

"It will take...days or weeks to go through all of these here. Who knows what they could be capable of!' she exclaims in amazement and excitement.

Blu nodded with a bit of a smile, "Well, we best get started then." He went to find one that had it's book readily available, it looked like for most of the objects there were accompanying books like Cali had found for the bell.

The first book Blu was able to connect to an artifact was for a golden cup with a blue six point star on it. "It says here... that whoever drinks from this cup will have the same powers as the one who crafted it, which sounds a bit ominous at first, but according to the testing log they recorded no adverse affects, they seem to conclude that it meant powers like the one who crafted it, like have their power level, rather than their exact powers. Strange though, they have no idea who or what crafted it."

Cali looks at the golden cup that he was talking about and listened intently as he spoke. She looked at the golden cup, picking it up and looking inside of it to see if there was any liquid or substance in it at all. "Does that mean like, replace one's power-level or add to it? I wonder what would happen if I would drink that..." she pondered and then glanced at some of the other artifacts within the room they were in. "Heh, Twilight doesn't have any of this...she'll be in for a shock." 

The cup was empty and dry.

Blu paged through the book, "It's... unclear. It looks like adds to, in the case of all the researchers they had greater power levels after drinking, but tests also show a pretty even power among subjects despite varying abilities beforehoof. So it could very well replace, or simply raise it to a certain level."

Blu shrugged, "She may not have these, but since she's the ruler of Equestria she does have access to the Canterlot Archives, and so very well may have access to all the artifacts that Celestia had stored away over the centuries. Whether or not she'd be able to use them is another story."

He looked back at the cup, "We should get something to put in the cup, the logs say the liquid imbibed has little to no effect, and we should probably get food anyway, unless one of these other artifacts makes food?"

Cali held onto the cup. "Its a risk that I am willing to take and I am sure the book has something in there saying that it would be possible to be undone but, if it has greater power then so be it." she sat down at the the table and smirked about his comments of Twilight sparkle. She has long since wanted to raid into those archives and steal all of those books for herself. However she had enough here...at least for now.

"We'll break into those archives in the future but what we have here is what we will focus on first, obviously. I have some water actually..." she said as a red portal appeared next to her, a bottle came through and the portal closed. "This is actually an artifact I found in this library a long time ago. I may not need to drink water technically, as I can alter my body chemistry and structure at my whim but every now and then a drink is good...this is an infinite water bottle. When it goes empty it magically refills its water content...pretty handy, don't you think?" she asked as she poured the water into the cup until it was full.

She handled her infinite water bottle to him and smirked. She picked up the cup and drank, swallowing down every last drop. She wondered what would happen.

Blu paged through the tome, "Looks like effects last about a day or so, not a permanent boost by any means." 

Blu snorted, "If things go as well as you hope, we won't need to break in, they'll be ours for the taking."

It wasn't immediate, but Cali felt the new surge of power building up slowly, she was connected to the magical grid that everyone in Equestria used to perform magic.

On the other hoof, she was cut off from the source of power she had previously used. While she was as powerful as some of the greatest mages of this world, it wasn't much compared to what she had been capable of just a few moments prior.

Cali simply stood there as she felt this magic wash through her. She smiled as she understood something, now. "In Equestria, everyone is connected to the...magical grid as I'd describe it, the source of all power in this world...as for me, my 'source' of power was/is literally inside of me and not somewhere else. It's why I was able to keep my power no matter what dimension I was in. Definitely weaker but, very fascinating...I'd like to study this for the time it lasts...and if we can somehow create a spell / modify this so it ADDS this 'grid' power to my...normal power set or at least so I can use both?" she asked with a very sly grin.

"These artifacts are probably enchanted with a spell or containing the magic they use. Non-physical tied to a physical object...what if there was a way to go in and 'edit' the spell, if you know what I mean?" she suggested, still smirking. She hadn't tried any spells yet and merely wanted to think her thoughts through of how to go about this. 

Blu shook his head, "There's a fundamental difference, I've found, between enchantments and artifacts. Nothing can be enchanted beyond the power of the enchanter. It may be more focused, but never more powerful. Artifacts on the other hoof, they stem from something deeper, or rather far more ancient and powerful. Even trying to crack them could be deadly or worse. Princess Sparkle was convinced that treating artifacts wrong could cause them to tear the grid itself apart. We'd likely have better luck finding an artifact that suits our needs than trying to modify one out of its purpose."

He smirked back, "How does it feel though, being on the same plane as the rest of us?"

Cali understood and nodded. "I suppose that makes a lot of sense. If they are from something more deeper and powerful, I wonder where they were created from. Or who made them." she said and then smirked at Blu. "It's not...ideal but it's definitely a lot different from normal for sure. It feels different, not sure how to explain it. I'm less powerful, I will say that." she said and did some various spells. Like orbs, electrical currents through her hands and things like that. The red-ness of it was completely gone, and it was just a pure electrical sparkling color. 

Blu shrugged, "Looks like they didn't know either. If I had to guess, I'd say either Discord himself or another of his kind. They seem especially long lived. If not him personally, he might know who did or the process behind it. But getting answers out of him might prove difficult, if not impossible."

Blu flipped to the end of the notes in the book and pulled out a pen of his own to add to the blank space after the last recorded test, "It looks like you are the first to start with a power level greater than what the cup could bestow, so it's a first for the book. I'll have to try it later, once we confirm that it does in fact wear off for you. While we wait though, let's look at another artifact, maybe something useful to the both of us."
> Chapter VIII
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Now that you mention it, Discord himself would be a great help in finding my friend Gina, however finding Discord and getting answers about him, and these artifacts is a different matter entirely. One for another day." she said and set the cup down onto the table. "Once it wears off of me, you should try it out. However for now, we will look at the others here..." she said and looked on the shelf.

The artifacts in this room seemed to be organized in a certain manner. With a shelf on the opposite side with books. She grabbed what seemed to be a vial of green liquid. "This one looks interesting." she said as she walked over to the other side, soon enough locating a book that seemed to correspond with the green vial. She began reading, out loud.

The book started off with saying the green vial was crafted by some great wizards of the past. Starswirl himself was involved in creating some of the properties of this vial. Those who drunk from it would find that any impurities within the body, and boost the overall well being of the mind and soul. The vial itself would also re-fill magically over the course of the next week.

She popped the cap off and handed it to him. "You can use this one. It re-fills anyway so, I can just take it later. You probably could use it." she said. 

Blu looked a bit skeptical as he examined the vial, "What, it cures both mental and physical ailments, and recharges weekly? There must be some sort of catch to it..." he shook his head, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained right?"

He drank down the flask and waited for the effects, "Did they mention that it tastes terrible? Like it actually makes Sweetie Belle's cooking sound gourmet by comparison."

He drinks it down and it was completely rancid and tasted like the smell of a truck-stop bathroom. That rancid taste washes throughout his body like a wave and seems to intensify greatly, however with that wave he feels like his body is being rejuvenated, and repaired. He feels more awake and ready for the day, he also feels a little bit stronger like his body was improved, as well as his mind being clearer and more focused. Cali said, “I forgot to mention that...the benefits outweigh the taste...so how do you feel? It says here that it would taste horrible...but the results are what matters.” She asks with a slight grin on her face.

He shuddered from the taste, "I don't think I would recommend it for casual use, sure I feel better now than I have in a while, but I think it would be more worth it after an injury or as a last resort, especially since it takes a week to refill."

He looked at the vial, "This could do quite a bit of good you know? Heal ponies with terminal illnesses or other life altering conditions. But given how limited it is, it would take quite a bit of power to keep it in the right hooves, keep it from being stolen and sold to the highest bidder."

He would set it back where Cali found it and look for another artifact to try, a golden dagger marked with the same star as the cup, "This one looks related to the cup if the stars are any indication, perhaps a mark of whoever made them originally?" He pulled out the book related to the dagger, "It says here, that whoever holds the dagger cannot die, it does not protect them from things like aging, disease, or other damage, only that they will not die..." He shuddered, "There's some accounts here, seems this artifact was fought over in ancient wars before it came here, one who had the dagger had it in their mouth when they were beheaded, and lived disconnected from their body until the dagger was removed. Could be useful to keep someone from dying before they can receive care, but beyond that..." He noticed something else, "Ah! It also says that while holding the dagger they receive the combined combat training of everyone who has used it before, so maybe a bit more useful then." 

Cali smirked and listened as he spoke. That dagger would probably be extremely useful for her, especially if her enemies like Bayonet or the Snarl come by again. They would be in for a massive shock if that was the case. She would probably use that vial once again when it was refilled. But this dagger. So many possibilities with it.

She then would look at the dagger, before taking it into her hands. "Holds? Well, I can hold it forever probably. Hmm....' she said as a red portal opened up next to her. She reached into it and grabbed a carrying bag, and then put the bag on in a way that she would be able to access this dagger quickly if need be. She then places it into the bag and closes it. "Fascinating artifact, I have to say. Adverting death is probably the most powerful one of the ones in here, at least so far. I'd like to keep that one for myself. Does the book say who crafted it or from where it was crafted? None of the others in here did."

Blu shook his head, "Looks like whoever built this place didn't know either, though they suspect that the marks were added by a certain ancient king who used those artifacts in conjunction to rule for hundreds of years. Likely any others we find with that symbol will have been in the possession of this ancient ruler."

He looked sidelong at Cali as she stowed away the dagger, "Not to be ungrateful or anything, but of the two of us I am at the greater risk of death, generally speaking that is."

He turned his attention back to the room, "Anyway, what else to we have here?"

She didn't comment on his wording about how he was at the greater risk of death there. She was sure they were fine of that, at least for now. "I suspect this place was built by the ancient rulers of the past. Who knows though. Maybe there is a book about that here, I haven't found such a thing yet." she looked to the room and walked up to what seemed to be some sort of glasses. 

"I wonder what these are..." she said and then went across and found a book that corresponded to it. She read the book aloud. These glasses allowed the user to see into the future by a few seconds. If powered up enough, the user can see things in the future as far as the magic can supply. The more magic, the further the user can see. Cali was amazed at this.

"Now that's something impressive, and immediately useful. I suspect even the most powerful mages wouldn't be able to power it enough by their own power to see too far in the future, and I assume the power directly correlates to the distance into the future? Well, it would be a trivial matter to connect them to a battery and regulator rune, With enough battery gems and time to charge them, we could then peer with great accuracy at any point in the future."

He'd examine the glasses with his own, with a flash of his magic a pair of runes appeared on his lenses, allowing him to see is if through a magnifying glass, trying to see if he could find any small runes or other clues in the artifact.

"Heh, with these we could know all of our enemies moves before they even do a scratch on us! We could conquer everything, see our enemies before they even show up!" she laughed rather arrogantly at that. Unfortunately his look on the glasses fails to come up with much. It is as if the glasses themselves resist being looked at. They don't show any signs of what they are made up of. He sees the glasses as if he was looking at them like normal. He feels as though the glasses are deliberately preventing him from looking closer. 

Blu snorted as he put the glasses down, "It would take quite a bit of resources and precision carving before we reach that point, but theoretically yes, if we were based over a leyline and had a direct tap we could do that. It is certainly worth looking into further once we have the gems to precisely regulate the power flow."

He stowed the glasses away on his coat before looking to see what else the room had, he took interest in an ebony staff, and its associated tome, "Says here, this is a staff of specters, gives the wielder the ability to command shadows and hold influence over shadow-kind including, to a limited extent, thestrals. Though it note for them the influence on them is more akin to light persuasion. It is much more effective the closer to shadows the entity is question is. For instance, it gives near perfect dominance over Shadow Specters, notes say that it was once used to dominate even a Specter King. It may not be too effective against Princess Sparkle, but it would serve well to establish order afterwards. Why risk guards when you can conjure a loyal force from the darkness itself?"

Cali simply smirked at his statement about the glasses. "If one is to power up these glasses we would have to find raw magic as it states in the book here. No individual magic, as that might cause something to go wrong." she stated, and listens to what he said about that ebony staff. She rose an eyebrow and stowed the glasses away in her pocket as she looked at the staff intently.

"Nothing too powerful but would definitely make a good distraction for the royal guard for sure. In the night, is when it would be most powerful however during the day, you could control your own shadow to your will, useful for distractions although, direct combat, not sure." 

Blu nodded, "All the more reason for the regulators, batteries, and a tap into a ley line. All things I had only briefly considered a possibility before, but now I can actually bring them to fruition."

It was Blu's turn to smirk, "Ah, but that's the easiest part. Princess Sparkle is terrified of shades and any other 'dark' creature. Having them at our command would make fighting her much easier. Plus, shades and shadow specters attack mentally, while Princess Sparkle's mental defenses are stronger than most, if not all, others, even she won't be able to defend against a swarm."

Gripping the staff he used it to stand on his hind legs, "Woah, I haven't been up like this in a long time. It's... weird, I've gotten used to not having to balance."

Cali could only smirk upon what he had said. "The best way to defeat someone or something is wear them down before they even fight you. This sounds perfect for that. I would also like to at some point...maybe free some of those villains. Chrysalis...King Sombra...Tirek and let them run amok across this land for a little while. See what happens...I want these ponies to realize the stakes of what life truly is." she said to him. 

She rose an eyebrow at his standing on his hind legs. "Perhaps there is a spell we could find to change you back to your...normal form. It must be awful being stuck to your...Equine form. Shapeshifting is what you need to learn next."

Blu shook his head with a serious expression, "No. The removal of their guardians is enough to snap the fear of death into them without getting them killed, drained, or enslaved. It wouldn't be just to punish them all for the faults of their rulers, especially when their rulers aren't present to suffer with them."

He shook his head again, though his expression was less serious, "No... Like I said, I have a better life here. I'm in the best shape I've ever been in, have access to magic. It may be surprising, but I much prefer my life here. There's nothing left for me back where I came from, and leaving it behind was the best choice I ever made."

He dropped down to four legs and elected to hold the staff with his gloves instead, setting the staff on his back. If Cali asked he would reply, "I seem to know more about the shadow kind, I would get the most use out of it."

Otherwise, he would wait for Cali to reveal what she had found.

She rose an eyebrow at what he had said, again. "The shadow staff is yours, then. And on your thoughts of the rulers...fine." she huffed and rolled her eyes. "Maybe we could come up with some sort of artifact or spell to drain the magic of other ponies and other creatures...and once we have their magic we know of it. Like taking their magic from them and then having their knowledge of what it does if that makes sense?" she suggested as she looked at the artifacts more.

There was another vial of a bright green liquid. It was much like others but the cap was different as well as the glass. Perhaps made by a different creator. She looked at the book that corresponded with it after finding it. The vial was capable of making the 'user' have clearer sight and be able to see in the dark...permanently as long as they re-drink from the vile that re-fills itself once every 2 weeks. After the 2 weeks was over, the user would lose that ability exactly 2 weeks later, down to the very second.

She popped off the cap and drunk it down. She clearly revulsion in disgust. "That....tasted like a battery...." she closed her eyes and then opened them, her eyes widening a bit. "Wow! I can see...so much detail in everything!" she was very euphoric and walked around the room, looking at the details of it all.

Blu rolled his eyes, "Well, they can't all be especially useful. Sure there's a few situations where that might be desirable, but there are a number of other methods that don't leave you addicted. You're going to have hyper-accurate vision for two weeks now, how are you going to go back to your flawed vision?"

He shook his head as he looked about the room, "What else do we have here?"

He nearly passed over a mask that seemed to be made of pure glass, it was hard to look at as his eyes kept focusing on the wall behind the mask. He quickly found the book about it and read aloud, "Looks like this is a mask of invisibility, but not in a traditional sense. Rather than being invisible it makes it impossible for anyone to look directly at you or focus their attention on you for more than a moment before it makes something else seem more important. Even just sitting there unpowered it's hard to look at. It does have the downside that it only affects sentient creatures, lesser creatures like animals and non-sentient things like magical traps, will still be able to see you. So it would keep you safe from Timberwolves, but the guards won't be able to target you."

When he tried to reach out for it its effect was more apparent, as he was having difficulty even grasping the mask to try it on, his hoof kept going too far to either side.

He tried to get Cali's attention, "Let's pit two artifacts against each other, can you see this mask?"

Cali was very stunned at the mask. With her vision she was able to see it however its affects made it so even she had difficulties. “I can kinda see it...but not as well as one may think. That mask will be very useful for me. You can have the shadow staff, the mind clearing one, as well as the no death one. But I'd like the vision vial, the mask...and the glasses for myself. You should drink from the other cup...but does that sound like a deal?” she asks with a sly, yet seductive grin on her face. That mask is very useful to her, considering her profession. She walked over and took it from him and put it on, wondering what would happen. In return she gave him the weapon he had found before as well as the cup. 

She poured water from her bottle into the cup, handing it to him. “Lets see what happens with you...” she said, once again slyly.

Blu weighed his options, he wasn't about to say that he found this exchange quite weighted in his favor, but he was willing to go with it. He gave her the glasses as she passed him the dagger, though while she wore the mask it was very hard to remember where she was, so more accurately he held out the glasses for her to take and held out the glove to receive the dagger. "Sounds fair enough. But you can leave off the seduction, I've only got eyes for one mare on this continent, and while we may not agree on everything, I'm not going to be leaving her for a girl I just met. Coming from you anyway, it just feels insincere."

Still, Cali hadn't had any ill effects from the chalice, so he doubted he'd suffer from trying it, so he downed the contents and awaited their effects.

After Cali got the various artifacts from him she had taken the mask off and slid it into her pocket. She sat down at the table. "Hm. My eyes are on no-one. At least in that manner...and at least from those of this world, I will say." she smirked slyly as he drunk down the contents. 

Depending on whether or not he was stronger than those who crafted this artifact, he would feel either stronger or weaker (as I don't know Blu's power level as well as you do). "How do you feel? I felt weaker. Do you?" she asks curiously. 

Blu rolled his eyes, "You were only weakened by the chalice because your ability before hoof so far outshone the power that the chalice could give you. I on the other hoof..." He took a deep breath as he examined his abilities from within, "...wow. Is this how Princess Sparkle felt before? I can see where she got her confidence." He extended his focus to grab every book in the room, quickly organizing them with the artifacts they corresponded to, finding a number of supplementary books on the artifacts that they had already examined, assorted histories and the like. "If I had had casting potential like this when I first got here... I wouldn't have had to learn runemancy."

He sighed as he set the books down, "I could probably do more, but I need to pace myself, pulling too hard is what drives most mages to madness when they boost their powers, the extra magic fries their frontal lobe and all that. Still, while it won't make my constructs any stronger, it will make me more defendable in a fight."

"Seems as though it has made you much more powerful as opposed to mine. What you should do is drink from the cup every day so you can keep this amount of level. With the artifacts we have, we could very well take on Twilight Sparkle however...I want us to study everything in here as much as possible first. I want to gain the advantage more and more. I used to just wing things but that never ended up well...we need to come up with a plan." she sighed at the word plan. She really liked doing things on a whim but with all of this power, even she realized it must be tempered and kindled before absolute victory could be declared. 

"Now we have known all the artifacts in here...let's get back to learning. What sort of magic would you like to learn now? You can choose...or shall I?" she said with a sly grin on that face of hers. She already knew what she would study. Solar Magic. The Sun was the most powerful source of energy. What if she could harness it and perform spells through that of the sun? 

It was Blu's turn to look sly, "Well, it's a good thing you decided to work with me then. I agree though, we want every single advantage we can get. We'll only have one chance to take her down, if we fail on the first attempt there won't be a second, unless you know a way out of the deepest pit of Tartarus."

Blu thought a moment, "Hmm, perhaps if we focused our studies into magics that can align well with the artifacts we have? Since I've got this stadd of shadows it would be useful for me to learn shadow magic and more about the shadow creatures. You with the mask and the vision would be best looking into precision magic, since you can't easily be hit you'll have extra time to prepare more powerful and directed spells. I think our best interest would be to split up, each study to compliment rather than be identical in ability."

"I can pull myself out of just about anything. I was de-powered entirely...killed almost several times...but I found my way out but I'm not willing to push my luck ever again." she crossed her arms and smiled. "Search through anything you want. Only thing is, you'll have to find it." she smirked and started to walk away. She was going to let him do the searching himself this time. She had her mind set on one thing.

"It is funny how you mention powerful spells. What I am going to be studying will be the opposite of what you will study. Solar Magic. The Sun is the most powerful source in all the land, it feeds all life on this planet. It's energy shines constantly. Why not harness that and use it to create spells?' she asked as she went off to search. When she found the books about it she moved the table over there and began to read, sitting down. The shadow magic stuff would be in the next aisle over once he searched enough. 

Blu only muttered to himself as he wandered to start looking at what he could study, "You'd have to take it from Princess Sparkle first, but go ahead."

He wasn't concerned that Scar was leaving him to study for himself, he had wanted a moment to himself in this place after all. He pulled out another of his seeker gems and carefully reversed the detector rune. Now instead of going towards magic it would go away from it. Given how much magic was in the area, if there were any sort of magic draining materials or runes, the seeker would find it. The ability to nullify magic would prove far more valuable than any of the artifacts or spells they had discovered thus far.

Cali just continued to read. The Solar Magic she read first outlined the concept of Solar Magic - outlining it's uses from merely using the Sun's well of power to fuel other spells, or using the Sun's energy to craft weapons out of it's energy or turn it into beams, shields, etc. She just read and read, not practicing just yet. She had gotten used to the whole reading aspect since her time here and soaked up the knowledge with ease. But it would take a long time.

The detector rune would go away from the walls, the shelves and books. It would seem to go towards a certain rune. This rune was above one lone book on alone shelf. It was labeled. "Nullification." but he could barely understand its writing. This book was quite old and dated from the looks of it. If he were to open up and read this book, which he probably would he would find the writing contained in it to be extremely difficult in reading, but if he managed it talked about how to nullify magic and magical constructs through constructing a certain...bomb that when detonated would remove all magic in that area for a certain period of time. It would have to be timed with a timer, as it couldn't last forever. It also talked about how it is possible to cast anti-magic spells however, those would be extremely complicated and require a long time to study. It did tell about how to perform such spells although it had a warning - mistakes would be extremely disastrous and long lasting. Given the writing, its possible he would mess up the understanding of what was said in this book.
> Chapter IX
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Blu read over the text his smile grew, slowly at first, then wider. He didn't need to understand it. That was what the compiler was for, all he had to do was transfer the rune diagrams and spell forms into the compiler, and it would break it down into the components for specific testing. It would definitely still take some time to fully compile, but in the end he would have a blueprint to build a nullifying construct.

Given it had a time limit, it likely had a max on how much magic it could drain before it was filled. If wired correctly the nullifier could produce a fully charged gem battery of immense proportions, enough to effectively power the glasses for precise viewing if his cursory calculations were correct.

He also took note of the rune that had attracted the detector, as it seemed to have at least a dulling effect on the magic field which could be used to potentially make a shied that not only blocked magic attacks, but partially absorbed them. That would require further research.

He would go and recover his briefcase before then looking for the shadow magic section. Once he found the section and set himself up on a table he would first scan in the diagrams and notes from the nullification book, then let it sit and compile while he studied shadow magic.

It seemed to take longer for the scan to scan this book than usual. Maybe it was just the properties of the book, its material, or something of that regard. It would take a long time for him to be fully completed with the scans and his notes on this book. His shadow magic books however, were just like all the others more or less that he was able to learn through with ease.

Meanwhile Cali was learning Solar Magic. She had flipped through the pages. She put the books down every now and then and practiced. She started out by forming fire balls in her hands and getting a feel for the magic itself. The fireballs seemed to not burn her skin, whether that was because of her ability with the magic now, or her bodily manipulation as to not burn, who knows. 

She read and practiced more, then forming barriers around herself using the Sun's energy, but the magic she was using in this library was fairly week because she was not in direct line of sight. More of weakly using the Sun's ambient energy. Then she practiced forming beams, lasers, and constructs out of the glowing orange energy she had started to be able to use. She practiced, and practiced and then read and read. Each time becoming more proficient in this form of magic however her ability was still meager as of yet. It would take time. 

It was unexpected that the compiler was having difficulty with the nullification runes and spells, but not wholly unreasonable. Perhaps iot had found a number of useful connections among the new and existing runes in the database? It was certainly a whole new field of magic to add to the set.

As it came to his studies of shadow magic he focused first on the spells and runes that would let him see in the dark, and soon a new rune was added to the lenses of his glasses that would allow him to see clearly in any level of light.

That finished he turned to applications for the staff he now possessed. Following the instructions from the books on Shadowmancy and the notes on the staff itself, he was able to summon a weak, fledgling specter, not bearing enough intelligence to make decisions or think for itself, perfect for being directed by the staff.

It's limited intelligence made it easy to control, but limited what orders it was capable of understanding. It was a good start, but he wanted a good deal of practice before he considered summoning a shadow creature of greater intelligence.

Cali continued to study and practice Solar Magic. She focused more on her aura, and the fire balls. Making them larger, brighter but still the supply was limited. They weren't too impressive. She needed to go outside into the daylight and practice, however she would focus on learning as much as she can before. Getting a feel for it. She seemed to get more and more precise with the magic as time went on, eventually she felt like she had studied enough of it and stood up. It was time to go outside.

She put the books back and walked up to Blu who was studying or practicing at the time. It had probably been a few hours at the very least. She smirks. "So, how's your shadow magic? I believe I have...mastered Solar Magic so far. But in order to truly test that, I have to be in the Sun's rays." she stated, smirking pridefully. Even with the limited magic she had studied, she felt powerful and prideful. Another form of magic put into her ability list. Less advantages for her enemies. 

Blu looked skeptical as he dismissed the small specter he had been practicing on before looking at his watch, "Mastered? Really? It's a bit generous to say that. Hasn't even been a day. Speaking of, I don't know where you're going to get sunlight in the middle of the night."

He paused in thought, "I should be hungry or tired by now, I guess that restorative potion really worked. Anyway, Shadows are going well, it'll take some time to fully master controlling them, but there's a number of things I can do with them already."

Cali looked at her wrist as if checking a watch that wasn't there. "Middle of the night? Has that much time really passed?" she scratched her head a little bit, pacing about. "Guess you do have a point there. Maybe 'mastered' is a bit of an over-statement...I don't need sleep, technically. But sleep is nice to have. Not now, though." she states and crosses her arms as if a little amused. 

She sat down in one of the chairs and crossed her legs, looking to him intently. "I'll show you what I've learned." she stated somewhat blankly, her eyes wandering a bit as she focused. She formed 2 orange hot glowing orbs in her hands. She expanded and contacted them with her breathing - still far from mastery and needing a good deal of focus. Then they vanished and she stood up, doing a sort of spin as a column of golden light enveloped her as well as some orange-ish flames, yet she was not affected. She smirked to him, as she did another sort of gesture forming a barrier of solar magic around her, and combined it with her own, forming a weird 2-tone color before dropping the barrier and sitting back down, wondering what he thought.

Blu rolled his eyes, "Do you ever tire to talk of your superiority?" To her credit, Blu did look impressed by her demonstration, "Perhaps mastery isn't so far off as I had thought. At this rate you'll be ready to take on Princess Sparkle in no time."

He looked back to the book he had been studying from, "It looks like most of what I've been studying is the opposite, Shadow magic is a consuming force, draining energy from the surroundings to power their effects rather than from the caster, though it mostly absorbs heat rather than light, so it pairs well with fire magic. It'll be a while before I'm practiced enough to demonstrate as impressively as you have though."

He closed the book, "Anyway, does this place have sleeping arrangements? Or should I find lodging in town?"

She scoffed at his first comment there, she was superior and would always be. No matter what. No matter what anyone says, at least in that mind of hers. She simply nodded to his talk about shadow Magic, not as much impressed with that. "Your magic will come in handy, no doubt, but just imagine what it will be like once I am back...to my normal magic." she stated to him and stood up. 

Then she lead him down a hallway off to the left side of the library, one that had not been seen before. It is lined  with the same color torches as they entered in. "As you can see, there are sleeping arrangements here. Kinda like...hotel rooms in a way if I've noticed. Very spartan and basic, though I have to say." she commented gesturing towards the doors that were of an old construction he was unfamiliar with. 

He just rolled his eyes at that as he closed up his briefcase. The scanning would be long done by then, so all it needed to do was compile, and it didn't need to be open to do that. No doubt come morning they would have a number of new runic combinations to try out.

Blu simply shrugged, "Looks like the builders were a practical sort then, not too caught up with needless things. No doubt it will be a good deal better than what I had in that house."

He would look to claim the first bed he found, "If it's all the same to you, let's resume this in the morning. Though if you want to go out and find some more clear gems that would be a big help for my designs tomorrow."

Cali smirked to his last sentence. "Challenge accepted, good night...and sleep well. I will go out and find some clear gems myself...I'll go have a little fun out in the night and then I'll return and take a nice sleep myself." said Cali, who waved him off as he went into his room to go lay down to sleep.

Then she did a slight sprint down the hall, her body seemingly floating up off of the floor as she ran and slowly faded away into a red cloud of sparkling mist - one that he would see if he chose to watch her leave. The red mist flew down the hall, and she turned back into her normal self and waved, the big door opening at the front, she flew out rather fast and over the trees. The wind rushed by her calmly as her eyes adjusted to the night. The door shut behind her with a loud thud - one that he would also hear echo and resound through the halls.

Her body faded away into a small red bird, which then flew up and up into the sky, looking into the full moon's light. No pegasi were flying in the night, she saw town lights in the distance and like an un-natural rocket sprung forth at a jarring speed - intent on her target and nothing else. The red bird soared through the clouds and sky, zipping by. Eventually, slowing down outside town limits.

She scanned the town's design, seeing if anyone was out, or not. Spotting the shops and stores in due time. "This is the best part..." she said to herself as the bird, in a red flash turned into a diamond gorilla. Although she had the mask among other things in her inventory, she didn't want to use it. She wanted to do this raw and with full on adrenaline rushing through her. The gorilla plunged through the air and careened down onto a roof of one of the jewelry stores.

With a loud BANG it smashed through the roof, several alarms sounding. The diamond gorilla smashed away the debris with ease, and punched through the glass cases, a red portal swallowing up all of the precious gems and trinkets. There was a sort of barrier that came up infront of her, like a magical barrier. The gorilla turned into a large drill of sorts and smashed into it, the barrier soon shattering. However, police ponies would already be there quite confused, shocked and horrified.

The drill lurched forth at them, they tried to subdue it and completely failed. Then, turning into the gorilla again she proceeded to raid every shop in town, leaving the town with no precious valuables or trinkets to be sold. She would then fly up into the sky, turning into her normal self as she put the mask on. The police found it extremely difficult to look at her, and so she flew back to the library as her normal self, immensely satisfied. The town was left confused and horrified at what had just happened and with no clues as to who did it whatsoever.

She turned into the weird key-shape and entered the door lock, it unlocked and then she proceeded in. By then he would be sleeping anyways and would walk in, taking the mask off and sliding it in her pocket. The door shut with a loud thud again, but if he was decently asleep he wouldn't have heard it. With the portal, she emptied out a whole pile of the stolen items inone of the other bedroms, one that was across from him. She left the door open so he could see it as soon as he walked out.

Then she proceeded into one of the other bedrooms, layed down and closed her eyes. Soon to fall asleep. He would be the first to awaken in the morning - seeing a massive pile of trinkets, gems and such, in a massive unorganized pile in the room directly in front of him.

Blu did sleep much better than he had the previous night, a combination of both a hard day's study and the far superior bed. I had no doubt been enchanted for comfort and rejuvenating sleep, he felt the best he had in a long time when he got up, though his good mood dipped when he saw the extent of the pile that Cali had displayed, no doubt the spoils of her raid the previous night. He sighed to himself as he started to pick out the gems with sufficient clarity, the ones from the jewelry store were all good quality, but small. "No doubt the town will be on the lookout for suspicious activity for a good long while, if her raid doesn't attract the attention of Princess Sparkle or her friends."

Nonetheless, he gathered up the good gems and his briefcase and set out to the library proper, ready to start the careful process of carving in the designs that the compiler had resolved during the night. He would attempt a nullification rune first, paired with an activator rune he could likely turn it into a grenade or mine of sorts, the small gems wouldn't be able to hold much magic before being filled, but they should be enough of a surprise to give him the upper hoof if it came to that. Otherwise he could attach an explosive rune on the reverse, turning it into a live grenade once the nullifier exhausted the capacity of the gem.

His process for carving the gems was first to put the gem in a holder so it remained still above the table, then with a trio of needles he focused three beams of weak energy, where the three beams met inside the gem it started the carving, hence why he needed clear gems. It was slow work carefully following the plan laid out by the compiler, he had never been quite as good at it as his marefriend was.

He wouldn't test the nullification grenade just yet, once he had finished the first one he would store it away and look into more practical defences, carving shield runes as he waited for Cali to wake up and join him.

The gems themselves were nothing of great interest. Some of them were smaller, some of them larger. The largest one was about the size of your average quarter, no more. Everything with his plans and runic acts went smoothly as he wanted it to be. Though due to the nature of nullification magic, the process seemed slower than he would like.

Cali had walked out and stretched. She had a few interesting dreams, but none too note worthy. It had been a very long time since she had actually slept and enjoyed it just as well as he did, more or less. She looked at what he was doing with tired eyes and then joined him. She yawned and looked him in the eyes.

"Went smoothly last night. A few police ponies spotted me but they couldn't do anything against me. I decided to be more bold this time instead of stealthy. We won't be going anywhere near that town as a result, just in case. I took everything they had to offer." she said to him, smirking proudly at him and then looking over at his work. "Looks like you are already getting to work. It should be day time now...you know what the means." she said with an almost crazed, malevolent smile at the thought of her performing Solar Magic.

"Unless you have any other...plans?" she asked with a leering, almost seductive grin. 

Blu sighed, "Except, of course, food. I can't eat coins or gems you know. Now we've either got to find a way to get food in here, or go to the next town to get food."

He looked at his watch, "That you've still got until about mid afternoon for the effects of the chalice to wear off?" He chuckled, "I took down the time when you drank it, you've got a few hours left yet, but I'm sure you'll know when you're back to normal."

He shook his head, "Do you have an expression that isn't subtly malevolent? Outside of finding some sort of food summoning magic, my only plans are to start testing out these runes and combinations and see what will give us the best results. These small gems aren't good for too much in a permanent set, but I could fashion them into a sort of grenade, definitely not something they'll be ready for. If we can find some portal magic that could solve our food problem and perhaps your problem of moving on."

"Then we'll go to a town and then eat something there. Maybe we could sneak into the town that I just went to and see what sort of things they are doing there after I raided it, or we could avoid it all together and be entirely safe and find another place to eat at." Cali replied. She didn't mind going somewhere to eat. "But after of course, I test out my magic."

She smirked. "I really do wonder what the difference will be between the magic I have learned here, under the influence of Equestrian magic as opposed to my magic. We will find out." 

Cali simply shrugged and got up from the chair. "Then perhaps I'll look for a much larger gem at some point in the future, one that would fit your requirements, but as for now...let's go outside and test my magic out, then we'll go somewhere to find something to eat." she said and proceeded to walk outside. In a red flash she turned back into her pony form, just in case they would be spotted from a distance.

She lead him down the hallway they used to enter, and with the wave of a hoof, she door opened and they walked outside. Her eyes adjusted to the sunlight and she felt an almost surge of power washing through her. She closed her eyes and was clearly finding it hard to control. The door closed behind them. She walked up the hill and onto the largely flat plane ontop of it and stood roughly in the middle of it.

She charged up a fairly large orb of solar energy before firing it off. It exploded silently in the air above them with a wave of heat. She smirked evily and practiced her Solar Aura, the sun's energy enveloping her in a rather bright orange-yellow glow, before testing out the shield and barrier spells that were much thicker and much more effective then the ones inside. 

Once they got outside Blu preemptively switched the enchantment on his glasses to shading, he had a feeling things were about to get very bright. In all he was impressed by her abilities in the sun, she would be a tough opponent to beat if they ever became foes. He'd have to attack at night when his shadow abilities were at their strongest, "Quite impressive, if not a bit flashy. There's certainly no hint of subtlety to you is there?" He chuckled, "With a display like that though, Princess Sparkle would have quite the time trying to beat you. Still, we'll only have one shot, so there's no harm in gaining every advantage we can before we try."

He looked over towards the town that Cali had raided, switching the enchantment to magnification to see the distant town in greater detail, "You certainly did a number on that town, wouldn't be surprised if most of them move away. Ponies are typically quick to flee when threatened after all."

Once she was done practicing she looked off in the general direction of the town. "When you find that no matter how subtle you are, but yet you were still pursued by the same entities that wished for your death, it is easy to throw the subtly away and face it head on. You can't run from everything but in a way, me coming here is just another way of doing so. I hope those entities are gone...gone forever!" she snapped, though not directed at him. A few seconds passed and she looked back at him as if sorry for snapping like that, yet she just brisked it off.

"I feel sorry for those ponies, yet they chose to live there and put so much value in a possession...possessions rule the lives of most, instead of pursuing one's dreams and being truly free above all else. Twilight is nothing different from the villains of the past, while she saved Equestria, she also doomed it under her influence and rule some day. Perhaps I should learn more subtle magic when we get back...so we can STRIKE when they least expect us." she said, feeling quite satisfied with that idea and plan.

Blu looked taken aback, "What? The ponies I've seen would gladly give just about anything if you needed it, they're nothing like humans, so it's unfair to judge them against human nature. I can assure you they are less worried about what you stole than the fact that you demolished their town. You presented a threat to their lives, and if you're not careful then Princess Sparkle will be coming to us, rather than us to her, although..."

He seemed to get an idea, "She is rarely the first one to investigate, if we caused enough of a stir, but not too overtly dangerous, she would eventually send one or two of her friends, the Elements, to investigate. Any one or two of them would be leagues easier to capture than the Princess. Having a hostage would put us in a position that would seriously disadvantage her, not in the least case that she wouldn't be able to use the elements against us if we have one of them captive."

Cali thought to herself for a bit. “Could work...You could use your runic knowledge to research the element of harmony they have...maybe find a nullifer for that magic if the worst came to pass. Although destroying the elements of harmony would be a permanent solution...although we wouldn’t get much out of it ourselves. What if we freed a villain from Tartarus and used them as a distraction?” Cali pondered, putting a hoof to that chin of hers. 


“I am sure we can find the entrance of it some way...” she thought. A thought popped into her mind. “Likely a full world map is in that library... I wonder what the full manifest of prisoners there is...the more help the merrier...although if we capture one of them, we'd have to somehow control them...and for one of the Elements of harmony, we'd have to basically jail them here, feed them, all that sorts of stuff...” she says to him, but seeming on board with that idea. 

"Maybe we could even...get one of them to BETRAY the others...and work for us instead!" she said, bursting with enthusiasm with a cackle.

Blu shook his head, "Anything that big they'd all go together, we need to get them by themselves if we're to have any chance of success."

Blu shrugged, "Really holding them would be a minor concern after managing to capture them. I'm sure there's some magic here that could hold them in a sort of stasis, then we wouldn't even have to feed them, but even lacking that, depending on which one gets sent it may not be all that difficult to contain them."

He shook his head again, "Even Discord couldn't get them to really fight each other, so I doubt we'd be able to manage that even if we did find some sort of mind control here."

"Though, speaking of mind control, one aspect of shadow magic is dream magic, it would be possible to induce a deep sleep in a sleeping subject, bordering on inducing a coma, so really we need only really hold them until they fall asleep, then it gets easier."

"As much as I'd want to disagree, you have a point. If even just one of them is gone, the elements can't be used against us..." Cali smirked widely at the thought. It was quite true after all, and the two of them knew it.

"Doesn't matter who is sent, although I doubt if one of them or two of them are sent they'd have their elements with them...if one of them was sent to that town we better act quick before they leave...if they are even there. The question is, how would we even grab one of them without anyone noticing? My mask and your shadow magic would definitely help but, they will surely know that one of them is gone....hmmm..." Cali thought to herself, clearly malovently in nature.

"I could shape shift into the one that gets stolen...try to act like them...you take them back here and do what you need to do, although you'd have to have a way to open up the lock yourself...unless I leave the door open and then you close it once you get in...perfect plan, am I right?" she was clearly confident in her plan, maybe overly so. She would like to toy, play with, and fool with those ponies that seemed to be the center of attention of it all.

"You see, that is where my plan comes in. I masquerade as one of them and try to instigate and get them to fight...hell I could even bring one or 2 of the others back with me and we could have 3 or 4 of them but...that would draw un-needed attention to us...I'd like the Fluttershy one to be ours...she seems the weakest from what I heard...kindness can't get you everywhere especially when your out-matched, and have no place to run." Cali smirks evily at that, laughing again at the thought.

"You can do what you need to do with the dream magic...or shall I learn for myself and do it? I could make these ponies have waking nightmares they can't even comprehend...make them fearful to even step outside! In that state of mind, they will be powerless...." she looks to him, satisfied with her plan.

“I do have one last idea though...never tried it...I turn into mist and the one we capture breathes it in... my mist merges with their cells and then I get access to their bodies and mind...I never tried this before so who knows what can happen...” Cali grins much wider.

Blu looked a bit incredulous, but shrugged, "If you think you could replace one of them, more power to you. As to the key, I should be able to get a specter to open it the same way you do, they have similarly amorphous bodies. It's be even easier if you could demonstrate the shape of the key, train a shade to take that shape. Beyond that I could set up a teleport rune inside, then just make a rune out here for a guided teleport, bypassing the door entirely."

Blu thought over the plan she had concocted, "Perhaps, if her friends could be convinced that Princess Sparkle were... unwell mentally, they might be more easily convinced to help stop her. Perhaps if they were convinced she were possessed or turning evil? I could likely implant those sorts of ideas in their heads, making her normal idiosyncrasies seem all the more suspicious."

"As to your last idea however, you could just as easily be trapped within their bodies, destroyed by their internal magics, obliterated by the elements, or caught halfway. Perhaps some combination of the above. Lets stick to less risky maneuvers for now."

He turned his attention back to the town, "You attacked last night, if someone went out to inform her right after you left, they'd get to Ponyville... an hour ago at best. In another hour yet at worst. Unless her magic map told her about the event. Regardless, whoever she sends will come by train, unless it's Captain Dash by herself. Given the nature of your destruction seems the most likely. Brash, a bit reckless," He cast a sidelong glance at Cali, "Not unlike yourself. She'd be the hardest to capture and restrain, but the easiest for you to impersonate."

He shook his head, "Regardless, the soonest they'd arrive is tonight, likely not going to investigate until morning. If they don't come tonight... then I would suggest we do something to attract their attention. Something flashy, but not destructive, you've broken enough of the town already. And if they have arrived, something flashy would make them all the easier to capture in the morning, give us an example of their style so we can counter it before they report back to the princess, allowing you to take their place." 

With a flash of red light, she had shapeshifted into the key right before his eyes, the key was positioned upright. It was a bit larger than his body. It had a vague W shape with various interconnected circles seemingly done random, with an arrow shape at the middle of the W. "First things first, let's get this key issue solved. I assume you can manipulate the shadows into the shape of this key and do your best to memorize it. 

Shadow magic is similar to shape shifting after all, so even if it isn't perfect at first you can manipulate the shadow to the exact shape of the key-slot within the door. But your second point is easier to do for you. Go set up a teleport rune inside the door way, it seems easier and simpler." she said, still maintaining the form of the key for him to look at if he wanted. If he were to go set up the runes, Cali in her key form would float in the air and 'watch' over what he was doing.

The key did a slight spin in the air as he finished. "Less risky moves it is. After we are done with this...key issue we will head off. So all in all, we will go to that town and see whats up with it." she smirked a bit at his comment about Rainbow Dash. "I can see why you'd think that, unlike her, I am not limited by wings or my blind desires to merely be the fastest...she is fairly short sighted from what I have read, meaning that she rarely thinks outside the box." she said, the key doing another spin in the air. 

"My idea for sneaking into that town is that I hide as a necklace around your neck and you sort of go into town casually. Although that leads the possible point of them not recognizing you as one of them, but due to the whole confusion of what I did there, I'd be willing to bet the ponies there would be more focused on what had just happened. If everything goes to plan and I manage to replace one of them we'll have to have a way to communicate. Maybe like a rune that would allow us to communicate much like a phone or something of the sort? I would take the form of one of them, hand the restrained and real one to you, and then you do what you deem needed." 

She thought for a few seconds about Princess Sparkle. "You could learn dream magic while I am away, and implant those thoughts in Princess Sparkle. Do the best to corrupt her mind and make her mentally disturbed. I'm not sure how long I'll be able to masquerade as one of them but in doing so I'll be able to gather intel, and hopefully find the elements of harmony and steal them." she laughs at that thought, almost a bit too much. 

Blu spun the staff and stabbed it into his shadow, which grew darker for a moment before a specter rose out of his shadow and started to slowly take the form of the key that Cali was demonstrating, "Always best to have options, no reason why we can't have the key and the rune, the rune would need to be reset between uses anyway."

It would take a few minutes for the specter to take the form of the key, at which point Blu had it practice forming the key a few times before dismissing it. Then he would set about prepping the receiver rune a short distance past the doorway to one side of the hallway. Similar to how he carved the gems, he used a trio of magic beams to crave the rune into the floor, it was a circle, just wider than he was long. It would take about half an hour to finish the rune, but given the nature of the library it would be powered as soon as it was finished.

Blu thought for a moment on her plan, "No reason why you can't just go as a pony, but having a way to communicate will certainly be useful, let's look into that before we go into town, that way we can go separately and not be seen together if anyone there is suspicious. We should also prepare the library to hold them, perhaps securing one or two of the bedrooms to be holding cells. That shouldn't take too long, then we can go into town about when whichever element gets sent should arrive, about early evening or so."

He shook his head, "I'm not Princess Luna, I'd have to be pretty close to influence anyone's dreams, so I could get into the heads of whoever we capture, but I'd have to be in her castle at the furthest is I were to have any hope of influencing her directly."

He thought again, then drew out the receiver rune on a sheet of paper, "I assume you'll want some backup when you do go against Princess Sparkle, find some secluded place in the castle once your inside to make the rune, then you can signal to me through our communicator when you're ready for me to come through and join the fight."

When all was said and done with the construction of the runes and the 'shadow cloning' of the key, Cali reverted to her normal human form and just observed what he had set up. "Alright, that is done. One step out of the way." she said and was quite satisfied with his work. She began to walk down the hall again, once they were inside the door closes. "Lets prepare some of the bedrooms to be holding cells. We should create some runes to create some sort of magical barrier around the door way so they can't escape. Maybe wearable runes for us so we are immune to this barrier and we can go through it whenever we please." she said, walking to the rooms.

She observed the room she had piled the gems into and simply laughs at the sight of it and points to the 2 bedrooms on the same side, next to it. "Those 2 will do just fine, for now."  and then she looked to him. "Lets create this communication rune next. Your idea is what I was going to do. I'd like to have back up during the fight itself, and I am sure you'd like to join in after the effort we have done so far." she paced about. "Before the fight, I can activate it, you can come and influence her dreams to weaken her before the fight itself even begins." 

Blu examined the entry to the bedrooms closely, then nodded, "It'll be easy enough to seal the doors with runes, but I think making the barrier permeable adds too many risks. It they overpowered us inside the room they could leave and we'd be trapped inside. Better if we made a door just large enough to pass food through, I don't think we'd need to have direct interaction with them otherwise."

He stepped back from the doorway, "I'll start engraving the barrier rune if you want to look into long distance communication. If not a rune you might be able to find a spell or enchantment. I know Princess Sparkle had an enchanted book at one point that was paired with another book such that anything written in one appeared in the other. Perhaps we could find a pair of those books?"

Blu would set up his briefcase to look up a combination of runes for the barrier, getting started once the program had resolved a solution.
> Chapter X
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

While he was setting up and doing his work, Cali simply nodded and walked off. Roughly 10-15 minutes later she would come back with such a book in hand. She handed it to him for him to read, after she stood there studying it for a little bit. After they were done reading from this book Cali would say. 

"That all? I'd like to get this show on the road here. If I see any of them, I will restrain them, replace them, and then you will take them here and put them into the bedrooms here." she states and opened up a red portal next to it, she seemed to step into it, rummaging through it and pulled out chains, door locks, and stuff. "These would help with the door situation. These are state of the art stuff I stole a long time ago." 

It hadn't actually taken that long to get the runes finished on the first door, and doing them the second time was quicker as he already had the practice. He'd be about halfway done with the second when she came back with the paired books.

Blu rolled his eyes, "Patience, we've got at least an hour before the earliest they'll be here. Any chance you could teleport them into the cells when you capture them? That would simplify transporting them. If not, I could put receiver runes in the cells, then make a sender rune on a gem that you could charge and throw at them, though there is an extra issue. If there are two of them, do you plan on somehow replacing both of them? Or do we need to come up with an excuse for why one stayed behind?"

Blu looked over the supplies she gave him as he made his way over to the first doorway, tapping a rune on the outer frame which caused the field to spring to life, covering the doorway with a blue glow, "They would help, if we had a door to chain up. This way we'll be able to keep an eye on them as well. But these chains might still be useful if they prove especially rambunctious."

He turned back to finish up the second doorway, "If you want to scope out the town, start planning where and how you'll capture the elements, be my guest. I'll be along once I've tested that these fields will hold."

"If there are 2 of them, I will basically turn into some sort of restraint chair for them and fly back here. I can maneuver my forms pretty well, and with that mask, they won't even be able to see me approaching at all. You could make that rune as a back up though." she said, smiling a little slyly. "But that leads into the next idea I had..." 

"Some of these chains can be used to chain the door up, but I was also planning on using them to chain up whoever we capture themselves so they are less of a problem for us, as you said. I will go scope out the town, when your there go to one of the cafes or places to eat, and I shall be with you eventually. However if I actually see one of them there when I get there, I will begin the capture procedure..." she said with a rather Malevolent look with a power hungry smirk. She knew what she wanted. This was her plan, and she was going to do her best to get it through. 

She looked to him as she stood up and handed the other book to him if he wanted to read from it. She looked at the blue barrier in an approving manner before doing some sort of flashy show offy pose before she resumed back into her pony form and sprinted down the entrance / exit hall way. She waved a hoof and the door opened and then floated out of the door way, once a little ways away, in a red flash she turned into a inconspicuous looking falcon and flew off in the direction of the town. Cali began soaring quite high.

It would take probably an hour or so, or longer to reach there. She was taking her time and not flying as fast. She enjoyed the feeling of the sun on her falcon wings, soaring above to great heights and over looking the land. She could spot some pegasi in the distance flying about, as it was that time of day where everybody would be out doing their daily tasks in life and such. The sun's rays on her wings was relaxing, warming, and she felt more powerful in the sunlight, and so she felt far more comfortable with what she was going to do. 

The falcon circled around the town, scoping the town out to see what was going on. It landed on rooves and looked everywhere to see if there would be any certain ponies for the taking here. 

Blu sighed, as that wasn't at all what he had meant, but she'd realize the error of her ways soon enough.

Blu nodded, "Alright then, I'll see you there."

He wasn't in too much of a hurry once Cali had left, one of the shadow abilities he had been meaning to try out, shadow step, would allow him to get to the town fairly quickly so long as he could see a big enough shadow to step out of, which he had specced out when he was examining the town earlier.

That gave him some time to explore the library a bit, plan out what he would study over the few days that it would take Cali to be ready for his arrival in Ponyville. First he looked if he couldn't find anything else on nullification, also keeping an eye out for extradimensional portals, the kind that would allow Cali to look for her friends across the multiverse. He'd also note down the location of any other topics that struck his fancy.

After about an hour of looking he would mark down the locations of everything he had found, make sure the teleport runes were charged in the cells, then walk out of the library and ensure he had all three sender runes before closing the library door behind him. As he looked for a shadow in the distant town to step out of he draped himself in shadow, turning his blue coat to a dark grey, hopefully it would be enough to keep whichever elements came from recognizing him if/when they came into contact.

Blu found a shaded alley he could step into, and cast the specter to connect them. It would take the shadow a few minutes to get to town, giving him enough time to find a shadow on his end to step into.

She wouldn't see any elements just yet, but by the plumes of steam coming up from the direction of the tracks, it wouldn't be long before a train pulled in, more than likely containing the elements she was looking for.

After spending a while of searching, she perched on a building nearby and proceeded to observe the train pulling in. The falcon looked inconspicuous, but Fluttershy with her sense for animals might notice it. If she did, she would feel that something was quite off about that bird. Like it wasn't an animal at all. The falcon would wait until it saw any elements walk out, and then proceed to observe them. Cali wanted to wait until there wasn't a whole lot of ponies around to perform the 'capture'. She also looked over at the cafe area, which was also nearby to the part where they would get dropped off at, seeing if he would show up there, but her desire to capture any elements might overwhelm her plan to go eat with him...

If she was set on catching them alone, she would have quite the wait ahead of her as the elements were mobbed by the locals just about as soon as they got off the train, many voices shouting about how their business or home had been damaged by the beast, asking what the crown was going to do about it.

Though perhaps the mobbing was also a good thing, as it kept Fluttershy from noticing much of anything as she stood back to let RD take the brunt of the public, "Give us some space wouldya? You want us to take care of this or not?" This quieted the crowd a little, but there was still the mob, "Now, take us to where the attack was, and we'll see what we can do. Not promising anything just yet."

The crowd would then move with the elements in their midst to the center of the destruction Cali had caused, they were given space to examine the wreckage and get stories from individuals about what had occured.

Blu on the other hoof was also glad for the crowd around the elements, even less of a chance they would recognize him as he observed them on his way to the cafe Cali had mentioned, it had luckily been spared the worst of the damage from her attack, nonetheless the proprietor had gone off with the mob, so he was left to wait at a table and watch until the owner got back.

The falcon went from building to building and went to watch the mob swarm those 2 ponies. It was Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. She kept a good eye on them, watching them go off to the destroyed, and robbed Jewelry store. She would eventually notice Blu sitting at a table alone a few minutes later. There was nobody around really but she still was careful. The falcon landed in an alleyway that Cali made sure nobody was about after looking left and right, the mob went off in the opposite direction. She turned into her normal pony form and proceeded to join Blu at the table. She smirked slightly, after evading the mob.

She sat next to him and whispered. "So far so good. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are here. They were swamped by a mob of villagers as they entered, they went off to the Jewelry store that I had robbed and destroyed. That will take them time to investigate. Time to eat?" she looked around, noticing the lack of anyone around at the cafe. "Or not, it seems. I guess we can go to where the mob is...and capture them..." she whispered, in a way so that nobody listening would be able to eavesdrop in on their conversations.

Blu shook his head, "We can't take any risks. Remember, once we take the first step we'll have to win in one go. We won't get a second shot at this."

He kept his gaze on the mob with a slight smile, "They'll tire quickly, then they'll be alone while they rest. We can either have you stage another attack, get them to chase you out of town and capture them then, or you can simply abduct them silently in the night. If you're stealthy enough you could warp them into the library without even waking them. Imagine the surprise  on their faces when they wake up captured."

He pulled out the sender runes, "Set these on them and activate them with magic, that'll teleport them to the receivers in the cells, if you want to do it that way. Regardless, we want none of the townsfolk to see them being abducted, lest they report back to Princess Sparkle and foil our plan."

Cali nodded in reply, satisfied with that. "While normally I would just go in all guns blazing so to speak we have to be extra stealthy about this. They will probably rest in that train that went here, or stay in one of the hotels here, right?" Cali asked, just to make sure. "I could go stage another attack right now if you wanted, but that would probably hard to do without anyone noticing, you know. Guess we'll wait then." Cali says with a slightly sly grin

"Since you are the one that needs to eat you can eat here while I observe their movements and strike accordingly, although nobody is really here right now." she continued. She took the runes with her hoof and stood up, ready to go unless Blu had any objections.

Blu nodded, "From what I saw on my way in, there's only one hotel of any sort in town, more than likely they'll be staying there. Getting them at night should be the best option, either by using the runes or by luring them out of town with a repeat. Either way, you should be ready to take their place as soon as you get them lest anyone notice they're missing."

Blu stood from the table as Cali moved to leave, ""I'll have better luck finding something to eat in the market I think, their goods at least are still available while unattended.

Cali nodded in approval of this. "Go and get your food. I will be at the hotel, waiting for you and them." she says to him and waves at him as he walked off. Then she walked off to an alleyway that nobody was around at. She slid the glass mask onto her face and walked out. Any pony around wouldn't notice her at all as most would have a lack of awareness. Then she proceeded into the hotel and waited at the entrance. She just waited for her...victims to arrive. When and if they did, she'd follow them to the room they were going to.

She would be waiting for a few hours before the sun started to set and the elements finally retired to the hotel, the hotel staff rushing to prepare their rooms before they arrived, giving Cali an easy opening to wait for them in their rooms if she were so inclined. There was quite a bustle of staff outside their rooms, but no one was in their rooms for too long at any one time.

The staff cleared out momentarily from the hall right as the two were headed to their rooms, they looked weary, RD more than Fluttershy, who looked to have more concern for the populous as well as whatever 'poor scared baby ursa' had attacked the town the night before.

RD scoffed, "A scared creature doesn't do damage like that. The way the townsfolk spoke it sounded malicious, violent even. Still, not much we can do if we can't find it."

"I... I'm sure we'll be able to find it in the morning, the poor thing couldn't have gone far, but maybe it won't get lost again?"

RD rolled her eyes, "Maybe. Goodnight Fluttershy."

"Oh, goodnight Dash."

With that they went into their separate rooms.

Blu, after taking some produce and leaving some coins and gems in their place, shadow walked back to the library, using his new shadow key to open the door and closing it behind him, he prepared for his side of the plan. He stripped off the disguise, then went into the third bedroom, one where he'd be able to get to and from the library without being seen by the other two, he had cut a small hole in the connecting walls, they wouldn't be able to see through, but they would be able to talk through the hole to each other, and to him. He figured the best way to get their cooperation would be to pretend that he too had been captured. They wouldn't see anything to the contrary, and so long as they thought he was on their side he could keep them from trying too hard to escape. Allowing them to talk to each other would further placate them.

All that remained was for him to wait until they arrived.

Cali proceeded to hide into Fluttershy's room. When she entered, Cali took off the mask and smirked at Fluttershy who had recently gone to bed. She silent moved, a red flash from a portal opening up next to her and she rolled out a barrel and placed it by the door. It was fairly heavy and would act as a deterrent for anyone getting in or leaving. With her hooves, a bright orange orb would form and she would proceed to run her hand along the window frame. It melted the frame completely shut so nobody could escape. 

Then she proceeded to tap Fluttershy, who would likely be scared. Fluttershy would be met with the red eyes of Cali in her pony form. Her dark blue coat, and that key-lock as her cutie mark. When Fluttershy would be aware of Cali's presence Cali would speak.

"That was a good guess of who or what attacked the town, unfortunately, it is very much far off. You ponies fail to understand there are other worlds out there and you never question anything in your surroundings. You blindly fall into the traps that are set for you. You blindly assume that everyone out there has a good motive. That is not the case. You go about your lives like normal as if there is no mystery in life. You never have any will or desire to bring anything forward other than....such a concept as friendship...not everyone will be your friend." Cali's eyes flashed as she paused. "You are the kind one to everyone to meet, Kindness will only get you so far...for when people come about with nefarious intentions in mind...like myself..." Cali rolled her eyes. "You will be caught within your words."

"It seems the plan has worked. Now Fluttershy, I won't harm you. The last thing I'd want is for you to be harmed. Please stay calm..." Cali would take out her teleporting rune and fiddle with it in her hooves as she awaited Fluttershy's reply. She however, would make sure Fluttershy wouldn't scream.

Throughout Cali's speech Fluttershy remained motionless, petrified by fear. It was only after Cali stopped speaking that she hesitated a response, "Whu... what do you mean? Who are you? Wh- Why would you say something like that?"

She clutched the blankets tightly to her, as it they would provide some form of protection.

Cali looked deeply into Fluttershy's eyes. "It's because I am not from this world. The attack on this town was my doing for reasons you won't understand. Believe me, it is far beyond what you can comprehend as of this moment." Cali sat at the edge of the bed. "I'm from another dimension. Thus, I don't conform to this world's laws and expectations." she said and reached over to give Fluttershy a pat on the head, gently petting her to try to calm her down.

Fluttershy was simply confused and terrified by Cali's words and actions. When Cali reached out towards her she shrieked and would dash out of the bed, even out of the room if Cali didn't stop her. She demonstrated quite the agility while terrified.

If Cali let her escape, or simply failed to catch her, she would run into RD's room in an attempt to get her help.

Fluttershy's agility was enough to get out of the bed and to the door....but Fluttershy ran into the barrel at the door that Cali had placed there previously. Cali lightly laughs at this. "I am sorry...you'll calm down soon enough..." Cali's red hued magic envelops the scared pegasus and brings her closer. On Cali's hoof is the rune she had in her fur. She touches the rune to Fluttershy and activated it. If all went well, Fluttershy would poof away and be teleported to one of the cells. If it worked, Cali would remove the barrel and sneak into RD's room.

Fluttershy certainly thrashed in Cali's grasp before she hit her with the teleporter rune, once the rune was activated Fluttershy disappeared with a 'pop' and the paper the rune was on turned to ash.

Sneaking into RD's room it was clear by the snores that she was a much deeper sleeper than Fluttershy was, if she simply teleported her out she might not even be woken by it.

Blu was started to get concerned at how long it was taking Cali to get the elements, he wondered if she had decided to do a follow-up attack after all, and was about to go out and check when he heard the 'pop' of Fluttershy coming through the teleport rune into the cell.

She would likely still be thrashing a moment until she came to her senses and realized she was in a comfortable cell instead of Cali's magical grasp.

Blu would come near to hear if she called out, but would remain out of sight so she couldn't see him.

Cali proceeded into Rainbow Dash's room and didn't even bother to wake her. She put the rune on Rainbow Dash who was teleported away with a 'pop'. Then Cali proceeded to sneak out of the town, and turned into that falcon form and proceeded to begin her way to fly back. Deeply satisfied with what had happened there. It would take her a bit to arrive back at the library.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was sleeping in the bed in the cell, not knowing anything of the event that happened. The cell walls and door were thick, to ensure that she would sleep without knowing a thing.

Fluttershy however, would thrash around until she felt that Cali wasn't there. It took her a few moments to realize that she was in entirely different place. A decent sized, if basic bedroom. It had a sink, small bathroom of sorts, a desk. It was illuminated by a small light orb that kept the room illuminated. "W-what...." she said, shuddering in total confusion, her voice quiet. She walked up to the door and was unaware of the barrier beyond the door. She tried the door. It was locked. "I-I...w-who was she? Where...am I...?" she asks quietly. The whole confusion of the moment dominated her mind. 

Blu considered responding, but the 'pop' of RD's arrival occured before he could think of what to say. She works fast after all. Once he was sure that RD was sleeping, he decided to start his ruse with Fluttershy. He went over to the small hole he had made to be able to talk, but not see, through the walls. "Fluttershy? Is that you? How did... oh no! Did she get you too?"

Fluttershy took a second or two to recognize his voice. It was Blu. "B-blu? Is that you?" Fluttershy asked meekly, before going on over to the hole. "S-she got me too...it seems...w-who is she? D-do you know anything about her? Whoever she was...she was very...strange..." Fluttershy responds, still quite puzzled and even more so at Blu's apparent presence here. 

"I... I don't know exactly, she sounds crazy. She said she was from another world, like the one Princess Sparkle went to through the mirror. She seems to have something against Princess Sparkle, did she make enemies in the other world?"

Blu knew that Fluttershy knew that he shouldn't know about the portal. But he also assumed Fluttershy would be smart enough to understand that since Spike went as well, and Blu and Spike were practically brothers, that it wasn't unreasonable that Blu knew something about it.

"I've been trying to find a way out, but this place is a veritable labyrinth, with magic everywhere. Even though we can talk doesn't mean we're close, this hole could be a magic conduit or something, but I'll try and find you. I have to be careful though, if she finds out I can leave my cell, she'll close up the hole I've been escaping through. Stay calm alright?"

Fluttershy shudders at that. "I-I don't...really know what to say to that but...lets try to escape here...I'm not sure...what to do..." said Fluttershy. She went back over to the door and tried to unlock the door. She failed. "This door is locked...I can't unlock it. I can't even..." she tried the handle as if trying to break it. She wasn't strong enough in the least. "Break the handle...its no use...we are trapped here!" Fluttershy started to sob a bit. "All of...the villains we faced...this one is different...p-please let me out! I don't want to be trapped in here! I don't know what she'll do to us!" Fluttershy started to panic.

Blu sighed, Fluttershy was not easily lifted out of a panic without Angel, and he highly doubted the bunny had been brought along on this trip, much less with her in the teleport. "Fluttershy, you need to stay calm, panicking is only going to waste your energy. She hasn't hurt me, so I don't think she'll hurt you either. As far as I can tell she just wants us out of the way so she can get to Princess Sparkle. I'm going to look around, you stay calm so you can answer if I knock on your door. If you panic yourself until you faint then I won't be able to find you."

With that he would step away from the hole and head to the library, he would study for about an hour before going to knock on Fluttershy's door, he needed to instill the idea that he really was far from her cell.

Fluttershy took deep breaths, trying to calm down. "Deep breathes Fluttershy...deep breathes...you can do this..." she says trying to reaffirm herself of the situation. 

A little before an hour, Cali had arrived. The large stone block at the entrance opened up with her putting her 'key' form in, then entering inside. The big boom of it closing would jolt Fluttershy a bit. Cali entered in her human form like normal. She headed to the library and saw Blu studying. Cali grinned evily. "The plan worked...didn't it? Are the 2 in the cells? They better be..." she says to him, as if angry if he had done something wrong, but also fooling with him a bit.
> Chapter XI
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blu rolled his eyes, "What? Just because I like being a pony doesn't mean I'm as easily swayed as them. Fluttershy's panicked, as I expected, I've been looking to see if there's a rune that could calm her, but runes that affect mental states are few and far between. She'll tire herself out soon enough, then she won't be an issue. Not that she poses too much issue awake, outside of her stare. Rainbow, on the other hoof, is either dead or sleeping like one, which will make trapping her in a fantasy trivial. Speaking of..." He spun the shadow staff in his grip before knocking it against a wall to summon a specter, "I should see to that before she wakes up."

He passed over one of the linked communication books, "Here's your half of the book, any message you write, I'll see, and vice versa. Be aware, RD isn't known for writing or reading much. You best get to taking their place before someone notices their disappearance."

Blu would head off towards the 'cells' stopping out of earshot if Cali decided to follow him, "I'm working to convince Fluttershy I'm on her side so she doesn't try too hard to escape. She thinks you captured me too. Don't mess that up."

Once he entered the hall with the bedrooms he directed the specter, silently, into RD's room to lock her in a fantasy dream world if she were asleep, or solicit a reaction if she were awake. Once that was done he would start knocking on doors, whispering for Fluttershy with a distinct worry in his voice, Fluttershy would likely hear his soft knocks before he got to her door, and if she called out he would quickly move to her door, "Fluttershy? Oof, you aren't close to where she's been keeping me, not nearly. I've got to run back as it is to get back before she catches that I left. Did you hear the boom? That was her returning."

Cali took the book in her hand and tucked it away. She approves of his plans with RD and Fluttershy and began heading out. "Excellent. Good luck. If anything goes sour I'll just be on my way back. Not that they will even be able to track me anyways." she did some sort of gesture to him as she began walking off. She was quite confident in her ability to do the task.

Rainbow Dash was currently asleep so, shew as locked into a fantasy dream world. At least she was having a good time in that, completely unaware of what was going on.

As she was walking out, Fluttershy would go over to where he heard his voice. "Y-yes I heard the boom...get back quickly before she notices!" Fluttershy says in a whispering voice, she really wanted to get out of here. Blu might feel bad for her.

Cali would exit the library. Once she did there would be another 'boom' as the heavy block closed. She shapeshifted into a falcon and proceeded to fly back. It would take a while, but once there it was still night time. She zeroed in on the hotel and proceeded to fly down, perching on the roof. The falcon located and peered into Rainbow Dash's room. If there was nothing up, she would fade away into red mist, shape shift into Rainbow Dash and take her place in the bed, if there was, the falcon would just observe.

While Blu was never close to Rainbow by any stretch of the imagination, he had learned enough about her to know a few things about her goals and aspirations, making a fantasy for her to remain in was trivial, any sort of competition would do, just the thought of training for a competition would be engaging enough that she wouldn't notice the time passing around her.

Blu nodded though she wouldn't be able to see, "I will, try to get some rest. I'll come back for you as soon as I can."

With that he would leave quickly, or at least loudly enough to sound like he had galloped away. He'd be able to pass a spector through the hole in their adjoining wall once she was asleep, then the two of them would be safely packaged for storage until the battle, where he would have another use for them.

In his studies he had come across a charm that allowed ones body to be nourished in a sort of stasis while sleeping, provided there was enough magic available to sustain it. With the magic available here it wouldn't be too hard to add that charm to their induced sleep, then the only pony he'd have to worry about feeding was himself.

Thusfar, it did not appear that anything was amis, while there was a more vigilant guard presence in the town that night, no one had noticed the absence of the two elements. Cali would be able to take Rainbow's place undetected until morning, when one of the maids would knock, "Captain Dash, Ma'am, would you like breakfast brought to you? Or will you be coming down for it?"

Fluttershy fell asleep soon enough, and the 2 captured ponies were safely 'detained' by him. He had no trouble finding the charm and he was able to do whatever he wanted without interruption. He was basically alone here for the first time. If he was curious enough, he could search wherever he wanted. Perhaps he might find stuff Cali didn't tell him yet or places he hadn't been yet.

Meanwhile Cali was groggily awaking in bed, trying her best to imitate dash. "Ugh..." she says, rubbing her eyes with her hooves and then looking over at the maid. "Bring it on over here..." she says as she yawns.

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As soon as he was sure he was alone he set out to scour the whole library with two topics in mind:

Anything and everything on antimagic, and anything similar. The nullifier rune that seemed to double as a collector seemed like a good fit for his plan, but further research could only serve to improve his chances of success.

Anything and everything on interdimensional portals. Priority one was to get something out of this dimension, second priority was to send it somewhere particular.

After a bit of searching he had a third priority. Magic that would produce food, or make it so he didn't need to eat for a bit.

He was able to locate antimagic books soon enough. They were on a shelf that was colored differently from the rest as if this type of magic was wildly different from everything else here/ There were a few books on the shelf, when he read them they talked about an anti-magic powder of sorts that was made through combining all natural elements which were listed, into one through a complicated and costly spell. This powder could be crafted into anti-magic shields, barriers and the like through magical means. It seems antimagic, at least the kind described here had to be done indirectly through spells, rather than directly. The last book details casting it directly although with one improper move could yield an explosion that removes all magic including the caster's magic in the vicinity until it replenishes on its own. 

Interdimensional portals were on what seemed to be the cosmic magic area of this library. They were extremely costly and would require more than 2 ponies or 2 very magically inclined ponies in order to create although there was no way to tell when, and where they would lead and there were some hazardous accidents such as a portal opening up inside of a star or into deep space. As for sending something particular it is stated that in the past the great unicorns were able perform great spells and such, however those abilities were lost to time and only the wisest and most powerful were allowed to possess such knowledge. Oddly enough, such things aren't listed here. 

It would be sufficient, his plan would still revolve around the first method he had found, though causing an explosion of antimagic intentionally could still be useful. All else failing, he could beat people pretty hard with his staff, and anyone who got their magic drained unexpectedly would be easier to take down for a moment or two, especially those more reliant on magic. He took down a list of the ingredients for the antimagic compound. With enough he should be able to make a ring or band that would render the wearer magically inert, a must if one was to capture a powerful mage like Princess Sparkle.

He had hoped for more promising results. He'd have to open a number of smaller portals first, find a destination that wasn't immediately hostile , then use that for the larger portal he had in mind. While finding specific locations seemed to be beyond his abilities before the fight, it was clear that if the former set of portals posed a danger from what was on the other side, then sending something the other direction shouldn't be an issue. He was sure the compiler would be able to make some headway on stabilizing the portals. He wasn't worries about power requirements, if everything went according to his plan, he'd have more than enough power.

Blu would feed all this new information into the compiler and give it a directive of compilation: Design a full field magic absorption rune, and Design a stable portal rune series.

Blu would look into gathering the components while the compiler set about resolving the directives.

Blu is able to work in absolute silence. The silence aids in his work, but it might also be un-nerving. He is completely alone here. It is silent besides the sounds of his work and his flipping of pages in the book. The antimagic information however was extremely difficult to put into the compiler. It's as if the information itself didn't want to be compiled. The portal information was also difficult as well, but not to the degree of the antimagic information.

Blu prefered to study in silence, and this was one of the first times in a long time that he was able to do so, and he intended to make the most of it.

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The maid nodded, "I'll bring it right up ma'am."

When the maid returned she had a bit of a worried expression, "Um, here's your breakfast ma'am, Miss Fluttershy is not in her room, do you know if she'll be returning shortly or where she might have gone?"

"Maybe she went for a walk earlier this morning? She hasn't told me anything of where she was going. Maybe she'll be back soon? I don't know." she shrugged and went ahead to begin chowing down on the breakfast. 

The maid nodded, "That makes sense. The mayor is interested in meeting with the two of you at your earliest convenience, he isn't a very patient stallion."

With that the mare would leave Cali to eat.

Cali went and finished her food and once that was done, she proceeded to wherever the mayor was, provided she was told. If not, she just looked for the maid and asked. She was thinking of ways to lie to the mayor as she walked there.

Once he had gathered any of the necessary ingredients that could be found inside the library, he would go outside to try and find the rest of the components.

The maid gave her an odd look, "You were just there last night?" she sighed, "The mayor's office is just up the road, just to the right of the train station."

Once at the mayor's office the secretary would let her in, "The mayor is expecting you Captain Dash, go on in."

Inside the mayor's office, the mayor was looking out a window that faced the damaged buildings from his chair, "What do you think Captain? Should we be worried? Will the crown be sending aid now that you've seen the damage?"

Cali had to think of the answers fast as she herself didn't know the answers to those questions. She assumed a bold pose infront of the mayor. "Sir, we shouldn't be worried. I believe Fluttershy told me last night that it was the result of a rare form of Gorilla that got lost from its herd and came into town and wrecked the place out of panic. However, that begs the question, why was everything stolen from it? We might not be dealing with such an animal, rather, something else entirely. And about the crown I wasn't properly informed of that, but I remember Fluttershy saying something about it, speaking of her, I haven't seen her yet today. I wonder where she went." she said in an even tone, trying to match what she knew about Rainbow Dash.

Blu hoped that once this whole debacle with Cali and Princess Sparkle was dealt with he could return here to study in peace. There was a lot of information in this library that could advance society quite a ways if placed in the right hooves, and he felt his hooves were uniquely suited to dispense the wisdom.

The mayor looked over at her, confused for a moment, then shrugged, "I suppose it makes sense that she would leave the financial responsibilities to Miss Fluttershy. As to you more directly Captain Dash, should we be expecting an extra contingent of guards? Our guards were woefully unprepared for the attack we faced, and if what you said is true, there's a chance it could happen again. We may have gotten off lucky last time, suppose the whole troop of gorillas were to come through town? What then?"

The mayor looked further confused at her comments on Fluttershy, "Was she not staying with you? Do you think she went into the forest alone in search of this 'gorilla'?"

“I believe that we should be expecting the guards to arrive once the Princesses hear of our investigation when we return. After we leave you should expect some guards to arrive shortly. And as for Fluttershy I think she went into the forest alone. She didn’t tell me, though. We slept in different rooms so I was unaware of her departure.” said Cali playing it cool. 

She then asks a question. “I would like to ask though, what did you hear about this directly? It could be something different from what we thought. I never heard of these types of animals.” 

The mayor nodded, "We'll prepare some space for them, we will of course need some extra funding to renovate the guard barracks if they are to remain long term, they would overwhelm the current capacity otherwise."

"Excellent idea. I think it is best that they remain long term just in case something like this happens again. Just to be on the safe side." said Cali, secretly wanting that just so she could test her powers against the guard to see what they would.

The mayor looked worried, "I certainly hope she knows what she's doing, and that she might return soon so we can discuss the finances."

"Excellent idea. I think it is best that they remain long term just in case something like this happens again. Just to be on the safe side." said Cali, secretly wanting that just so she could test her powers against the guard to see what they would.

The mayor looked a bit suspicious of her, "Didn't you ask the townsfolk that yesterday? I don't think I could give you a better account than they gave, I don't know if I buy this gorilla talk, the way the guards were talking it sounded more like an ursa, maybe a unicorn or changeling with some advanced illusory magic like that Trixie filly who passed through some time ago, she could have pulled something like that off." He shrugged, "But if you two say its a gorilla, who am I to disagree?"

"It could be anything really. Maybe Trixie is up to no good but when she did bad things previously, she never stole the entire inventory of it. Don't you think thats weird how anything valuable was gone? It wasn't just blatant destruction. It was planned that way. Sometime tells me it wasn't but Fluttershy thought it was a Gorilla of sorts." Cali says trying to put more Rainbow Dash like motions in a she speaks, but whether or not was accurate or not she didn't know.

The mayor nodded, "I'll have a group of guards accompany you to search for her. If this attack was more structured than we thought, she could be in serious danger."

The mayor would get up from his desk and motion for Cali to take the lead out of the office, "I trust you remember the way to the current guard accommodations? You were quite eager to inspect them yesterday."

Cali agreed with the mayors course of action. Cali sat up from the chair and began leading out of the office. "Guard accommodations? I think so at least, I am pretty shot from my deep sleep last night so I wouldn't mind a reminder." she said, as she truly didn't know. Unless of course, Cali could remember the place from her searches of the town previous times but it was at night and she wasn't searching for guard accommodations anyways, so likely not. 

The mayor looked fairly suspicious of her, nonetheless he led the way to an unassuming building that stood connected to the town hall, it was easy to see why she wouldn't have noticed it previously, it hardly looked large enough to hold more than four guards, much less the number of guards this town might need. The mayor paused at the door and looked back, "Let me, um, tell them you're coming, they worked quite hard to bring the barracks up to your standard since your visit yesterday... it wouldn't be fair to catch them by surprise two days in a row."

Without waiting for her reply the mayor stepped in and closed the door behind him, there was a bit of hushed murmuring behind the door, then the hurried thumping of items being moved around, before a guard stepped out with a serious, yet slightly nervous expression, "Captain Dash, you are suspected of having been replaced by a changeling. If you would come with me, peacefully, we'll get to the bottom of this."

Cali might notice the sound of a door opening and closing from the other end of the accommodations, as well as the sound of a trio of ponies running towards the center of town.

They caught onto Cali so fast. Cali was amazed by that but she was a terrible liar in this regard, she was surprised why she even lasted this long. She couldn't keep up the lie anymore, and her egotistical brutish sense was rising within her. She looked towards the mayor and then laughed outloud with an un-pony like laugh. It had a weird sense of metallic screeching and clawing within it. "I'll fill you in on a little secret: I'm nothing what you think I am. I am beyond your understanding. Take this as a warning..." she said in an almost enraged tone. She was going to freak out on them, all of her emotions over a very long time began to surface.

Then, her form would begin to shift and change in a way that was quite unlike that of a changeling. It would poof into red mist before assuming the form of a globe that resembled Earth's globe. They wouldn't recognize it but it was made out of...crystal? It looked like. "Let me just say there are trillions of other worlds out there and I just so happened to be trapped here by a very unfortunate accident that separated me from where I belonged! Don't any of you know how it feels to be trapped in an alien dimension with nothing! Nothing at all! I lost all my connections, I LOST my friends, I lost EVERYTHING becuase of that stupid gem! I haven't seen my family in a LONG time and I will never ever see them again! I have all this power and yet...I have nothing! I am never satisfied with anything anymore! I am LOST, and I don't know where to GO!" she said, her voice twiching in an echoy form around the globe with rage, but they could also tell that she was very hurt emotionally. "You naive equines assume the best of everyone, spreading love and friendship when there are people from other worlds who have never felt such things! I am stuck here! Trapped!' Cali shrieks, finding herself unable to control herself. The globe spun a bit, giving them all a good look at it before. 

With a red flash she revealed her human form to them. It would be quite a shock. She seemed enraged, confused, and just distraught in general. She looked to the guard and the mayor.

"I'm not risking another almost life risking attempt at leaving another dimension like last time, I was trapped with my 2 mortals enemies who were hellbent on killing me for stuff I didn't even do! If I try again I might end up in hell for christ sake! You all FORGET the worlds that are out there! It is just...mind boggling to me! You haven't even developed the technology to go to your moon yet! You haven't done either of those things...because of your reliance on magical talent your world is a FARM compared to where I am from! You live out your mundane lives without any plan or agenda...focusing on PEDANTIC ideals!" she went on a tirade, walking about the room before sitting on the desk. Should the guard do anything to stop her, she would have turned into a red mist and fled out the window in a random direction. She turned to the guard. "Your afraid of a changeling, eh? Well, look at me, I'm not! I'm from another world with powers who can do who knows what! I can obliterate this town if I wanted to...but I won't because I'm not like that! Maybe if you all got your priorities right you would all be more AWARE of what goes on!" she frowned, she truly felt lost and went off the deep end of a tirade.

"It boggles my mind all of what I encountered. From embodiments of rage...to sentient vehicles and now sentient...HORSES of all things! What kind of world is this?! Why did I end up here? I don't understand!" she let out a loud sigh. Her speech and reveal would probably stun them all before they could even react. Then she seemed to compose herself. She was letting out all of her emotions of what she had dealt with. "Oh and by the way, all of your material possessions will eventually be replaced. I just so happen to have an addiction of taking stuff that doesn't belong to me and I just so happen to be off the walls and unhinged at almost every waking moment! Ugh! Why must this happen.." she huffed.

She pulled out a book detailing the history of the planet Earth...well of a slightly different history from our own but it's not like they would tell the difference. "Maybe you'll learn something! Ugh! I'm out of here! That was a horrible plan anyways! Plans are horrible, action is far more satisfying! I really am horrible at this....' her form turned into a large boulder and suddenly lurched forth and careened out the window at an extremely fast rate. It was the fastest she could go. The glass shatters everywhere. They could see the boulder rapidly receding in the distance. The boulder turns into a normal-ish looking bird out of sight and changes direction completely. She needed to go calm her mind...she never freaked out like that before...she ruined the plan...

While the ponies in the room were left with the book on the mayors desk. They were left in complete shock, and possible terror. 

As she was departing Cali might notice a crowd forming near the center of town, the word 'changeling' easily discernible from the mix of voices. Once the crowd was large enough it started to make it's way towards the forest, it was clear by their calls that it was a search party looking for Fluttershy.

The guard she had traumatized had fainted on the spot just about as soon as Cali made her exit.

Blu would still be studying in the library. He was working with the compiler to build a trap of sorts using the runes he had found. Made correctly, it should serve to capture a magic user even as powerful as Princess Sparkle.

Cali proceeded to return to the library after a more careful return to the library. It took longer than expected but Blu would most certainly be shocked at the door closing so soon. Cali flew in the hallway before she sighed loudly, soon enough locating him. She sighs.

"Guess what? I failed...I failed! The found me out so easily! Ugh!" Cali huffs in frustration and proceeds to tell him exactly what had happened. They would have to come up with a new plan.

Blu let out a deep sigh as he rubbed his forehead, "That's no good, that simply won't do."

He took a deep breath before he continued, "So, we have a limited timetable now before things completely go ary. We may still be able to salvage this, but our chances of success are slimming. Quickly, but calmly, tell me what happened."

Cali sighed and sat next to him after he spoke. "So what had happened is that I told them that Fluttershy could have been taken away by a herd of Gorillas in the forest or got lost in the forest, then the mayor asked me about the guard barracks, I know nothing about that so I didn't know how to...respond exactly to that...and they suspected I was a changeling, I kinda had...a mental breakdown in front of the guard who fainted...I left a book about the history of my world there and then fled...basically." Cali explained.

Blu rubbed his forehead with a hoof as he thought. "That's... not entirely a wash. Ponies are prone to believing the easiest paradigm they can conceive of, so they'll probably believe you to have been a changeling, and that the two Elements we've captured were changelings. We have about half a day at the least before Princess Sparkle hears of their capture, at which point she'll send more guards to help the search. I highly doubt she'll come here herself, but she might. In any case the other Elements will be watched closely so they don't get captured as well."

He looked back over at the books he had out and the compiler. "I've been looking into the runes and spells we've found here, and I think I've found a combination that will create a trap strong enough to capture even Princess Sparkle. If I can get... two hours, one and a half at the very least, in the map room of her castle I'll be able to set it up. We should be able to use her paranoia to our advantage."

He pushed some of the books away to pull out a blank sheet of paper, drawing out his plan as he gave it. "You can get yourself to Ponyville very quickly, you will need to sneak in, and find some back room for me to teleport in with that rune I gave you. Then you'll need to draw her and as many of the guards as you can out of the castle so I can set the trap. I'll signal you when the trap is set, at which point you need to get her back to the castle and pin her to the map table so I can trigger the trap."

He looked back over at her, "Questions? We don't have time to waste, we can't hold the Elements here forever."

After he was done informing her of the plan, Cali smiled. Such a plan made so much more sense. So much so she asked the following, "Why didn't we do that before? Either way that makes so much more sense and I have a map of the land and I've occasionally done a few robberies in Ponyville a few weeks ago so any suspicions there are most likely gone. I will do what you say to the best of my abilities. Ponyville is a little far but I can try my best to get there as soon as possible. I'll let you know through the book once I am there. I can easily distract them. If that is all I will be going..." said Cali, enjoying the new plan.

Blu nodded, "If you get there soon enough, she won't have heard that her friends are missing yet. I don't know if it would be better to try and strike before she hears or after, I'll leave that decision up to you and what you see when you get there."

She told him good luck with his side of the plan and got up and walked away. If he said anything or wanted anything else she would have listened. She turned into a falcon and flew out of the library, the door opening once she was close enough and the falcon flew off in the direction of Ponyville. 

Once she was gone, Blu turned his attention back to the second part of his plan, the part that would happen after the trap was sprung. The chances of success weren't fully optimal, but they were acceptably high. He would divert his studies for however long he had to optimizing the chances of success, as well as keeping the rejuvenating chalice from earlier on hoof, he would drink from it right before he went through the teleport rune to ensure he was at peak strength when the time came.

The falcon flew rather high, its wings and body angled to allow for the most speed possible. Pegasi might have noticed but by the time they did, it was almost out of sight. Once at Ponyville, the falcon circled and looked at the castle, surveying the land before Cali would begin. 

It was early evening by the time Cali arrived in Ponyville, there didn't seem to be anything amiss among the populous, everyone going about their day about as they did the last time she had come through, meaning news of the capture of the Elements had not reached the Princess yet, or she hadn't told anyone.

The castle itself seemed to indicate the former, the guard patrols seemed no different than usual, that being few and far between, getting into the castle would not prove difficult.
> Chapter XII
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The bird circled the castle from high above. Anyone inside would probably think it was just a passing bird if it was noticed, or simply wouldn't notice it at all. It looks in a random window, looking down the hall to see that nobody was there. The bird faded away into a red mist which flowed through the cracks in the frame of the window before reforming into a small stone. The small stone randomly floats about the halls, inspecting parts of the castle. With a red portal, she proceeded to basically steal anything not tied down, and as long as there was nobody inside. 

Before she proceeded to enter into a fitting room, some sort of large storage room in the castle. She turned back to her pony form and proceeded to set up the rune.

On Cali's end, there was the sound of a commotion from the main area of the castle, the sound of a dozen sets of hooves quickly moving down the halls towards the throne room. More likely than not, new of the Element's disappearance had reached the Princess.

Cali listened to the sound of the commotion. She smiled at the sound. She proceeded to write a note that she was going to enact the distraction long enough for Blu to do his part of the plan and stuck it on the floor and left. Flowing outside of the window with a red mist. 

She almost cackled at the thought. She proceeded to transform into a large construction that resembled a tall metallic android, with the beak and head of a bird. The android walked outside making itself appear quite obvious however she didn't do anything too destructive just yet.

She didn't need to do anything destructive for the citizens of Ponyville to start panicking. The mere sight of the towering monstrosity was enough to send the populous running for their homes or the hills.

It wouldn't be long before a set of guards would come out to see the source of the commotion, take one look at Cali, then run back in to report what they had seen. A few minutes later they and the rest of the guards would file out of the castle to begin fighting her. Unicorn guards took to vantage points to fire magic bolts at her, pegasi flying around her in an attempt to draw her attention, while the earth pony guards did their best to bring order to the panic and get the citizens to safety.

Twilight herself however, was nowhere to be found. Perhaps if enough of the guards were taken care of?

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Blu noticed that the rune was beginning to be formed as the connection to the sender rune he had was beginning to charge, "That was fast."

He actually felt a little nervous as he waited for the rune to complete and fully charge. What he was about to do, it was so unlike anything he had ever done before. Sure, he had thought of taking Princess Sparkle down a peg, show her just how wrong she was to discourage his constructs and rune magic, but he had never thought before now that he would actually have the chance to do it.

He took a deep breath and steeled his nerves, it wouldn't do to lose his resolve right at the pivotal moment.

Blu took one last deep breath before he approached the rune. He had the compiler and the staff with him, they would be crucial to doing his half.

Once on the other side he saw Cali's note and hoped that she still had the book on her, signalling her to bring the princess back would be difficult without it. He quickly disguised himself with the staff and sent out a specter to see if the map room was empty, unfortunately Princess Sparkle was there, pouring her magic into the table trying, likely, to locate her friends. Blu decided to stay put until the Princess left the room.

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Cali watched the guards fight her. While they were able to secure some damage onto the huge bird like android, it seemed to fire lasers from its eyes and hands at the pegasi flying around. Certainly not enough to be fatal, just enough to stun them and knock them out of the air or at the very least, disrupt their flight patterns. It then focuses its attention to the unicorn guards. The android suddenly faded away into a red mist to avoid their attacks and took the form of what appeared to be a huge, John Deer Tractor. 

"Guards of the castle, cease your firing! You are dealing with an interdimensional being such as I, thus it is foolish to continue firing upon me! I will spare you, as I always spare those who are innocent. However, step aside from the castle or I will be forced to knock you all down like I did with some of those Pegasi. I am not from this planet, thus it is your duty to stand aside, and take me to your leader." said Cali, as red lasers continued to attack the unicorn guards, firing from the tractor's headlights at them. Bright green lights seemed to form from the tires, likely as a form of some type of distraction. 

The guards did not stop what they were doing, for the most part. The few pegasi she had struck were quickly recovered by the earth ponies on the ground amidst the new frenzied wave her words had caused among the citizenry.

A pair of unicorns teleported away from their vantage point, while the others scrambled to evade her attacks against them.

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Blu noticed, through his specter, when a pair of unicorns warped into the map room, "The creature outside, it's come for you. We should get you to safety."

"No."

"But Princess!"

"No! I'm not going to let others take my place. My friends are missing because I didn't go myself. I'm not going to go hide while my ponies are at risk. I'll deal with this monster myself."

With that she left the room, the two guards in tow.

Blu took the opportunity to quickly get himself to the map room. He closed off all the doors and windows with the shield runes he had learned, then cleared away the chairs from the map, clearing the floor so he could center the rune on the table, the nexus of the whole castle.

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Cali was soon greeted by the sight of Princess Sparkle herself, flying up to 'eye' level, she didn't look happy. "I suppose I have you to blame for my missing friends. What do you want?"

Cali bursted out laughing. "Well, if it ain't the princess of friendship! It sure is a pleasure to see you after all this time. You and I have a lot to discuss! But alas, I shall assume the form of that of which you find, relatable." the tractor bursted into a mist, that then assumed the shape of a unicorn mare. Dark blue coat, gleaming red eyes and with an orangy-red mane and tail. Cutie mark of a key unlocking a lock.

"Tell me Twilight, have you ever considered those not as fortunate as you? If you claim to be so tolerant here, oh princess, then you will listen to what I am about to say. I have seen so many dimensions, but I find myself trapped here after a horrible mistake. You see, I am not meant to be here." Cali said, although taking upon quite a defensive posture should Twilight attempt to attack her. 

"Being in this equine form is quite limiting, you know. I shall reveal my true form to you in due time. I am not of this world. I come from another planet called Earth." she said, trying to be reasonable here but wouldn't hesitate to attack if Twilight proceeded to attack her.

Twilight was surprised to say the least, especially when Cali's whole tone shifted. "Well I, um..."

She spared a quick glance away, "Why don't we discuss this somewhere else? You'll forgive my not trusting you implicitly, you having attacked the town and all."

She pointed to an isolated hill outside of town, "Does there seem reasonable?"

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Blu noticed that the sound of fighting had died down rather quickly, and sent a specter to the window to investigate while he continued setting up the trap, though he hesitated when he heard Cali's words and Princess Sparkle's response. "Might not even need this trap then." Nonetheless he kept working, this could all be a ruse on Cali's part after all.

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Cali shot a look at the hill. "So be it, Twilight. I could easily rip your entire town and this castle to shreds with my magic, but I am not that type of person. I assume you are one for books, from what I have gathered about you here. What I am about to show you is not something to take lightly." she pulled out a book from...somewhere.

"My name is Cali. I have traveled many dimensions but this book carries the history of my home world, Earth. Earth is a world where there is no magic..." Cali spoke, leading Twilight to the hill. "The intelligent race of this world, Humans  of which I am one of knew nothing but how to feast, hunt, and procreate. It was a sad waste of existence until we invented fire, stone working, crafting...all of that exploded into civilization. Various nations were ruled by ruthless kings in the great past before time, before civilization was truly recorded. The human mind is one of greed, lust, and desire and that transcends everything even as humanity progressed into the modern era." Cali passed the book to Twilight, it was not one unlike the one she left in the guard's office.

"I have been trapped here for the past year or so. It's a long story but I found myself in another dimension in which my main enemies and rivals were there. I managed to destroy them however, my friends and I created a system known as a dimensional beacon, due to this system we were able to teleport ourselves out of that dimension. We collected oil, trees, and various plant matter in order to fuel it. I forgot how it functioned but we set up 3 tall metal rods and clicked them into place, and this shot us off into another dimension. I am separated from them due to an accident, and I have found myself here." she frowned slightly, by the time she had finished her words she sat down on the hill. Yet she was quite aware and alert should Twilight attempt anything to attack Cali. 

"I am not meant to be here. I am not of your kind. This world is vastly different from my own. And thus, I reveal my true self to you." with a red flash, Cali was sitting next to Twilight in her human form. She more or less resembled a girl in her late teens, with brown-salmon colored eyes and with brown long straight hair. She was wearing white boots, jeans, and a black jacket.

Twilight was further surprised at being offered a book, and it took quite a bit of will within herself to not sit down and read it right then, she patiently listened to the rest of what Cali had to say.

"I can't say I know much about travel through dimensions. I have however been to a place that called itself Earth, which had inhabitants that called themselves humans. Perhaps the two are similar? I could get you there if you desired. I'm sure with time the School could figure it out, you got yourself here, which indicates that you should be able to leave."

She sighed, steeling herself, "Not to sound accusatory, but the reports I got from Stratusburg spoke of an arua not dissimilar to yours. If I am to help you, in any capacity, I must require that my friends be returned, unharmed."

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Blu was surprised that Cali and Princess Sparkle were walking away peacefully, it seemed quite the turn from the personality she had displayed in the town and the library. She seemed intent on wiping the floor with the princess before, he wondered what had changed.

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Cali smiled knowingly. "Your friends won't be returned, at least not yet. I can assure you however they are completely unharmed. Maybe even better than unharmed." she said and was quite surprised by what Twilight had just said before smiling. "It would be far too easy for you to have a portal to my world, as I am convinced that you don't. Read the book." Cali felt rather strange now. This pony, Twilight Sparkle was not one she expected to see so soon and she almost couldn't bring herself to fight her. When she saw Twilight for the first time, something seemed to click in her mind. Perhaps conversation could resolve things better, if not however, then fighting would.

"You misunderstand something. With my power I can't choose where I end up and I am not going to be leaving anytime soon due to that. So for now, I am here to stay whether you like it or not. From what I know of you and your 5 friends, you seem to go about teaching lessons about friendship. I can teach you so much more, than just that. For starters, there is no good and evil, only self interest. You seem to believe that everyone is good and that everyone can be saved. That is not the case, sadly. When you have to protect yourself, you have no time for anyone else." Cali said to her, looking into Twilight's eyes.

Twilight sighed, "What do you want then? Are you resigned to staying here? Or do you want us to find you a way back to your world? In either case, I will not be able to help you until my friends are returned."

Twilight shook her head, "Things may be that way in your world, for your kind, but they are not so for us. Is selflessness not a form of good? Selfishness a form of evil? It is the duty of the strong to defend the weak, a truly selfless act."

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Blu was finished with the trap, once Princess Sparkle and Cali were inside he could activate it.

He sent a message to Cali through the book, indicating that the trap was set, and then he waited.

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Cali hadn't bothered to check the book yet. She hadn't thought of checking it yet, and she was talking with Twilight so she wouldn't dare take the book out. In any case, Cali laughed darkly at what Twilight says there. "You have it all wrong my dear. You help the weak out of your own self interest. Whatever you want in life, it is self interest above all else. Good and evil are concepts that have been used to defend the minority rule over the majority, often which are denied knowledge and what they deserve. Good and evil are concepts that aren't seen in nature and thus are irrelevant to the nature of conscious beings. It is the nature of every conscious form to strive, achieve, and learn from one's mistakes in order to improve the self for any tasks that need to be dealt with in the future." Cali smiled to Twilight, grinning slyly.

"If you are truly a good pony, then why are those out there suffering in poverty? Or suffering from loss, or being punished unfairly. Your leadership hasn't dealt with those problems. You abandoned your citizens and left them to fend for themselves. I've seen many small towns in these areas that can't even afford basic amenities. And you have the gall to say you defend the weak? No, you keep them down with your good deeds Twilight. You rule through good deeds to make yourself look better, that is your own self interest and you abandon those less fortunate enough." Cali laughed darkly.

"Just be lucky your population isn't pushed to the brink. As is what happened in some areas of the world, the peasants and working class overthrew the monarchies and elite through a revolution, establishing an ideology known as Communism. Where the working class and peasants rule the state, and where all wealth is spread Equally. I am not a supporter of such things, as it is the nature for everyone to drive out a place in the world for themselves, as we are all conscious beings are we not? Do you not think and feel? Do you not see the world in your own light? If you are conscious, the world is yours." Cali did some sort of poetic pose, looking to Twilight with sly, yet knowing eyes. "Say, what do you think of an Equestria where it is a Republican state, where the citizens themselves elect their leaders?"

Twilight was taken aback a bit at Cali's forward accusations, "You make such baseless accusations, clearly you've never met me. I may get a sense of fulfillment when I help others, does that make such an act not good? Irregardless I act in the best interest of as many as possible as often as occasion permits. You speak of poverty, yet by our last count not one pony in Equestria has gone without food or shelter, our social services have assisted all those in need, not turning any away. Those who go without do so of their own free will. Not all loss can be prevented, nor all unfairness eliminated. I'm not Faust, all powerful, or perfect. I've never claimed to be. It's not that we haven't dealt with these problems, as we are devoting what resources we can to advance medicine, better our public education, and improve society, with sizable improvements since I was first named Princess. In no occasion have I abandoned my ponies, I personally fought Nightmare Moon, Discord, Chrysalis, Sombra, and Tirek. I would do most anything if it would be in the best interest of my ponies."

Twilight shook her head, "Blu once spoke of such things to some of his friends. I think he said it best when he said: 'Equestria is so fundamentally different, because its residents are similarly discongrous. He said that ponies, despite their flaws, were better than humans, because we know how to care and love each other. Humans know only how to love themselves.'" She sighed, "I should have given him more credit."

She firmed up her position as she looked back at Cali, "Now, you've told me your motive, you have some interest in keeping my friends. What is it then? What do you hope to gain by keeping them? Say it already so it can be done and we move along."

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Blu wondered what was going on between them, they were too far off for him to make out what they were saying, and it being daytime he couldn't send the shade far enough to hear. He decided he would work on his other objective while he waited, recalling the shade he passed it the description of a certain pony, quickly wrote out a message and passed it with one of his construct gems to the shade to take them to the young pony he described. He turned back to the compiler, setting it to finalize the plans it had made for the portal rune. With the glasses of foresight and enough power, he would be able to see where the portal would lead before it was opened, making changes and testing without risk. Already the rune to make the portal was finished, the compiler would be able to extrapolate the way to control it given enough time, and potentially the aid of the best gem engraver he knew.

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Cali simply laughed and then sighed at what Twilight had said there. "You help others because it is your self interest. There is no good, there is no bad. It is just what you want, and what I want. I've been around this place quite a bit and there lots of a different story than what you said there. I will pretend I didn't hear it. As to your friends, don't worry about them. They are safe. I'm not going to tell you why I captured them or if I will release them. For a mind of your...intellect I would be willing to bet you will deduce that on your own." Cali said and patted Twilight's shoulder.

She smirked upon mentioning Blu. "He has been helping me all of this time. His impressive mind has made him my only....friend here. He is off attending other matters as of this moment. Let's just say we found a few...trinkets that helped us along the way. He doesn't like you very much, I will tell you that." Cali winked to Twilight. "And lets just say, that I have also learned this! So don't even think of trying anything with me...!" Cali said and aimed her eyes at a distant hill and shot solar beams from her eyes, the hill being scorched harshly. It was broad daylight so that it was easier for her to cast such magic. 

"I got my powers from a special gem I found in a lake when I was young. Its power merged with my consciousness. In my world, there is no magic." 

Blu's actions within the castle were un-interrupted although there were likely a few guards within the castle he would have to watch out for. The guards would be on high alert in all likelihood. 

Twilight let out an exasperated sigh, rubbing her forehead with a hoof, "Believe what you want, you're clearly delusional."

When Cali mentioned working with Blu she was initially startled, but then an idea struck her as she continued, "By your own logic, Blu's doing this out of his own self interest. And if I know anything about Blu, I'm sure he told you something resembling a motive. I wonder what he actually plans to get out of this. After all, he never told you his real name."

When Cali shot the next hill over Twilight simply yawned, "Was that supposed to be impressive? Here I thought you'd actually pose a challenge. Now I see you're no threat at all. So lets cut right down to it shall we? You want something, but your too full of yourself to say it outright, you want me to guess don't you? Would that make you feel powerful? Make you feel important? Pathetic. I see it now. You're just a scared little filly who was pushed around until you got some powers and you think that makes you special, so you get your revenge on those who hurt you and decide to justify it just so you don't have to face what an evil creature you've become."

"I'll give you one last chance, tell me what it is you want, or scurry off to whatever hole you crawled out of."

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Blu smiled when he got confirmation that the note was passed on to his target. The Assembler would be along shortly, and his true plan could be set in motion.

The guards remaining in the castle would have no reason to try and enter the map room, so he wasn't worried. The locking runes would keep them out regardless. Besides, they should be out evacuating the town.

He watched the compiler's progress as he waited, he didn't need it to finish for his plan, while getting a specific destination was preferable, getting a stable portal to anywhere was sufficient.

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Cali grits her teeth and laughed. "Oh Twily, this isn't about revenge. I already got that. After all, my previous enemies aren't here at all. Oh whats that you say? Seems very un-friend like to me...now you are revealing who you really are! If you want a threat then you shall have it! You are getting on my nerves here, I thought we could talk this out, and I was sitting here and I was the bigger one to sit down and talk to you, but look at what your saying to me!" Cali was pretty pissed off at what Twilight said. She was enraged now. 

"I am already powerful, I am already amazing! And you will now see what I am capable of! Prepare for the biggest threat you have faced in your entire life." Cali growled and backed off quickly. She quickly turned into a a huge hulking Ford F150 which did a massive donut on the ground in front of Twilight and damaged the lawn. And then it proceeded to shoot lasers at Twilight from its headlights.

The fight had begun. Yet at the back of her mind, Cali kept Twilight's words, 'never told you his real name' in mind. She was wondering what Blu was up to. She hadn't seen the signal yet which was a little suspicious. But for now, her focus was on Twilight.

Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes, "Even I know that not everyone can be friends. Friendship requires honesty, generosity, loyalty, all things incongruent with your maxim of everyone only motivated by their self interest. In a sense, you've precluded yourself from friendship."

Twilight snorted, "Trixie teach you that? True power is apparent, it doesn't need proving. If anything, your grandstanding proves exactly the opposite."

She didn't even try and dodge Cali's attacks, summoning orbs of various hues to deflect harmlessly into the ground and partially absorb her lasers, yawning in the process, "I thought you said this would be the biggest threat? I stand a greater risk from this grass via indigestion than you. You thought fighting me with magic, in my domain, would pose me a threat? Like shooting a fish with a water gun."
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The Assembler was able to sneak into the castle the way Blu had shown her back when he lived there, the gem he had sent along unlocking the rune on the door when she arrived at the map room, "Blu? You in here?"

Blu dropped his disguise when she came in, closing the door behind her before giving her a hug. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left without warning you. I didn't want Princess Sparkle to catch wind before I could leave."

She sighed, "I... I understand, Euclid, I forgive you." She withdrew from the hug, "So what's going on? The town gets attacked by some thing like its out of the stories you told me, and some shadow gives me a note from you to go to the castle."

Blu pointed out the engravings he had added to the floor of the map room, "In short, it's a trap, that much is done."

She looked closer at the lines, "You've improved."

Blu blushed, "Still nowhere as good as you. There's a second part to this, it's far more complex, which is why I need your help." He brought he over to the compiler, where her eyes widened at the schematic she was presented with, "That's something else. What does it even do?"

Blu shook his head, "No time to explain, the short of it is that it will take care of the problem once and for all. Take the Compiler downstairs to Princess Sparkle's lab. She has a crystal sphere that should suit for the design, the other half goes into the floor, the sphere serving as the nexus. Try to line it up with a flat section of wall if you can. Hurry, this all depends on you now."

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The hulking mass of the truck seemed to stop and then it seemed to raise an eyebrow at what Twilight had just down. "Ah yes, thats right...Can't fight with magic or else it'll be energy drained or the like. Reminds me of them." she said observantly and with a loud angry roar she transformed into a large red dragon that flew over to the castle in an attempt to draw Twilight's attention. It reached down to rip the stairs off.

"Hehehe....this is an old trick I used when battling the incarnation of rage, you may have met them. They go by the name Huntsman, or Snarl, but no matter! At the very least you aren't someone who enjoys ripping out intestines like they did! There were horrible, and I am glad they are gone. Think of this as a duel." the dragon the stairs over to Twilight with an immense speed, however Cali predicted that Twilight would blast or dodge it and had sent a blast of Solar Fire that curved around where the stairs had sent at Twilight. Cali had planned to lure Twilight into the castle and the map room like had been planned but she first had to get Twilight into there.

After Cali sent the stairs and Solar Fire at Twilight, she transformed into a boulder with a barrier of magic around it.

Twilight teleported away when the stairs were thrown at her, appearing behind Cali, though she didn't press the advantage, instead she just hovered there, "All those transformations, must be pretty tiring. I wonder how long you can keep it up?"

She cast a shield of her own around Cali, shrinking it to make contact with Cali's shield, the two magics opposing violently.

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Blu was quick to don his disguise when Cali brought the fight back to the castle. He quickly sent another message through the book, "Try not to damage the castle, I would like it as intact as possible."

He watched the fight with fascination via a specter, "She's really more powerful than I gave her credit for, she makes it look so easy."

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Cali didn't even bother talking back at this point. She focuses her rage to the battle. The boulder spins wildly within Twilight's shield that rose around Cali. She lowers her own shield, and the spinning boulder suddenly extends a long point that bursts Twilight's shield. Since Cali was in the middle of fighting she was unable to check the book. After the shield bursts Cali uses the power of the sun to recharge herself for a bit. Her boulder form with a long point remains. She suddenly jerked forth in a slicing motion with extreme speed in an attempt to slice off Twilight's horn with the sudden motion of the boulder's bladed extended point. Now all of Cali's focus layed in her attacks, rather than her words.

Twilight dodged backward almost before Cali spun to try and attack her, "The sun eh? No reason why I should let that continue to advantage you."

With a great flash Twilight disappeared, then the sun somewhat dramatically set very quickly.

Once the sun had set Twilight returned, appearing a good distance away from where she had left in case Cali had trapped her return. "Now then, where were we?"

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Blu cringed as he watched the sun set, "Ooh, that's going to be an issue. Maybe. Maybe not."

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Cali growled internally at the sun however she seemed to not react to that. She could still charge up spells but it would take a longer period of time in order to do so. The spinning boulder kept it's shape and as it twisted and turned through the air it turned into a rather unpredictable frenzy that got close to Twilight as she did so she was preparing a spell. She proceeded to trap Twilight within a barrier of sorts, but one that combined it's barrier magic with Cali's electrical magic. However a part of Cali's form intersects through the barrier and suddenly a large growth juts out from it and tries to restrain Twilight, once again trying to break her horn through various means. As this happens Cali proceeded to summon a large piano up above where Twilight couldn't see.

"This wasn't part of the plan, pin her to the bucking table!" Blu sat watching the fight via specter, he had underestimated Princess Sparkle's ability to get under Cali's skin, which he recognized he should have foreseen given how hot headed Cali had proven to be thusfar.

If Princess Sparkle lost her horn the magical backlash would be devastating to the area, and that did not conform with his plan.

Twilight once again formed a shield around herself, harder this time than before, if anything she seemed stronger now that the sun had set. She was able to stop Cali from coming near her horn. She would start to push back against Cali's boundary as she did before, looking to drain off as much of Cali's energy as she could through the shield.

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Blu was getting impatient, Cali had Princess Sparkle contained, why not pin her to the table already? Was she planning something else? He shook his head, he wasn't going to entertain thoughts of betrayal yet. He sent a specter to get Cali's attention mentally, "Pin her to the table already so we can be done with it." 

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Cali understood now. She wasn't exactly sure when to do it, maybe she had been lost in her thoughts or the battle itself. Cali's form turns into a spider like form that raises a barrier around itself when contracting down onto Twilight. Twilight could only see pitch black when contained and the spider-like thing moved towards the castle, when all was said and done Cali preformed various shapeshifts and alterations to her form to be able to get through the door. All with the attempt to pin her to the table. While doing this, she was aware of Twilight's attempt to drain it off and kept her energy / constructs away from Twilight's barrier but she had to restrain her somehow more or less.
> Chapter XIII
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blu unlocked the door for them so Cali could bring Princess Sparkle in. He had changed his disguise from before, this time he looked almost made of shadows swirling around him.

He was silent until Cali pinned the princess to the map table. At which point he stabbed a certain part of the floor to complete the chamber spanning rune.

To Twilight and Cali, it was as if gravity had increased tenfold, as the rune lit up Cali might recognize it as a massive nullification rune, draining all of the magic in the area, combined with several smaller runes of varying types. Shadows descended upon them at blinding speed taking advantage of their surprise to render them unconscious, trapped in a dream like the elements had been.

In the darkness of the dream, they would hear a voice, unmistakably Blu's, "I'm sorry, but in order to be sure that the trap would work, it had to be strong, maybe stronger than I intended. I can't get one of you out without releasing the other, at least for now. As a consolation, you've got each other in there, maybe you'll work out your differences, maybe you'll find a way out? I wouldn't recommend it. Things are in motion to ensure peace returns, and it is in the best interest of that plan if you two wait patiently."

Blu sighed, not having magic was a strange feeling, he decided that being a pony without magic was worse than being a human, but he took solace that it would be over soon.

He dispatched a spector to revive the two captive elements from the library and direct them to the same rune he had taken to get here. He'd need their help for the next crucial steps.

When all of the magic was drained Cali's whole form vanished and Cali, in her normal human form hit the floor. Realizing what had just happened it had hit her like a truck. More so than some of the events from her past. All she could really feel was hate, rage and confusion. She had been betrayed. The whole fight with Twilight was lost in her mind now and she had looked towards Blu, in his shadow form.

"LIAR! YOU ARE A DISGRACE!" Cali had screamed in absolute hate and rage. If there was good and evil now, the whole dual sense of it seemed to set within her mind. Maybe Twilight was right...maybe there IS good and evil. And to Cali, Blu was on the level of the Snarl and the other enemies she had faced before. Cali's face had a look to it...that he had not seen from anyone before in his entire life. It was pure hate. Pure hate, yes. It was exactly that. And the way she had screamed had likely sent some sort of emotional 'wave' throughout Twilight and Blu. They hadn't heard someone say something in a manner like that in their entire lives. It was not something that Cali took lightly in the least.

She had been betrayed and it hurt her very much. While Cali wasn't really one for...friendship in general she had considered Blu a friend and for what? To be left to rot in a plan that she herself had planned with Blu. It made her feel sick and vile. 

Upon being in the dream, Twilight would see Cali faced away from her in the darkness. Upon realizing it was a dream, the scene of the darkness changed. She herself had changed it to a scene all too familiar to her. The city. 

Such a city was something that Twilight had never seen or recognized before, it was highly futuristic yet beyond the city itself layed a massive expanse of forests and fields. Not unlike that of the real city that she had found herself in. Yet as it was created it seemed to change as well. Partially because of Cali's emotions. Black oil slick and rivers filled the canals. The scene changed to a destroyed and demolished ruins of a city with a pale orange sky with black clouds of soot and ash.

Cali then turned to Twilight. Her expression was one of pure and utter hate. Yet one not directed at Twilight. Then finally Cali had spoke. "I will...rip him apart...I will gouge him apart like the animal he is! I will cut him piece to piece! His screams will be heard! He will pay for this betrayal....the instant I trust someone...they THEIR BACK ON ME!?" with a powerful bolt of lighting from her hand she flicked a spark off into the distance that caused a ruined building to simply collapse. "Oh how could I be so FUCKING stupid to trust anyone in this pathetic reality! SO MUCH FOR A FRIENDSHIP!" she growled in rage before sitting back down. She didn't exactly care what Twilight would do, Cali seemed to act in a blind rage that Twilight had not seen before. Not from Tirek, not from anyone she had seen. At least to this extent. It might be terrifying to her. For Twilight, for all her run ins with others and solving friendship problems she could see something out of Cali - Pain, and hurt. 

Yet despite her rage...she began to think. In a dream, she could do whatever she wanted. Plan whatever plan, she would use this time...to a T and she would create said plan to a degree that Blu would not even conceive of, or so she had hoped. But for now, Twilight were left with Cali...in this strange environment Cali had conscious created. Cali was sure that Blu would learn everything in that libray.

"Look where GENORISITY HAS GOTTEN ME! LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENED TO ME, TO YOU! I WILL NEVER BE GENEROUS TO ANYONE EVER AGAIN! NO MORE!" she said with a bolt of rage in her voice that was beyond feeling, beyond comprehension. Though Twilight would get the reference of Generosity. 

After her tantrum she would sigh and fall to the ground. "...How could I have been so blindsighted....this is all my fault! Like usual..." she said in more of a saddened, yet guilty tone.

Cali's rage only served to cement his own resolve, "This relationship was purely transactional, you would have done the same if you though I'd threaten your goals." The amount of power she had demonstrated in the fight, Blu shuddered. He wasn't surprised though, very few humans maintained their morals and mind when presented with limitless power. He silently praised his limited casting potential for keeping his ambitions grounded.

As it stood, the rune would last a week before the castle was charged to full capacity, the whole city sitting in the influence of the rune, at least above the map room, in the basements there would still be access to the magic field, like where the Assembler was working. Depending on how much power it took to run the foresight glasses he may have more than a week to pinpoint the portal destination.

A specter notified him that the captive elements were revived and would arrive shortly, he dispatched three others to collect the other three, peacefully if possible. He'd need their cooperation if this were to go over smoothly.

Twilight took a bit longer to get her bearings than Cali, having less of an opportunity to foresee Blu's trap, and having her magic drained being a far more traumatic experience for her.

She waited for Cali to let out most of her steam before approaching, she briefly considered taking another jab, but decided against it. It would be best for both of them to work together, they didn't know how long they'd be trapped here.

Seeing as Cali was a human, Twilight decided it might be best to relate to her if she were also in her human form. Taking advantage of the dream she changed her form to the one she had had when she went through the portal in the Crystal Empire. "Trust is never a weakness, were it so no civilization could ever be possible. We both stand potentially betrayed here, I know I wasn't the best caregiver, so I can understand why he did what he did to me. Do you know why he might have betrayed you? Did he give you any indication that he didn't trust you?"

Cali got up from the ground and had noted upon how the dream had changed. She looked to her human form, more or less slightly bewildered by what she had been seeing. She took a step back and summoned a large scythe in her hand. "...I gave him access to an ancient library that I had located...it has all knowledge of spells that surpasses the knowledge of most Unicorns on this planet. I was generous enough to let him in and let him take a look around...study what he had wanted. He preferred rune and shadow magic...I seemed to take it too quickly in trusting him." she slammed the scythe's staff on the ground to make the dream shake to emphasize her point.

"Yet I also made the grave mistake in not learning all I could in my time here. I was far too focused on my own...adrenaline rushes." Cali spat and turned away. "Trust only sets you up for loss. No attachment or trust. No loss. No pain. Especially when you trust someone with everything and then they... stab you in the back." she would proceed to charge at Twilight and then would strike her with the scythe...before stopping just before the scythe would hit Twilight's arm.

"How do I know you are any different, from that? I could make this a living hell for you if I so wished. But I am not that kind of person...unless if it is...Blu are talking about..." her eyes would pierce Twilight's soul with rage, although it were not directed at her. "We had planned to hold you against your map table. To use your energy as a fuel source for a portal, to research other dimensions. I gave him special glasses that allow him to see into the future, provided that he powers them up with raw magic that is." she sat down, as if defeated.

"You think love or friendship will fix this? Think again. This is an act that cannot be forgotten or forgiven." Cali spat. "Everyone has a plan, an agenda. Sometimes that is throwing others to the side should they prove...an obstacle to their personal success." Cali shook her head. 

Twilight didn't flinch When Cali came at her, yet she had a caring expression on her face, "You've clearly been betrayed before, many times, which is why you assume you were betrayed when you were caught in this trap with me. Yes, there are creatures out there that only seek their own interests, but there are those that seek the interests of others over their own, even when it goes against their own interest."

She sighed, "I offered to help you build a portal to take you wherever you wanted to go, I would have helped you peacefully and willingly had you asked. But you were so convinced that I might betray you that you ended up betraying yourself. You could have gotten what you wanted, but instead you lost everything."

She took a seat, "Why don't we talk about what you really want? Put away all the facades and charades, all the grandstanding and showboating, and see what you really truly want? You may not want to admit it, but I think you're lonely, you've gone so long not trusting anyone that you can't bring yourself to get close, out of fear that they'll leave you."

Cali's eyes turned from a scowl to more of a sadder look. With a sort of twirling motion the scythe vanished. "I was already planning on building a portal with Blu. I wasn't willing to throw our plan and friendship away, but he was the one to do just that." Cali said with more of an enraged expression on her face as her eyes met Twilight. "You couldn't even begin to understand the prices I've paid..." she said as a red gem was summoned in the air and dropped in her hand.

Cali held out her hand. "All for this. I never understood it." Cali said as she took a seat. "I don't know where it came from or who build it. But I found it in the bottom of this lake..." the dream changed to them sitting on a bench seat together at a small lake. Twilight could see houses and docks about, boats and people about this lake. The construction of the houses themselves she was unfamiliar with. "This is my home, Twilight. Welcome to Black Lake." Cali looked on the surface of the lake. It was black just like she had said.

"When you absorb the power of something that grants you all this power, you lose everything you had previously. For a long long time I've hidden what I truly wanted with my powers. My powers aren't worth anything to me anymore. It's second nature to me. Long since lost its flare. They are the source of my pain, yet also of my grandest dreams." Cali skipped a rock across the lake. 6 times. 6 times she managed.

"It has been years, decades even. I have lost track of who I am. I have lost track of how old I even am. I found that gem when I was...16 or 17...I like to believe I am 24 now but, its been far longer since then. I don't know exactly how I started traveling into other worlds and dimensions. Yet in doing so, I trapped myself unwillingly. I can gather up my power..." Cali said with an arm motion, a hazy vague shape of a red portal appearing in front of them like a doorway. "To go into other worlds, a one way trip at the cost of all that I have for quite some time...and not knowing where I'd end up. I was so foolish!" Cali scolded herself.

"When you are granted with this power, it gives you all you want but in the end you are never satisfied with anything. You lose your old life for a new blank slate thats entirely up to you and you have no guide or anyone to teach you about your own power." Cali frowned. "I had a friend once. A true friend. Thats part of the reason why I wanted to create a portal...this will sound really strange to you Twilight....I wanted to find her again. We got separated when the dimensional beacon we created along with others went wrong and we were flung across all points in reality. It's impossible to find them again." Cali said before sighing a long sigh.

"To be entirely honest I just want to...settle down in your world, Twilight. Your world doesn't have what mine has. Wars. Politics. Death over the simplest things..." Cali summoned a globe in her hand. On it was the spheres of influence between the United States, Imperial Japan, and Greater Germany. The eagle, the rising sun, and the iron cross marked over the respective areas. She set the globe in Twilight's lap for her to over-look.

"Due to...my homeworld's nations...millions have died in the pursuit of territory. Wealth. Power...over all else when not realizing that every war was fought, humanity was closer to extinction." Cali shuddered as a sort of TV like screen appeared near them, and on it in a thick German accent, the first atomic bomb was tested in the Kongo desert. Such an explosion Twilight hadn't seen before.

"We stockpiled hundreds, thousands of these bombs in what is called an arms race. It was a careful balance, and tipping it would mean these bombs would be launched on rockets and my world would be destroyed in a nuclear hellfire. All because of some damned territory in the colonies or proxy wars!" Cali scowled in disgust.

"Truth be told in my world, there is no magic. Only nature...the human mind and it's wonderful dreams, but yet it's most horrible nightmares. Humans can be as loving as ponies are, and our destructive side is as destructive as our love is for those we truly care about." 

Cali sighed with a defeated look on her face as she looked to Twilight in utter shame.

Twilight listened patiently to everything Cali had to say, and watched intently whenever Cali showed her something.

She thought for a moment before responding, "I'm sure you know how Blu is, or was, also a human. I've... overheard him say many of the same things you have. He expressed a disappointment with your kind, though he was twice orphaned at a young age, and said he only first experienced love here in Equestria. Maybe he feared that you would turn out the same as the other humans he has encountered? He knows all the horrors of your kind, and little of the wonders. The machine he always carries around with him, it was designed as an instrument of war, something that would be able to win any conflict."

She sighed, "Had we known this earlier... arrangements could have been made... perhaps they could still be made. If Blu gives us the opportunity, I would be willing to argue your case, try to convince him that you be allowed to stay. That you aren't as dangerous as he might think you are. Then we can work together on that portal, I'm sure between the three of us we could think of something. I could devote the researchers at the school to this issue as well. You made it here, so it stands to reason that you could get back to where you came from, and then to wherever your friends went. Would you like that?"

Cali seemed to look at her almost with a paranoid or mistrustful look as she said that. "Blu never told me of that...he just told me that was a human from the human world stuck here in pony form and how you weren't exactly the best...caregiver towards him. That leads me to my next issue. My enemies....you see they can travel through time and space. They are never truly dead or gone. I fear that if we make a portal it will allow them access to this world and the others. They work beyond reality itself and they seem to follow me wherever I go, except here...." the dream shifted to there being what seemed to be...a Dodge Hellcat of all things, yes, the car. However it also was transformed into a fearsome dragonfly like beast and had a weird marking on its hood. 

Cali got up. "This is Bayonet. He is a machine without mercy. He can recover from any strike you put on him no matter what eventually. Even if you rip him apart and destroy him, he manages to rebuild himself in time. He has access to something I don't...I am not going to tell you of that since I don't trust you." Cali frowned and pointed to the hood. The marking resembled a chicken but more of like a graffiti artist drew it. "Thats the 'Snarl' or as they go by the other name the 'Huntsman', they are the incarnation of rage...." Cali said in a little bit of fear.

"You know how Discord is the Spirit of Chaos? That is what the Snarl is. They are the incarnation of rage manifested into a form that can assume damn near any form like I have. They have one goal. My death. I have no idea how they came about or where they originally come from or what exactly happened between me and them since it has been so long. They seem to act like a...custodian of reality if that makes sense...they perform a pre-determined role and are almost used like a puppet of some larger being..." Cali said and with a hand wave, a battle scene but frozen in time was created infront of them.

It was the same city from before, Cali looked different, as if slightly. She were facing off against Bayonet and the Snarl, in the form of a hulking chicken like metallic beast form. There were plenty of lasers and damage. "I offended them at some point, triggering their mindless rage towards me. These 2 beings work together, they can even combine into one larger form but that has never actually happened...it is IMPOSSIBLE to kill them forever...seal them away...they always find a way...some have said they were created by the universe it self." Cali shudders. "There is more to this but thats all you need to know for now..." Cali spoke. 

"Even so it is impossible to return. The multiverse is infinite in nature. It is impossible to return to the same point or even theorize as to where my friend ended up. And even so, we would run the risk of my enemies coming into this world or to the next. They don't conform to the laws of any reality. They make them." Cali said in an almost bold way. "I could never seem to avoid them for long. They would always hunt me down wherever I went, but in this reality, I have not seen any sign of them whatsoever...something is up with them..." Cali stated.

Twilight thought a moment, "I would be hesitant to tell you that you're safe here, I wouldn't want to give you a false hope only for them to finally come around to you. This universe already has portals, though I can't confirm whether they are inter- or intra- versal. This world has Discord, as well as a spirit of Fury. If they are on the same level, perhaps they could provide assistance in keeping you safe? Or perhaps get to the bottom of why you are so pursued."

She didn't look sure, "Did you tell Blu of this? Perhaps fear that these monsters would come here looking for you is part of why he would want to be rid of you? Regardless, I would be willing to help you speak to Chaos and Fury if it would bring you peace. As to finding things across the multiverse, there's no reason to think it is truly infinite, with enough effort and testing I'm sure we could eventually discover a way to reliably and replicably, a given if Blu is involved."

Cali rose an eyebrow at that. "Wait, spirit of Fury? Thats...concerning. What if they are the same thing as the Incarnation of Rage, the Snarl? Fury and Rage are the same thing are they not? I never heard of Fury. I can confirm however, that my enemies are interdimensional in nature, they are beyond time and space as far as I have come to understand it. I don't know why they wouldn't have come here and trackd me down. Usually they would have done so by now." Cali had stated.

"I have told him some information about this, they would certainly come here and wreck anyone associated with me. They also have a love for violence and ripping people apart and I am sure they would do the same to you and him if they found out anyone is associated with me. I don't understand them. And as for Blu himself...I'm not forgiving him for this..." Cali had said with an angered expression on her face. 

"I refuse to work with him on anything further. I don't want to associate with him. God knows what he will do with that library I so trustfully granted him access to..." Cali sighed in a defeated tone.

Cali rose an eyebrow at that. "Wait, spirit of Fury? Thats...concerning. What if they are the same thing as the Incarnation of Rage, the Snarl? Fury and Rage are the same thing are they not? I never heard of Fury. I can confirm however, that my enemies are interdimensional in nature, they are beyond time and space as far as I have come to understand it. I don't know why they wouldn't have come here and trackd me down. Usually they would have done so by now." Cali had stated.

"I have told him some information about this, they would certainly come here and wreck anyone associated with me. They also have a love for violence and ripping people apart and I am sure they would do the same to you and him if they found out anyone is associated with me. I don't understand them. And as for Blu himself...I'm not forgiving him for this..." Cali had said with an angered expression on her face. 

"I refuse to work with him on anything further. I don't want to associate with him. God knows what he will do with that library I so trustfully granted him access to..." Cali sighed in a defeated tone.

Cali pondered that. "Mindless pursuit is exactly that the Snarl is. They pursue without real plans, they just want to kill and kill.  They hated me for... a strange reason. They claimed that I don't have a personality, and that I am not my own person. That is why they hate me and any attempt to make them think otherwise is met with extreme violence and devastation.." Cali inhaled at the idea of her friends.

"Well there is Gina, my best friend. Her and I were from the same origin world. The specifics of how we met is unimportant however, she also found a gem like I, although it granted her to control gravity and velocity of events. And fall without damage. She and I battled against the Snarl and the other enemies we faced. I don't have any other real 'friends' besides....Blu...who betrayed me. The others were more of temporary alliances rather than actual friendship."

Twilight raised an eyebrow, "Not having a personality? That sounds rather pedantic, not being your own person though... Would you consider yourself easily manipulated? Maybe that's what they meant?" She shrugged, "There is often no reasoning with rage."

Twilight thought as Cali spoke of Gina, "A quick question, why did you consider Blu a friend rather than a temporary ally? What did he do differently to earn that honor?"

Cali sighs at Twilight's statement. "There is no reasoning with them, period. Whatever 'logic' they had I have no idea. They wanted to kill me for not having a 'personality' and they called me a 'shell', a husk without a personality or desire." she shook her head and sat there silently for a bit upon Twilight's next question.

"He sort of uhh...worked with me, yes. We made a plan together and we helped each other out with stuff. Isn't that what friendship is? I felt like I could trust him..." she sighed shamefully.

Twilight sighed as well. "Blu has never been one to trust easily. He lived here in Ponyville for years, and I think there are only two or three ponies in this whole town he considers friends, two of them saved his life. The other is Spike. He never even really trusted me, so I heard most of this from his friends, but when he was a human he was all but abandoned by his parents until they went missing. Then the human who adopted him, his parent's boss, was similarly absent from his life until he too went missing. I wouldn't be surprised if his first friend was made here in Equestria. While you may have been quick to consider him a friend, I don't think enough time has passed for him to consider you more than an acquaintance, and a reminder of all the trauma he experienced as a human." She signed again, "Again, I'm not trying to defend his actions, just... if we are to convince him that you should be allowed to stay, not threatening his life is a good strategy."

She thought a moment, "Suppose you thought Gina were in danger, would you not do anything in your power to protect her? Even if it put yourself at risk?"

Cali shot Twilight a glare. "Then maybe its time for him to see that he did the same to me, to you. While his past isn't...one that I find great it's no excuse to betray me like that." Cali huffed in anger there. Before sighing. "I really want to overpower him. Show him who is boss. Show him how he hurt me. And to show him that he has no right to do such things." Cali shook her head before pausing at the question.

"I damn well would. There are very...few that I would do such things for...but those who do have mostly certainly earned it. I don't know what you are getting at although we need to come up with a plan to escape where were currently. I better hope you aren't lying to me or planning on betraying me, or else there will be hell to pay." Cali said with an enraged thought, she couldn't stand another betrayal. She didn't know what lengths she would go to in her rage and hurt, and its not something she wanted to do.

Twilight shook her head, "I've no doubt you could overpower him, he isn't anywhere near your raw strength, the issue is whether you'd be able to outwit him long enough to bring your power to bear. This trap he constructed, rather ingeniously, brought us all down to his level, he leveled the playing field and we were found lacking."

Twilight nodded, "That's exactly what I'm getting at! Just like you would do anything to protect your friends, so to would he. I've seen a number of reasons why he would consider you a real threat to the few ponies here he genuinely considers friends, hence why he would do anything, including what he did, to ensure their safety."

She sighed as she got up from the ground. "We're trapped in a dream aren't we? There's certainly a level of trust in what I'm going to suggest, but there's one thing that has never failed to wake me up from a dream. Unfortunately, I think it will only get one of us out, and who knows for how long until the shades overpower us again? I've no doubt he's prepared for us escaping somehow. We may not even still be in the map room. Further, you know how time flows differently in a dream, who knows how long we've been asleep?"

Cali simply looked at Twilight. The dream started to change into that of the library that Cali had so graciously granted Blu access to earlier on. "Then it is time for me to use my brain, rather than my abilities. For far too long, I have relied upon this..." Cali fired a laser from her eyes at the wall, revealing a sort of sculpture of a brain behind it. "Instead of this." she said, with her hands behind her back.

She opened a book and showed it to Twilight. Since it was a dream, it was impossible for Cali to replicate its contents. "Either way, this is a dream. We can plan whatever we want here. And for that I say....I..." Cali spoke with great hesitation. "That I will trust you. I have nothing left to lose at this point. We could have been asleep for hours, days or longer. However...one thing I need to know is, how do I know you aren't a delusion of my own mind?" Cali said, shooting a strange look to Twilight. 

Twilight shrugged, "I don't think there's a way we could be fully sure I wasn't a figment of your imagination. You don't know me well enough to ask me something only I would know, and there's little of that anyway that Blu wouldn't also know. But you could deduce, you have no reason to think of me as a friendly figure, so if I was a figment of your mind I don't think I would have manifested so friendly. Further, since you seem convinced that Blu has betrayed you, why would I be a figment of his mind to help you? Either I'm real, or Blu put me here. Regardless, The way I know that always wakes from a dream is the real fear of death. Both of us are too powerful for simply falling or the like to convince us we were in danger. So I think... you have to think, to really believe that you're in danger, to escape."

"That is...reasonable although we need to come up with a more cohesive plan here. I highly doubt Blu just left us in the map room and probably restrained us somewhere. In the library here..." she said, walking to the halls where the 'cells' her and Blu had made are, she points to them and opens to them. "This is where we kept your friends. We took the 2 of them since they were easy targets and we didn't want the elements of harmony to be used against us. 2 missing, then the rest can't work. Using this, he created an anti-magic and dampening field to stop magic from being used within these cells and sealed the doors. So this is where we likely are. What should we do if this is the case?"

Twilight didn't look so sure, "How far away is this library? He can't have taken us out of the trap or we would have worn through the specters by now. He wouldn't be able to teleport us there without removing the dampening field and we would have easily escaped then.So I suspect we are still in the castle. Especially if you think his plan is to build the portal. Ponyville has all the resources he needs to do just that."

She looked about the model of what Cali described, "If somehow we are in this library... or wherever we may be, we should try and discover where he is and what exactly his plan is, without being discovered if at all possible."

Cali nodded to that. "Well that is entirely possible, what you say is easy to deduce even be my standards however, how would we get out of a dream? It depends on how deep he made us sleep." Cali spoke before showing her a map of the library's location and surrounding area, although it was a dream so some details would surely be off. Twilight would be able to get a general understanding there in all likelihood. 

"Now suppose we do find a way out of this dream, what do we do then? Attack Blu suddenly and restrain him?" Cali shrugged.

Twilight shook her head, "He'd expect that surely, set up a decoy and be able to recapture us with it. No, we should try and escape, get as far away as possible so we could watch him from without, then we'd be able to figure out the best way forward. Perhaps even bring him to us."

"As to getting out of the dream however... I learned some tricks from Princess Luna that might help."

Twilight would summon a book, her far more analytical mind able to conjure up words to accompany it. "Here, let's see what she's taught me."

Cali took a few steps closer and looked at what the book said there. "So we'll run and get as far from here as possible. Got it. I hope he doesn't have a way to track us down. Perhaps we could seek...help from Princess Luna and Celestia in defeating him. If not, we hunker down somewhere, get as far from here as possible. We aren't going to be able to use magic until we get a certain distance away." Cali spoke as she read the book Twilight had. 

Twilight nodded, "Good, except for the we part. I can push you out of the dream, but I can't get both of us out."

Cali would likely be quite shocked by the blade that suddenly stuck through her, the book had been a distraction!

Though as she turned the room around her shifted, by the walls around her they seemed to still be in Twilight's castle, likely in some sort of dungeon. Twilight herself sat in one corner of the dungeon, in her unicorn form. She rolled her eyes when she saw Cali, "Took you long enough, thought I'd have to get out of here myself. Just like him to put an extra layer to it."
> Chapter XIV
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cali had looked to what Twilight had said there with a confused, almost paranoid look on her face. "What do you me-" Cali growled as the blade struck through her there, since it was a dream there was no pain. At least this time. Cali would then turn to see Twilight in the dungeon, in her unicorn form. Cali had looked to her with a confused, yet still paranoid expression. It eventually turned to anger, almost although he had stayed silent.

Twilight rolled her eyes, "Not that quick on the uptake are you? I knew Blu was the brains of the operation. Look around! Even a foal could tell that we're still in a dream." She gestured to the crystal walls, which weren't showing correct reflections. "I assume you're not another fake, since I got here first. Maybe I'm finally getting to the top layer of this dreamscape."

She went to the door of the cell, "It's always the same each time. But surely it can't be going on forever. It's got to end somewhere."

Cali huffed and breathed deeply. "For a moment there...I thought you found some way of getting out and you were going to leave me trapped behind in the dream." she frowned and shook her head and got up. She stood infront of the cell door before looking at him. "Anyways, I assume you believe this dream is layered into various forms, and the more we do reality changing things or altering things, shocking things, the closer we get to being awake?" Cali asked her before with her hand slicing through the door, since it was a dream she could do anything.

"I propose we explore the castle, I don't know the layout of your castle. If we are trapped there, we need to plan an efficient escape route in case we are. Does that sound good?" 

Cali tried to cut through the door, but found it was just as solid as if it were real. Twilight rolled her eyes at that. "That would work, if it were our dream. We're held here by a specter, likely enthralled by Blu. It's his dream, just like all the other layers. He sets the rules, so we have to play by them until we find a gap in his plan."

Twilight finished investigating the lock, shifting a piece of it it slid open, "He's starting to repeat himself with the locks, I've already seen that one."

She opened the door, "If this is anything like the other layers, it's exactly the same layout as the real castle, just with far more stairs going everywhere." She led the way through the castle, entering a stairway that was a veritable mess of stairs going everywhere with a void around them, then into the map room, where instead of a map was a hole. "Every time I come in this room, I get pushed into the hole by you, then I wake up back in the cell."

"So if I am to understand correctly, you've woken up before independently of our shared dream and then you tried to find a way out of this room, only to be pushed into that hole by a clone of me? Huh. Well then. Perhaps we should stay out of the room with the hole. So how exactly are we supposed to get out of here? If we try to fight the Spector, it'd surely alert Blu of our activities, will it not?" Cali asked and looked down either side of the hall way.

"We need to be stealthy here, you know. Avoid being spotted by anything. Hell, even our awareness of the situation might alert attention to ourselves. I propose we try to escape the castle, and find aw ay to destroy this set up. Or maybe just get as far as possible from here. Either or." Cali said to Twilight quietly.

Twilight looked surprised, "Shared dream? What are you talking about? This is the first time we've interacted since you pinned me to the map!" She rubbed her forehead, "IT would be just like Blu to make another clone act stupid to throw me off my groove."

She walked around the room, pacing to think, "Every dream space has a weak point, something to escape through. The key is to find it to get to the next layer and eventually escape the dream. Specters are mostly passive creatures, easy enough to fend off when you know they're there. They typically leach off the fear in dreams, but these are well enthralled, they won't stick themselves out and risk breaking the dream. Who knows how many are out there tying us down?"

She seemed to get an idea, "Although... they aren't known for being very smart, we could maybe overload the dream to force them to give us control to let ourselves out. They're already strained by the reflections, it shouldn't take much to push them over the edge. If we could find the library, enough open books should do it."

"That is where you are wrong, Twilight. You shot a blade at me through a book you opened, I told you all about my past. Unless you have forgotten that? If you did, then you are nothing more than a creation of Blu. I can't trust you. I know for one thing is certain, there is obvious manipulation going on here. He is trying to make us not work together. That is, if you are even real. Do you think Blu has the creativity to tell a story like mine?" Cali asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.

Twilight looked taken aback, "I did no such thing! I've been in these looping rooms since you pinned me to the table. Who's to say that the Twilight you spoke to wasn't the figment? Or maybe you're just another figment sent to throw me off! Maybe I am finally getting close on the hole and just need to do it a few more times and you're just distracting me!"

Twilight aborted her course to head back to the map room, and would jump through the hole.

"But from what you say there, it sounds...logical. Logical enough. I do not scare one bit of dreams, as I have had my fair share of nightmares to the point where I don't quiver once at them. Could open books, but I have something else in mind that I have tried before."

Cali remembered a trick she would have used in nightmares. "If this works, I will see if you are telling the truth." she said boldly and stood still. She focused on the feeling of an extreme adrenaline rush going through her, thinking about something like, a really powerful rollercoaster, or something. Then, she mentally conveyed that feeling to the dream itself, but in a way one wouldn't think. She imagined that feeling being a sharp blade, ready to slice through the dream, and into the waking world. She intensified this feeling within herself, and hoped to wash away the dream with this feeling. 

There was certainly a reaction from the world, her mental attack coinciding with Twilight's exit through the hole, a number of fissures appeared in the walls around Cali and if she approached any of them she'd wake up in another room. While it felt more real than the last two, could she be sure she was really awake?

She and Twilight sat in opposing ends of a cell. Twilight in her alicorn form was asleep, her legs and wings bound. Cali herself was in a makeshift straight-jacket, and she could still feel the effects of the nullification rune, indicating she was still in or near the castle.

Blu of all things stood outside the cell, he looked surprised to see Cali stirring but didn't seem scared, he looked impressed even, "You're awake? Good. I'm surprised you made it out, I had to make it strong enough to keep Princess Sparkle in, leaving an easy way out for you would have meant she could also easily escape."

Cali looked to Twilight as she descended into the hole. Something clicked in her mind. She had to make her own plan. "Whether you were the real Twilight or not, you will never the truth until the real one stands before me." she said as she watched Twilight jump through the hole with an expression of sorrow. Cali stood there, upon watching the fissures grow in size. She did not step into any of them. Opting to stay put.

Upon Cali awakening in the other room she scanned her surroundings and saw Twilight to the side there and then heard Blu's voice. She did not respond to Blu. Words weren't worth the time. Instead, she attempted the same thing. If this was still a dream, then likely there would be fissures. If there weren't, then this was real. 

If it was real she would stay still and just mentally process what was going on, if not, she would stay put and not go into the fissures yet again. She would be intending on repeating this process until she was in the real world. No matter her emotions, she had to keep them in check. Use them as fuel, for what she was planning on mentally.

The fissures appeared again, but she woke up in an identical room, and Blu continued speaking as if nothing had happened, "I hope you'll forgive the precautions, I had to be sure after all."

"You did threaten to kill me."

"You threatened to harvest my fellow unicorns."

"I had hoped we could clear up any misunderstandings first?"

He would stand there patiently for a few cycles of the process if Cali didn't stop.

"I see you aren't used to this."

"While typically this would get you out of a layered dream,"

"I haven't put the two of you in a layered dream."

"I've put you in a circular dream."

"Round and round you go."

"You'll tire eventually, and then we'll talk."

After a few rounds Cali would seem to give up, she would remember his words before she would laugh. "I've been in this world for a long time, and if I wanted any of that, I would have already done so, you should know that first and foremost. I want one simple thing, and one simply thing only. To leave. I want to leave you behind. I want to leave everyone else in this fucking world behind? Understand? And if you doubt my words, you have access to that library, you can read my mind, and you will find exactly as I am saying is the truth." she spoke in a way that Blu had not heard before.

"I want nothing to do with you. I gave you access to that library. All your dreams. Boom. Now give me something in return for that. I was so gracious for allowing you to access that? Then why don't you do something for me? You have this ALL wrong, and look what situation you drug us into. I want nothing to do with it. I want to disappear over the fucking horizon, never to see your equine form ever again. Works for the both of us, doesn't it? Or, will you keep me here for all eternity? You will grow bored with that. You are far too...whats the word I don't know...I know you wouldn't satisfied with that." Cali huffed.

"And once you read my mind, you'll find out how much you have hurt me. So much for friendship...hah! I knew it would end this way..." Cali rolled her eyes. 

Blu simply sighed and nodded, "As you wish. I had supposed that you would want that, so while you two were sleeping I had a friend of mine construct something that will do just that. With all the power I was able to absorb from the two of you I've been able to find no less than two dozen stable, hospitable worlds I could send you to. Would you like to pick where? Or do you have no preference?"

If Cali indicated a willingness to choose Blu would start showing some images of the worlds he had used the foresight glasses to point the dimensional gateway towards. "The gateway will be fully charged in about a day from now, which I can allow to pass instantaneously for you if you would like. Just choose where you want to go, and that is where you'll wake up."

Cali looked on in great disbelief. "How do I know what I am seeing is really what is there? You could be sending me to hell for all I know. You misunderstood. I want out. I want out in this world, I want you to release me from wherever the fuck I'm held at and I'll go, capiche? And if I am to exit through a portal, it will be one of my own construct. Not yours. Do you understand that?" Cali asked in disbelief, she was quite paranoid of where he might send her after all. So she chose none of the options. 

Blu shook his head with a sad expression, "You seem to be under the delusion that you have any say in this matter other than what I ask you. You leaving this world is non-negotiable. You've already proven yourself powerful as well as mentally unstable, prone to outbursts, lacking empathy, if not an outright psychopath. You are a clear and present danger to this world, and I've no doubt that if you had the chance you would eventually find someone who wouldn't stop you from committing the atrocities I am stopping you from committing today."

He sighed, "There's nothing more than my word that I can offer you that these images are true, as that is worth little if anything to you I can support that I have nothing to gain from lying to you about this. All these worlds present the same cost, and I think it is a fair alternative to forcibly stripping you of your powers, don't you? Make a choice please, if I am lying it won't change anything, if I'm not lying then you'll have had a say in where you go."

He looked over at the sleeping Twilight, "If you don't want to choose, maybe she'll choose for you? Do you think she'll have your best interest in mind?"

Cali huffed. "You don't get it, do you? Of course I do have empathy! Its just that I've been so alone all these years I've never gotten the chance to express it! If anything I've proved to you its that I trust others too easily, maybe its since I've been lost all these years! You don't know me, Blu. You have no idea what I have been through! And you whole entire plan here, and thought process is based off an assumption! That of which in itself is a lie. Who do you think you are to decide my fate? God? You are no god. Remember why you are here, its because I gave you the resources to even build this portal! You have the chance to perform your wildest dream, all because of what I've generously granted you!" Cali cracked an almost sly, but distasteful grin. It also bore a look of somberness too. 

Cali looked over to the sleeping Twilight and looked back to Blu. A strange look on her face showed as she spoke like that of an elder, or someone with something that Blu doesn't have.

"How about we kill 2 birds with one stone? Send me and Twilight to another world. You don't like her, you don't like me. Get rid of us both." she suggested. Maybe going to another world wouldn't be so bad after all. Yet deep down, she said that because she didn't want to be alone. 

Blu looked a bit taken aback, "My wildest dream? My wildest dream!?" His image shifted, allowing her to see his human form. He looked fairly average, somewhat lanky build and quite thin. His skin was pale and his eyes... they bore into her with such inner pain.

"All my life I've been abandoned, kept around out of obligation, passed back and forth among those who did not respect me or love me. My wildest dream was to have a family that loved me. To belong and be wanted somewhere. And YOU, you threatened to take it all away from me."

He reverted to his pony form, and looked away for a moment, moving as if speaking to someone else.

He sighed as he turned back to Cali, "Perhaps I was too harsh. My... she thinks you might deserve another chance, that perhaps we could make things right. Especially considering what you and Princess Sparkle discussed earlier."

He looked over at the sleeping form of Twilight and sighed, "I never wanted to hurt her, only to make her see. Make her understand what she did to me, help her not fall into the same trap that Celestia did. Princess Sparkle isn't perfect, but she's trying. I have never once referred to her by anything less than her title because I respect her despite everything."

He sighed again, "I'll leave the two of you to talk, maybe by the end you can convince me why I wouldn't be putting everyone I love at risk by allowing you to remain."

Blu would disappear from the dream, and Twilight would stir to wakefulness, "Wha- are we out? This is different than before."

Cali growled in response to what Blu had said, and at his human appearance. "While I have a...profound sympathy for what you have gone though, it does not give you the same right to do the exact same thing to others! I am not taking anything away from you, Blu. You are taking away my chance to see my friends again! Not that I care anymore at this point since that is a lost cause! I told you everything about what I have gone through, and still, you fucking backstab me! You are a damn liar! Your own pain is not an excuse to blind yourself from others pain! It just makes you look like a god damn hypocrite! Even if you let me remain, I would never ever work with you considering what you have done to me!" she said in a boiling, scathing rage that would be sure to leave a mark on Blu. Her look bore one of extreme rage, and hate, but also betrayal and pain. She was quite hurt by what had happened there, and she wasn't going to let it go. 

Then she'd smirk wildly at this situation. It was an almost insane look on her face, its as if her cares almost were gone and replaced by a newfound almost...enjoyment? Whatever it was, it felt very strange for Cali. "You have access to my mind, and you will see for yourself that all I said was true. We had a friendship you know, until you ruined it out of a probability, you were one of the few ones I ever truly trusted and cared for...but look what you have done! I was never going to do anything to you! My plan is to get out of here, to where you won't be able to control my life! You backstabbed me, took my abilities, and left me trapped in a dream realm! If that isn't a betrayal I don't know what is! how do you expect me to FORGIVE THAT?!" her rage seemed to multiply by tenfold but she would simply just sit there silently, fuming in absolute rage. Then her eyes took more of a saddened character. "I made that plan so we could work together...and you just...threw it all away! Hmph!" she rolls her eyes in dismission of her previous plan. All she secretly wanted was just to make a friend through some haphazard plan that would never really work. She was not one for power after all. Power was just a lie. The lack of having power over others is what made it all fun, at least for her. 


She would then look to Twilight when everything shifted with her arms crossed. As everything shifted she were rather desensitized to how it all changed.

"Hah, we aren't out yet! I wouldn't be surprised if your yet another creation of his to torture and fry my damn mind! Ugh! Fuck me! Fuck my life..." she sighed in defeat and sat down by Twilight, her mind was all over the place in several directions. She almost couldn't handle it. "You know, I think he might be right. Maybe it is better if I just leave this dimension and go somewhere else...but then I'd be back at square one...alone..." she would look up to Twilight sadly. 

Blu was gone long before Cali finished speaking, though given the passion of her words she likely wouldn't have noticed.

Twilight didn't have the most impressed expression as she looked at Cali, "You're a bit quick to flu off the handle aren't you? You get caught in a trap meant to contain me, he even apologized to you for it when you first woke up. I know he did because I heard it too. He told you he had to be certain that it would work the first time, because if it didn't, I would step back in time and warm myself about the trap so as not to fall for it. He told you, correctly, that he can't let you out without letting me out too."

She rolled her eyes, "Then you had to go and threaten him. One misunderstanding and you're ready to burn down the whole world? No wonder he wants you gone. Has he done anything, anything at all before this moment to make you think he might not be on your side? Then why think now that he's betrayed you when the far simpler scenario is that he was telling the truth?"

She sighed, "Now, I meant what I said earlier when I said I would talk to him about allowing you to stay, about convincing him to help you find your friends and send you there. However, you're going to need to work on your temper too. You threatening to kill people at the first sign of downturn will not make things easy for you."

"Also, while he may control the dream world, he does not have any access to our minds. He wouldn't stoop to mind reading anyway, the very concept is revolting to him. So then, what are we going to do? Or are you going to wish death on me as well?"

Cali would sit there thinking about what Twilight had said there. She huffed inwardly and looked to her with pure confusion. "I-I guess what you are saying makes sense...he never seemed to do anything against me until now. I just literally can't handle this! I can't think straight at all!" she huffed at that more and tried to breathe to calm herself down. "Why did he need to put me in this trap, then? He betrayed me by doing so? What the hell was I supposed to think about that, especially considering that he had never done anything against me prior?" she'd stand there silently at that, her hands on her hips.

"This isn't a mere misunderstand, Twilight! He trapped me in a dream, and took my ability, making me virtually powerless. You can't expect that to be a simple misunderstanding, can you? If so that is one hell of a misunderstanding. I was the one that came up with this plan to begin with! How am I possibly so blind sighted? Probably from all those years of relying on brawn instead of brains, you know? Or maybe I'm just plain stupid." she would bury her head in her hands for a few moments in utter shame.

Twilight thought a moment, "Well, the trap was designed for me right? My two strongest attributes are my magic and my intelligence, and this trap directly countered both of them, the draining field disabled my magic, and the dream trap kept me from forming a plan to escape. If I understood the trap correctly I needed to be in the middle to maximize the effect, and were you not there to pin me in place I may have moved out from the middle and evaded the trap, and the two of you would not get a second chance to spring it. IF he left a way for you to escape I could just as easily escape by the same way. Maybe he should have warned you about the nature of the trap, but he may have feared I could have gleaned some way to escape the trap from you if you knew about how it worked."

Cali sighed deeply at that and just huffed. "This whole plan was just really stupid, not only that but I probably wouldn't have gone along with it if he actually told me of that needed...step if you will. I am never planning things with him or doing things like this ever again. I am just done with it. I told you where your friends are, they are safe, unharmed, and I am sure Blu would just return them and we can wash our hands of this. But, I will be reading from that library...more if I should ever get out of this...clearly I didn't use my time wisely enough...if I was actually smart I would have mastered all forms of magic...but I was blind sighted by my pure hubris..." she said rather shamefully.

She then would look to Twilight in genuine curiosity. "What should I do then? Kiss ass to him in hopes to escape? Surrender my will to him? I don't know what I can do. I am literally powerless here. And so are you. I am sorry I got you caught up in my stupid jaunts. This should have never happened. And its all my damn fault! I am my own worst enemy in most cases...god! Why did I have to do this...I am never planning things with people ever again since I'll just fuck it up!" she sat down and flailed her arms, feeling quite defeated.

Twilight shook her head, "Of course not, Blu doesn't respect those who give up. Further he also messed up here, and if I know Dinky she'll get Blu back here to apologize himself before long. Neither of you are perfect, and the two of you have a lot more in common than you think. If you both look to mend this bridge you could both get what you want without hurting each other further. You're only restrained now because you threatened to kill him, if you explain why you felt betrayed I'm sure he'll understand."

Cali thought about what Twilight had said there for a few passing moments. She were still angered. "What is there he doesn't understand? He literally threw me under the bus here! He didn't tell me a damn thing about this. Whats Dinky? I am not sure what you are talking about...but anyways what is it of you speak of having a lot in common? What is it I have in common with him? I have nothing in common with him...but I guess we are both from other worlds...with knowledge of unusual magic. I guess? But still, he threw me under the bus here and there is no way I am going to forget this." she would huff, her eyes narrowed.

"How the hell am I supposed to make this up? I can't trust Blu. He's literally wanting to send me into another dimension and he put me in here with you, without my consent or foreknowledge! If by some chance I manage to get us out of this I am running for the damn hills and I am never being seen again by either of you, do you understand that? I can probably find some other method on my own to get what I want, should I desire to do so. Working with people only ends so badly for me! This was one of the few times to do it...but the last time Twilight is something I want to tell you about..." she said and pulled out what seemed to be 3 metallic rods with horizontal slots in them. With blinking lights. She waved them in the air.

"Oil from the trees...dirt from the ground...water from a stream and a magic infused crystal...combined in a beacon. A dimensional beacon, with 3 of these I managed to escape the previous world...albeit they are not my invention, I believe I could...repurpose this idea with study and with luck, I believe I could escape this realm on my own if I needed...yet I never thought of this before! I don't really think they'd work...but its just a thought...first I have to get you and me out of something that I started...I'll fix your lawn after this I swear!" Cali said and sort of bowed before Twilight in a weird motion. After that she stood up and walked to the 3 rods.

With a weird hand motion over the rods, tripod legs extended from then. With a twist of the top part, there was weird click sound in each. Then a blue line formed between the 2 of them, a ray of light shooting up from the ground of them into a blue portal formed a bit above the 3 beacons. Cali would look to Twilight, then shaking her head.

With a sigh she looked to Twilight almost guiltfully. "Or...I can start a new life here...with you and the others. But I don't know if you would even accept that...w-would that be better? It'd be more realistic..." she said somewhat nervously. For once, Cali seemed nervous.

Twilight watched with an appraising eye, "Those look similar to something Blu dreamed about once, I think they were related to what first sent him here, maybe one of your friends ending up in his world? Still, if you want to pursue this idea, you'd need to interact with Blu in some capacity. On the other hoof, if you want to just live here, peacefully, I would be happy to accommodate that request. We could find you a place to live either close or far from others based on your preference, put you far from Blu if it suits you, though I imagine he'd avoid you as well if you wanted that."

"Absolutely not. I am not interacting with him. Not after this! Do you not understand how much he has hurt me here? But in a way...this is almost a good thing...since I probably would have started a war in my original plan. But still he is not entirely innocent either, he instigated and planned with me. Plotted this out with me. If it wasn't for him, I would have done a brute force attempt and gotten banished from this dimension. Don't forget that. It was only due to him something so...unique was able to occur. And as for living here, I have no idea. I don't really care honestly. But I assume...you'd want me to stay in pony form to avoid scaring ponies...which is fine. But I don't know what to do...as for the dimensional beacons...I can probably work something like that on my own eventually. After things have...settled...I don't know how you are going to explain this shit to your leaders...and the public..." Cali would conclude, seeming satisfied with that newfound plan. She had hoped to get out of this situation soon enough. 

Twilight had a bit of a sad smile as she listened to Cali's responses, "Well, they got used to Discord well enough, so I think they'd be able to adjust to your human form as well if that is what you would prefer. I won't require you to be something you're not. As it pertains to what I'll tell everyone else... I think telling them you're a confused and lost creature from another world might work, the ponies here tend to move on and forget when enough time has passed, though it might be best if you didn't live here or in Stratusberg to minimize contact with those you've already affected."

It wasn't long before Blu appeared again, looking a bit subdued but still resolved, "The rest of the council feels it hasty to have you exiled without trial, especially since what you've done is far from the worst these towns have suffered. So I'll release you into their custody. And for what it's worth, I'm sorry for my actions. I should have had enough trust in you to tell you the whole plan."

Blu closed his eyes, and their surroundings fell away like so many leaves blowing in the wind, revealing that they were sitting on the map table, neither of them were bound, but there were a good number of guards around them, plus the elements of harmony. Blu nodded to a magenta unicorn who erased part of the rune, disabling the nullification field.

Cali would have awkwardly smiled back to Twilight. "I guess thats our plan then...I don't have any problems with that. I can assume any form I want so nothing is too bad...I guess." Cali simply sighed as everything faded away with the dream. And much to her surprise, she was on the map table. Unbound. She was more confused, but also relieved. Her eyes scanned the surroundings. 

She locked eyes with the elements. They had been freed and there was also tons of guards and other ponies about. With a pleasured look, she felt her magic return. In a red shifting form, Cali would transform into her Unicorn mare form. But also adorning alicorn wings. She saw no reason not to have them. Maybe she wanted to gain reactions out of the other ponies in the room. She then would sit up and stretch. "Ugh...GOD how long has it been? Weeks? Years...centuries?!" to emphasize her point Cali had stretched her legs and wings out to more than what would be possible. Her eyes turned into large iron rods that extended into wild angles above the crowd. Eyeballs overlooking the crowd.

"Whew! It feels so good to have this back you know, after it was...wrongfully stolen from who I thought was my friend..." the iron rods with the eyeballs would look down onto Blu and sprout several more of their form. At least a dozen eyes looked down to him in a disapproving nature. As soon as that all had happened, the iron rods and eyes retracted back down into Cali's pony eyes which blinked.

"...As I was saying, for all of your knowledge he was the one that encouraged and helped me with my plan. If it wasn't for this massive misunderstanding I would probably have done...I don't know? Bad things? But even so, I could never have the heart to rule over others. Thats not my...style...why rule at all? Thats really stupid if you ask me...you get all that life grants you...whats the funin that! I have all these powers, I could do...so much damage if I really wanted..." then with a red flash, Cali would be standing on the table in her human form. "But like I said, ain't my style. Whats the fun in getting it all at once? Whats the fun without triumph, victory, by your own hand rather than some weird ass powers granted to you?" she'd grin slyly. 

To them she'd probably look like a weird ape or something. "Its funny how you all...think of this a certain way. Tell you what, you all have access to knowledge of another world. I'll give you all books about it, or just Twilight here. And what did you say about a council or a trial...hmmm? I don't believe thats needed...just return the stolen crap I put in that room in the library...or should I teleport all of it here? Maybe some gold bars from the fabled Fort Knox?  Or maybe some German made Reichsmarks...whatever you wish, it shall be yours..." Cali would bow in an almost weird way.

Yet Blu and Twilight could tell this was probably more of an act to hide the hurt inside of her. She then glared at Blu in an expression of extreme disappointment. Almost contempt. "Perhaps maybe if you had the desire, will or interest to actually...communicate with me none of this would have ever happened! I feared for my life that you would keep me like that forever and that you were going to feed me to the wolves or something! Do you not know how much you hurt me, Blu? Betrayed by the ONLY...friend that I had in a very very very long time? You do not know how much that fucking hurts..." she'd start to have a few tears drip down her eyes, but would wipe them away and just look at him with sorrow. She were also, a bit angry.

Blu rolled his eyes, and while some of the others gave him the occasional glance they didn't seem too impressed.

Blu waved a hoof dismissively as he turned away, "Given Princess Sparkle is no longer incapacitated I hereby relinquish my title and power back to her, and all that jazz. Now if you'll  excuse me, Dinky would rather this town remain on the map, so I've got some work to do."

With that he would stalk out of the room while the elements came over to Twilight, Fluttershy gave Cali a decent bearth, but the others paid her no mind, with the exception of RD, who fixed her with a straight glare, "Abducting me in my sleep, not cool. Don't forget you had us trapped in a dream too, so I think your punishment fits the crime." She waved forward another guard who held a scroll, "You've several counts of theft and vandalism leveled against you, as well as two cases of abduction, and high treason. With Prince Baseplate's approval, you've been cleared of the latter charges. You are still responsible for the counts of vandalism and theft, though it is up to Princess Sparkle how you are to repay that debt."

Twilight stood up from the care of her comrades, "As you claim to still have these stolen goods with you, or in your power, we will ask that you personally return them to their rightful owners. Per the vandalism, you've proven yourself quite capable with magic, I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to undo the damage you've done. After which you'll be a free citizen of Equestria, if you so desire."

Cali would simply narrow her eyes at Blu as he left. She were still angry at him and it seemed that his mind were set on the matter. She didn't really care . She had no idea what 'Dinky' was though and proceeded to just ignore that. Upon Rainbow Dash's speaking up she would seem to stand up straight as if irritated by her remark. "Guess he gets off scot free for working, conspiring, and plotting with me. Unfair!" she would speak rather harshly and in a dismissive manner.

Then she'd look to the guard who read off the charges, and then to Twilight. "All that, I can easily do. No problem. But prey I tell, you, Rainbow Dash, do not speak to me in that manner ever again. Or better yet, I never want to see you again." she would look to Fluttershy. "I am sorry you had to be a part of mine and Blu's planning, however, rest assured...I am never working with him again." she huffed, though her inner anger was directed at Blu and not Fluttershy of course.

Cali would step off the table looking at them. "Now if you please, I have work to do. If you want to watch over me, feel free. Maybe you will learn a thing or 2. But now that I have taken this path of fixing what I have done, do not talk down to me or bother me with it. I could have easily been more dangerous if I had wanted. But I didn't choose that path." Cali said.

Provided that if Cali had been allowed to walk out, she would have walked on over to the damaged grass around Twilight's castle. Damaged from the battle. She would turn her arm into a large scythe. In her human form, she would swing the scythe's blade across the damaged areas in a certain way that would hide the damaged dirt. And would put the dirt where it would came from. She would remain silent and distasteful as this act would continue. It would take a little while, perhaps half an hour or so to fix the damage around the castle. But after she were done it mostly would look as it was. 


Then she would look to the ponies that would likely still be watching. "Off to Stratusburg, are we?" she would ask as her scythe arm seemed to retract.
> Chapter XV
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After Cali had concluded her efforts undoing the damage she had done she would finally be able to return to the library without the watchful eye of the government. Inside the library she would find that Blu had removed some items while she was away (While she was trapped in the dream) namely: All the books on runes, dimensional portals, and anti-magic, as well as all of the artifacts they had found. Nothing else was taken however, and Blu had already broken his portal runes leaving Cali little to do in the way of stopping his re-entry.

One other thing was out of place though, in one of the reading areas sat the ghostly image of a human, like an image through a projector screen. The human was dressed formally in a three piece suit like a magician from the 1900's might wear on stage. The image was not all projection though, there was a long staff of wood that seemed to form the spine, topped with a diamond that sat at the back of the projection's head. The projection was reading a book, and wouldn't acknowledge Cali's presence unless addressed or touched.

Cali had arrived through the door. Transforming into the key like normal and heading on in. The loud boom of the door closing echoed throughout the place. Cali had searched for books on that topic hoping she could find a lead if what had happened with Blu had happened again. She took note of the projection of the human. But it seemed to not notice her. Cali would look at the human there, but with her prime mistake of not learning as much magic as possible in mind, she would study more at this moment.

She had proceeded to pick out some books of psychic magic, as well as plant / natural magic. She figured she would add those to her collection. It would take a long time of studying, reading, and practicing. It felt like hours, but it could have gone on for far longer than that. Cali had absorbed herself in he studies. However towards the end of her practicing with the plant magic, Cali had grown out a vine from her arm and accidentally struck the ghostly image in the side. After noticing that she retracted the vine which then vanished.

"Who are you, and why are you in my library? Let me guess, you have something to do with Blu?" she was in her human form, and addressed the ghostly image.

The ghostly human looked over with a bemused expression, "Your library? I know a guy who some some ponies who would take offense to that. But they're dead so they don't really count."

He shut the book he was reading, the title indicated it was about something to do with illusory magic. "As to Blu, I assume you mean the prince? Haven't met him personally, nor was he relevant when I last went through Ponyville."

He stood from the chair, the staff moving from his spine to rest in his hand like a walking stick, "As to who I am. You of all beings should know the power that comes with a name. I count my many blessings that I've forgotten mine, it can't be used against me that way. You can call me Disciple if you like, not often I see a fellow human, though I'm not sure I qualify at this point."

Cali would raise an eyebrow as she sat down, crossing her legs as she looked at him. "I have...no clue what you re talking about. You were not here before. Blu must have done something. Yes, he did something. He obviously brought you in here or did something. I don't know what though but still, its a long story. But I suppose you have quite the story too." she would sigh and look him up and down again.

"The way you speak makes it seem like you know more about me than you let on. Why don't you just give me a straight answer, if you wouldn't mind? I am not sure if I am...entirely human myself. It's probably obvious why that is. But, I am curious about you. Go on." her eyes narrowed slightly.

Disciple had a confident smile as he took a seat across from Cali at the table, "While I don't know him personally, the two of you caused quite a stir around here, drawing my attention and enlightening me to this gateway to the library. It's far from the only entrance you know. As to you, I can't say I know too much about you, but I do know a few important things since you were so kind as to tell everyone about it in your latest book." With a wave of his hand the book she had left in Stratusburg appeared, "Can't have this sort of thing falling into the wrong hooves, these ponies are far too soft to handle the harsh reality that not only are they not alone, but there exists a world whose capability for war knows no bounds, and may now have access to this one."

Another wave and the book disappeared. "You can imagine that sort of information wouldn't be helpful to keeping the ponies here happy."

He steepled his fingers, "Now, as much as you love to talk about where you're from... you turned down the opportunity to go back there, or anywhere else. I think you like being here far more than you let on."

Cali would raise an eyebrow, looking at him as he sat down across. She listened to what he spoke of and smirked as if impressed with his thoughts and most importantly, his retrieval . "How did you get that book? It interests me how you have the knowledge of me putting it there. And where do you come from? Everyone has their origins, what is yours? And most importantly, how and why did you get here? YOU Didn't answer my question. And you claim of that, and you seemingly make it vanish? Maybe, back to where I put it?" she'd grin somewhat slyly.



"And as for you say about me, what does it matter to you? I find it interesting you even mention that. Nobody else would. Nobody else cared about my opinion." she'd cross her arms and frown. "I have come to like it actually. Better than most. I actually feel safe or at least safer here. There is no true violence here at least of the kind that I have normally seen. I am glad to be here, actually."

Disciple chuckled, "I'll say what I like and ignore any questions that are inconvenient to answer. Also, it's hardly fair to ask such probing questions without reciprocating."

He looked thoughtful for a moment, "Let's see now, I got the book because you left it sitting on the table and caused quite a stir in the process, naturally I was curious so I picked it up. Whether visible or not the book is in my possession until I decide otherwise. I'd ask you to refrain from making more of them of course. I watched you giving one to Starburst so I know you can make more. As to where I came from, I suppose my story is quite simple, I was once an ordinary human on an unremarkable Earth when by some strange circumstance I found myself here, gainfully employed by Discord himself to cause some trouble. A few run-ins with the 'Elements' later and here I am. I don't remember much about my life before I came here, I just know it wasn't worth remembering. If you mean how did I get here specifically, that door is hardly a challenge to pick once you know where it is and how to reveal it. Something I learned from watching you after your last escapade in Stratusburg."

He leaned forward, "Now about you then, I take great interest in learning about any sort of peculiarity I come across. I too have become rather fond of this world thanks to a certain pink princess, and I would hate for anything to happen to it. So when you started causing a stir I thought I'd check in and see if I would need to step in. Lucky you stopped when you did. Nonetheless, you're quite right, this world is safer than most, a very peaceful place, and as long as we keep our heads down it's inclined to stay that way."

Cali simply smirked as if knowingly upon his responses and then chuckled. "I see we have some similarities. I too came from Earth, though if you looked at the contents of the book it is likely different than the one of your origin. I too, would say that my life before I...became as you see here isn't worth remembering. At least, mostly." she would muse somewhat at that, silently for a few moments.

"You see the reason why I even...did what you see is something I will not speak of. It is not what you...would normally think, considering someone of my power. You see, I had this library in my possession for several months, yet I didn't really learn from it until recently. I was busier with other things but I should have been smarter but...whats done is done. And that Pink Princess  you speak of is actually really nice and I feel sorry...for what I did but I did it good in the end didn't I?" she would shrug.

"I was wrong in my original ideas...I don't want to leave this world actually. I can if I so choose but, I'd never be able to return here, and I would have no idea where I would be going. Plus, my enemies...whats left of them might somehow get word of that and hunt me down through dimensions but as of yet, they have not shown themselves...or even arrived. Should they arrive, lets just say, things here wouldn't be good. They have one goal. My death. They live for nothing else...they are nothing else...but rage and destruction. Should they arrive here, it is safe to say that this area...and all around it would be a battle zone. Not something you want. Not something I want, so I am staying put here." she'd say, more honestly than usual.

Disciple looked impressed, "Ah! You've met Princess Cadence too? She really is a kind soul, she'd have to be since she managed to convince me to go my own way instead of sticking under Discord."

He looked more intrigued at that, "I think I can explain partially why that is. You see, this dimension is nearly impervious to extradimensional entrance. You only get in if someone on this side pulls you in, or if you're floating aimlessly in the void and happen to run into us. Essentially, you can't get yourself here by force, and since those beings aren't likely to let themselves drift endlessly in the void, you should be safe so long as no one summons them here. Discord, Fury, and I are disinclined to allow that. Regardless, I'm sure we could take them if they did come. Even when I had a body I was a pretty strong fighter, shedding my body has only strengthened my connection to magic."

Cali would smirk at his comment about Cadence. "I am referring to Twilight, not Cadence. I guess they are similar in their own ways. I haven't met Discord before. I wouldn't mind meeting him but I am not in the mood for him to say, scatter my atoms across various dimensional planes as a joke, say." she said with narrowed-ish eyes.

Disciple looked confused, "Are you colorblind? Starburst is very much purple, Especially when her pink friend, the balloon one, is next to her."

Then she would raise an eyebrow at what he said, thinking it was interesting. "What you say there is entirely true or at least, could be. Now from what I know of them, the Snarl...as the Incarnation of Rage is called works for or is used as a puppet of a larger being of sorts beyond our physical and dimensional planes. Occasionally this being would show themselves in physical form, that being of a large red mechanical chicken. They seemed to portray themselves as some sort of custodian, or seer, but I could definitely tell they were at least connected to the Snarl, or using them in physical form as a tool or a puppet for some larger plan. The other one, named Bayonet, resembles a mechanical dragonfly and a particular type of racing car. He is able to revive himself from death, repair all damage, and use a special type of magic that I am very weak to. Either way, I hope they don't find themselves here. I hope I managed to kill them once and for all." Cali would respond, as if triumphantly. 

His confusion deepened, "I fail to see what would be funny about that, so I don't think you need to worry there."

He at least seemed to pay attention when Cali described her previous foes, "A giant robot chicken? Sounds... unusual to say the least, I don't think I've heard of something stranger but I don't intend to go looking given your description. It would certainly be hard to miss them given their disparity with the technology available here."

He shrugged, "So, what are you going to do in the meantime? You've got anywhere from a negative number to positive infinity before your pursuers find you, assuming you're rated to live that long."

Cali was quite confused on the mention of Starburst. "Starburst? I haven't heard of anyone with that name. I don't know who you are talking about. First I thought Twilight, then Cadence...is there someone powerful I don't know of? I am very confused by that." she said in a quite confused manner and then would raise an eyebrow at his further comments.

Disciple rolled his eyes, "I mean Twilight of course, she's got a starburst on her flank and she's very easily annoyed whenever anyone calls her by something that isn't her name, so I always referred to her and her friends by their marks. Also because I didn't know their names when I was first sent after them. Besides, Discord's the most powerful anyway, no question there."

"If they were to come here I know they would try to adapt to certain forms here. Perhaps that of monsters or ponies but I can't clarify that for sure. As for what I will do here, I intend on learning literally everything in this library. Elemental Magic. Arcane Magic. Psychic, Lunar, and Weather magic is here too. But I noticed that certain books were missing. Anti-Magic, Portals and such. Those are going to be needed if I have a chance at defeating my foes should they come after me again. I am guessing Blu put you up to distract me or something? I can see right through that plan." she'd huff in mistrust at that.

Disciple raised an eyebrow, "Again, I don't know the colt personally, and I doubt he has anything he could offer me to get me to do anything. No, I'm here because you're an interesting anomaly and it offsets the tedium of my life to interact with oddities. Hence why I ask if you're going to do something, to see if you're worth keeping an eye on or if you're going to get boring."

And then she'd lean back as if unsure. "Truth be told I have very little idea as to what to do besides that. I don't know what to do with myself quit frankly." 

Cali rose an eyebrow at that response and then in a red flash she turned into her pony form. She shows her flank to him. It was a key unlocking a lock. She smirked. "Then if you call her Starburst, what will you call me?" she would laugh at that and sit down. She was a pony now, something he didn't really see before. "So tell me, why were you sent after them? This is quite...confusing." she would say to him and then shrug.

She would stand up and pace a bit as she spoke. "I don't know, really. I could take over the world but that's not a good idea hmm...I truly truly don't know. Other than learning of these books of course. Now tell me, what are you doing? Just going around and seeing strange things? Maybe we could do that. Then again, I don't know. Maybe I can see Twilight again or the others...see how they are doing?" 

Disciple snorted at her pony form, "It suits you, you're far cuter like that anyway. As to what I'd call you... hmm... I've never really had to think about this before. I think if I were to just grab something off the top of my head I'd say lockey, since that combines lock and key. Now that you've shown me, I may just call you that now."

He chuckled to himself as he leaned back in his seat, "Why was I sent after the Elements? I was called here while Discord was in his stone prison, the second one, before he was reformed. He told me to go out and twist them so they couldn't use their elements against him again. So I got close to Butters," with a snap of his fingers his ghostly image shifted to that of a handsome, yet not too remarkable looking, earth pony stallion. "I had a body back then so the illusion was stronger, and with her help I pushed each of the Elements to the extreme of their respective elements. All but Starburst, whose anger at what I did to her friends did all the pushing herself."

He shuddered at a memory before shifting back to his human form, "That's the short version at least. They all came out stronger in the end, once they took what I taught them to heart, but Discord was reformed by then so no harm done. However, Starburst can't see me alive, I don't what her to know that I got over the coma she put me in."

Cali rose an eyebrow at his nickname for her. "Lockey? Sure, that is fine by me I suppose." she'd say, and then listen to what else he would say. 

Disciple chuckled, "Not that you have any say in the matter Lockey."

She was impressed to say the least, looking to the image of Disciple's former stallion form. Then she'd smirk slyly. "In what I did with Blu, we took RD and Fluttershy here. We locked them up. Thus, it was impossible for the elements of harmony to be used against us...until he betrayed me." she'd turn to the side in slight anger and slammed her hoof down on the table in a long huff. Then she'd look to him apologetically, and move on.

He nodded, "You see, that's the issue! You lock someone up they'll eventually escape. If the element bearer dies, another will be chosen to take their place. What I did was subversive, elegant! I made them believe they were unworthy, incapable of fulfilling their element. So long as they believed it they'd never be able to use their power, and a new bearer would not be chosen as they were still alive and fully capable despite their delusion."

"Twilight was the reason I am before you now. She...helped me out of it let's just say that. As for what you say, it seems we have a similar thing. We both did things we probably...shouldn't have." she'd look to the side as if in shame.

Disciple snorted at that, "You may have, I regret nothing. I'm not hiding from Starburst for my safety. I do it out of spite. She put me in a coma, broke every bone in my body, she can regret it for... I don't know... a year for each bone? I'll forgive her in 200 years then. Maybe a month, so in 15 years or so. We'll see how I feel then."

"However I'll prefer being a pony. It's time to let go of the past. Move on. Become...better. Although to do what exactly? I am unsure of that. For one, I do not intend on meeting with that Blu ever again. For two, I won't be drawing attention to myself. Bad idea. My mistake." 

He chuckled, "Lots of perks to being a pony I will admit, not wearing clothes takes some getting used to, but even the weakest of ponies are far stronger than I ever was as a human. Still, I'm afraid I can't join you without a body of my own, since mine's still in intensive care in the Crystal Empire until all my bones heal. Besides, this form is far more liberating. Nothing garners awe like making a lost pony thing they've been visited by an angel." For flare he materialized a pair of angelic wings, refracting the light in a brilliant display. When Cali were to look closer she'd find that Disciple's ghostly visage was actually thousands of tiny diamond fragments floating in the air.

Cali huffed in annoyance at his responses. It was descriptive, yet it was not revealing something that she had wanted to know. "What happened with you and 'Starburst' then, hmm? What did she do to you? What exactly happened? So discord hired you and then the Elements had defeated you, leaving you with..." Cali would motion towards him with a hoof. "...what I see now? From what I know Discord himself was defeated and there were no other attempts by any chaotic entities to divide the elements. Or is what is told wrong, a fabrication?" she'd ask as she stood up.

Disciple chuckled, "Quite the story that, I wouldn't say your sources were wrong, they just never learned about me. I didn't want myself found out while I was working, so I did my best to minimize my presence. The only ponies who ever saw me, and remembered, were the Elements, two of the princesses, and a few thestrals in a remote village where I got this staff. They weren't exactly keen about announcing my presence or exploits. Anyway, after I twisted all her friends I needed a way to get to Starburst since Butters blew my cover. I went to the Crystal Empire where I tried to get Candance to help me get in her head. Instead, she managed to break me free of Discord's influence. However, all Starburst knew was that I had been in proximity to her precious princess, and when she found me she tried to use the elements in her anger, using her rage to fuel the charm. Instead of petrifying me, it broke every bone in my body individually. I wish I could have seen the look on her face when she realized what she'd done, but I was literally out of my body in pain. It nearly tore the elements apart, and it was months before Starburst could use magic without having flashbacks of my mangled body."

"Wow that is...extremely bad and that I am sorry that happened the way it did...it seems that Twilight had second thoughts about what she had did and I suppose she is trying to fix your body? What if we use the books in here, the knowledge from them...like a massive healing spell or something of that sort on your body, and get you back in what is rightfully yours. So what can we do to do that? Or at least help it along?" Cali asked, seemingly genuinely concerned for his well being.

She would stand up and proceed to walk around him. Her hooves clicked on the floor and the echo went on for a while as she thought silently. "Hmm..." with her red pony eyes she inspected his form. Admiring how it seemed to have constructed. "Ah...I get my talent now. Searching. Exploring. Unlocking. You see one thing. I did not exactly choose this form." at the end of those words she stopped infront of him. "When I came here. I woke up like this. With this body. I came to the conclusion that what you see...is my equivalent of what I'd be here. Unlike my other forms...I do not need to think actively to maintain. With your body...We could create you a suitable one. Through a spell perhaps." she'd grin widely.

"Perhaps the parrot on my shoulder. Or a snake around my leg. Telling me that of which I do not know. Or something else. Up to you. I suppose this...ghostly image of you is...mercy from them, hmm? Until they fix your body? What if they don't do that?" she'd tilt her head to the side slightly. 

Disciple shook his head, "I use this form because I prefer it, I can just as easily take any other form, I'll just still be made of diamond dust. Also, this wasn't anything they did for me, I did this for  myself, I held off the beam a bit when Starburst was brutalizing me, and I got all of my ribs to snap at once, giving me enough chaotic potential to rip my soul from my body and place it in the my staff. I've merged, or rather overwhelmed, the partial soul that lived here prior. I've got her knowledge, and she'll come back if I leave."

Cali winced at that description. "Reminds me of when I fought some of my enemies...I was a real bloody mess after that. Some would say it looked like a murder scene...that was the closest to death I have ever gotten." she'd say and show a few barely noticeable scars on her legs. "So you prefer not having your other body then in all reality then? And as for the soul in your staff...where did she go? Isn't it a bit...wrong to to merge with another soul unwillingly?"

Disciple shrugged, "I could heal my body and take it back up whenever I want, but why be bound down like that when I can be, well, this? As to the other soul, she wasn't even a whole soul to begin with, and through some temporal shenanigans was positively ancient, I'm talking eons old, she was frankly relieved to have a short break from existing while I'm here. And she'll go back unchanged once I leave."

He sighed, "Anyway, you're going for the normal pony life then? Where are you thinking of settling down?"

Cali would quirk an eyebrow at that. "I am not entirely sure if I trust that summary of yours. But alright. Settling down well? Why not here for now? Learn everything in this library. Then settle down somewhere. Not sure where. I haven't explored this world as much as I should have." Cali would say in a rather honest manner as she continued to read the nature manipulation book. 

Disciple laughed, "It took a thousand years for the old masters to fill the library. If you want to read everything here, you'll be here for at least that long. Longer if you want to understand even a fraction of that."

He shrugged, but if you're dedicated to that, I can't fault you for that. More power to you!

With a snap the book he had been reading grew wings and flew itself back to its place in the library. "I'll check in every so often and make sure you aren't dead. In the meantime I think I'll pay a visit to that thestral village that I got the staff from."

Cali's eyes went a bit wide at that. "Jesus! I noticed that I can only seem to get through a few books in a day really but to fully understand the content of them its less than that. I barely even started with this plant one, let alone the Solar magic and barrier magics, I've only unlocked the basics of those. In previous time here I was practicing on shapeshifting stuff to add to my existing ability but if what you say is true...then god damn! That's so long..." Cali looked rather floored.


With her red magic, Cali would put the books she was reading onto the table. She didn't want to lose track of them. "I guess I really am dumber than a sack of hammers sometimes...more often than not. I don't really feel like being in here reading books for thousands of years...even though given my ability I likely could but still such time is far too long...so would you mind me coming with you? If not, I could easily go somewhere else and stretch out. Perhaps I could visit Deltrot or the Crystal Empire." 

Disciple smiled and nodded as Cali asked to join him, "I was hoping you would. It is always good to understand the nature of the task before beginning, lest you start down a path you can't finish. It sounds like you've plenty of time to come back and continue anyway."

He casually strolled towards the door, walking but not actually touching the ground, he moved far quicker than his pace would allow. "You want to casually stroll there? See all the sights between? That's my preferred route, as you often get to help those down on their luck along the way."
> Chapter XVI
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cali would trot and follow him towards the door. "Casually stroll, sure. I have no idea where we we are going so you can lead the way. I am not really sure what to think of what you say there, but I suppose I shall see for myself in due time." they walked closer to the door. The door itself opened once they got close to it. The large perfectly crafted stone door retracted up into the ceiling in a slow, yet also quick pace for something its size. It was silent as it moved up.


"Impressive construction, isn't it? I was able to find information on the door itself...this is the legendary 'Golden Door' that is well fabled about in this area for centuries. While it was said that some had found it, it was never fully 'found'...I was able to find it when testing out some sort of device that removes holograms in a certain radius and I saw the bright gold color of the exterior part of the door shining and well, the rest was history." Cali lamented upon that as they exited, and walked out. As they left the torches seemed to dim but not going dark. And when they were a ways away from the door, the door slammed back down in a boom and then seemed to vanish within the surrounding hill.

Disciple looked back at the door as Cali commented on it, "Oh? I hadn't really noticed. It helps when you can sense magic as well as I can. It wasn't ever really hidden for me once I stumbled upon it."

With that they began their trek across Equestria towards the thestral village. 

They weren't traveling long before they found a group of ponies beset by a trio of unicorn bandits. Disciple giggled to himself out of sight of the groups, "What fun! What do you think we should do here?"

Cali's eyes scan the scene as she watched the unicorn bandits that were harassing the group of other ponies up ahead. Cali smirks to Disciple. "Why bother telling, when I can act?" she said and marched up to the scene as if unafraid. For a second she just seemed to watch as if judging either of the sides. The bandits were the ones that seemed to have instigated this judging by what they were wearing, and what they were also saying.

"You 3 better back off before I shatter your atomic structures across this plane of existence!" she said in a warning tone as her form transformed into the bird like android from before. The android was very metallic, and reflective. It lets out a hellish mechanical screech as it lunges towards the 3 bandits. as it fires red lasers from its eyes down at their legs. 

Understandably, all of the gathered ponies immediately fled screaming at the sight of Cali's mechanical form, the bandits dropping weapons and the ponies abandoning their things in an effort to get away.

Disciple looked disappointed, once the ponies had fled out of sight he started gathering up the discarded items, organizing them into neat piles and repairing what was damaged. "It'll be a while, if ever, until those ponies decide to come back for their things. The bandits will recover their resolve much sooner. Did you enjoy scaring them off like that? You truly know nothing of subtlety."

With a snap of his fingers the items loaded themselves into the ponies' abandoned cart, and it set off in the direction they fled. "That should do it."

The android took some weird stance as the ponies and the bandits had fled off. Cali did not pursue and in her android form had walked over to Disciple. It seemed to roll its eyes before reverting back down into Cali's unicorn form. "Subtlety is something of which was largely pointless amongst my old battles. My enemies would find me no matter what and I had accepted that fact. However I see your point. Next time, you will see my subtlety." Cali smirked rather slyly.

She watched the abandoned cart set off in the direction of where the ponies had fled and then seemed to playfully bump his arm. "Hows that for a duo eh? Anyways, what are you capable of, exactly?" Cali would ask with a weird look in her eyes. 

Disciple snorted at Cali's promise of subtlety, "Your earlier foes could match you in power. Few, if any, of those we meet here will even come close."

When asked what he was capable of, he shrugged, "I haven't really tried to push my limits, haven't had a need to. At the very least, there hasn't yet been a task I couldn't find a way to complete, and while I may not be able to overpower all my enemies, I have managed to outsmart them on occasion."

He chuckled, "I even got Princess Celestia in a bind once, funny story that."

Cali smirks at that. "Then we make a powerful duo. My earlier foes would outmatch me in power. In unavoidable ways I will say that much. I hope we don't come across anything like that here, unlikely as it is. But we shall see." 

As they walked the path they are on eventually became forested. There were some occasional clearings. Eventually they could see some sort of abandoned farmhouse in the clearings. There were ruins of an old farmstead here. But it has long since abandoned. As they walk they spot a band of raiders near to that farmhouse and the ruins. They were seeming to be in some sort of meeting. They could recognize the 3 bandits from before. They were involved in some sort of ritual.

Cali ducks behind a tree and gestures Disciple to do the same. They weren't spotted yet and were too far away to be, but just in case Cali hid behind the tree. "I can see...some sort of ritual they are doing." Cali looked closer. The farmhouse was indeed the site of some sort of ritual. The ground was littered with bones and black, sacrificial magic symbols. And they were also doing some sort of black magic chant.

Disciple shuddered when he first saw all the bones strewn about, "What a waste, they trying to summon the lord of trash?" He chuckled, "That does give me an idea though..."

He stood still for a moment, the staff centering itself in his form before a large pair of wings grew from his back, then with a snap his form went from diamond to obsidian, giving him a sharp yet nebulous looking form. "How do I look? You think I could pass myself off as a demon?"

He didn't really wait for a response before he turned his now fiery red gaze towards the summoners, "Watch my back wont you?"

With a snap he teleported himself into the center of their circle with a bang and a large cloud of smoke, followed by a deep laugh. "FOOLS! Why hast thou summoned me?"

"You surely seem like you can." Cali cackled quietly as she would observe the spectacle that as going on with the bandits who were completely unaware with her observing of them. over at the circle the bandits cough at the smoke before seeing Disciple's nebulous looking form. The leader's eyes widen in surprise. "I am the one who summoned thee." He points to the circle and the bandits bow before Disciple.

One of them looks at him curiously. "I think we summoned the WRONG entity..." he points out and then the leader huffs. "Silence you! This better not be the fifth time this happened!" he would shoota glare at the other one who fell silent and then he bowed again. "My apologies, Nightmare Moon...for so long we have waited to have an audience with you...we are one of your loyalty..." he would flash a dark blue moon medallion for the 'entity' to see. 

Disciple was surprised, Her? Really? Luckily I've got some memories to pull on this.

Inwardly he went to his library of memories, an old yet happy looking crystal mare sitting at the desk, "What do you need to know today?"

"Some ponies were trying to summon Nightmare Moon, how can I be convincing?"

The mare chuckled, "If only the knew how close they've gotten, they've got the exact opposite half right before them. Nonetheless... here you go."

She passed him a book, which disappeared when he grabbed it, "Thanks again."

The inward dialogue lasted not even a second had passed since the stallion showed him the medallion. Disciple shifted his form to adopt a more quadrupedal stature, a strong contender for Princess Luna's silhouette. "Thou hast summoned the Nightmare, but we see no Moon to inhabit. Knowest thou not that the Nightmare requires a host? A Living, Willing, Thinking, host?" He chuckled, "An alicorn preferably, but a unicorn would do, or any creature with casting potential."

The cultists then formed some sort of circle around 'Nightmare Moon' and then began chanting some sort of language. Then they did some sort of praising and bowing before they seemed to look at each other and the leader stepped forward. "For so long we have sought to bring the glorious reign of Nightmare Moon back. Thou needs a body, I would be willing. I have dedicated my entire life to studying you and the prophecies. You can never be killed or eradicated. Nightmare Moon is always forever! All hail Nightmare Moon!' they said, then the others joined in with the hailing for a few moments. They stayed with their heads bowed. They were all certainly convinced this was the real Nightmare Moon.

Then Cali got an idea. She knew how Nightmare Moon had looked and she knows the story of her. In a red flash behind the oak tree she would turn into Nightmare Moon and then just proceed to watch. Then she stood at the edge of the treeline but the cultists were quite focused on what was in front of them, than what was going on in the woods around them.

Disciple spread his wings and forehooves, "Then enter, and receive your destiny!"

Assuming the unicorn in question entered willingly, Disciple would quickly encase them in the fragments of himself, as well as penetrate their mind with his mental magic, drawing them into a small white room with a pair of seats.

(Inside)

Disciple revealed himself in his human form, "As you may have noticed, you've been duped. You should never open yourself as a host to strange entities, who knows what they might do with your body in the meantime? You can't leave this room, so you may as well make yourself comfortable."

The unicorn entered on inside of where Disciple had lead them. At first his eyes were shocked, then angered. "Y-you...tricked me! H-how dare you! I...I...wished my whole life to meet her and this...this is what happens!?" his eyes were extremely enraged, almost bulging out of his head and he shouted at the top of his lungs. His cutie mark seemed to be a crescent moon within a glowing pentagram of sorts. He just looked on in extreme rage. "Who are you?! What do you want from us?!" he'd ask more mortified, but still enraged.

Disciple shrugged, "Honestly? You're getting off easy, unlike most any of the others you could have summoned you're going to live, and be mentally capable, to regret what you've done. If you have summoned the real Nightmare you'd already be wiped from existence. The Nightmare has no need for you to live."

"Who am I? You can call me Discord's Devoted Disciple, honestly a far better patron than the Nightmare any day."

"What do I want? I want to see ponies fulfilled, living their best life, and a lunatic cult trying to destroy the world does not factor into those plans. Why don't you rethink your life for a bit, if you're good I'll teach you something you can use to help those around you, rather than hurt them."

The stallion looks to Disciple in a confused manner. "All we want is to bow down in front of our beloved Nightmare Moon. Nothing less, nothing more. We have dedicated our lives. Our movement has existed since Nightmare Moon came into existence. We will dedicate our lives to her. Die for her, even. You don't understand. I have proof to back up my claim. Search my mind, and you will find it to be true." the stallion said. "If you wish to know my name, my name is Infinity Glow." he said in an oddly respectful manner.

Disciple raised an eyebrow in intrigue, "Over a thousand years and these few are all that remain? Have you lost popularity so or are there more factions throughout Equestria?"

He didn't wait for Infinity to answer, instead placing his palm on Infinity's forehead, pulling the information straight from him.

The information Disciple receives is quite shocking. This group here is part of what is called the 'Cult of the Moon'. Infinity Glow has a certain book in his cloak. This book was given to the original founders of the Cult a thousand years ago...by Nightmare Moon herself. In this book, it detailed the injustices hidden from the public by Celestia. The book was protected by a certain spell that made the book impossible to age, making it as if it was brand new. And that only those allowed by leader of the cult would reveal the information within this book.

Nightmare Moon had originally intended to speak to Celestia about the injustices. It seems as if the real story around Nightmare Moon was not only that Nightmare Moon was jealous, but the whole story of the two sisters was not the entire truth. While Nightmare Moon was shunned by her sister, the ponies had still enjoyed her night. It's not like all of them forgot about her night. Nightmare Moon then discovered the dark truth about Celestia's real nature, and published it in the form of a book. These books were then destroyed by Celestia, and for it, a great battle ensued between Celestia and Nightmare Moon. The story ends in a similar manner as to how it was recounted, but it failed to mention that Nightmare Moon's followers were also banished into the moon with her...including Infinity Glow and his followers.



As he searched deeper...he sees memories of Infinity Glow leading the charge against Celestia's guards, and then the actual banishing of Nightmare Moon and her followers into the Moon. Contrary to what everyone was told, Nightmare Moon was very diplomatic, smart, and intelligent. She wasn't the one who fired the first shot. While banished into the moon, Nightmare Moon and her followers were subjected to great torment. In time, they adapted to this torment and were able to lull themselves into a mental state that rendered them in a form of unconsciousness...then when they were freed they themselves found themselves back on the ground.

Nightmare Moon herself had changed. Due to the agony, and isolation she grew mad. Her former diplomatic act went away and she became the tyrant of the stories of propaganda, except she wasn't like that all along. Her goals remained the same except for being twisted and more selfish. These events were hidden directly by Celestia. But the question is, what else as also hidden?

Disciple wasn't really surprised by the information, both the old soul in the diamond and Discord knew these things, perhaps what shocked him most was that someone who had stood so near to the Nightmare failed to realize that he was not her.

Infinity stayed mostly silent. But, Disciple learned that they were hoping to bring back Nightmare Moon. At least, the original one and not the more tyrannical one after her banishment. Oddly enough, he didn't seem to care about the situation the group was in.


(Outside)

The dark particles gave the unicorn's coat a distinct dark shimmering color, Disciple had direct control of the body through these particles even if the mental trap somehow failed. "This is acceptable. Now, what is it you desire of me? Shall we begin the night eternal?"

The Pegasus looked to Disciple. "We will. Now, raise the moon and block out the sun as you see fit. Then, we will join you in the siege of Canterlot and we will bear witness the banishment of the FALSE PRINCESS into the Sun...all hail Nightmare Moon!" he said, and they all bowed before Disciple.

He began to laugh, "Fools! Thou art lucky we art in a sporting mood. This body is not nearly powerful enough to raise the moon. All of you together lack the strength several times over. Besides... The Princess of Dreams still exerts her control, she must first be removed, captured, so that I may assume my full power and grant thee they request. Bring the nebulous one to me, and then they request shall be granted."

They nodded to Disciple. "Alright, right away on it. Wingman, do it." the mare looks to an older winged Pegasus. He nods, and presses some sort of button his chest. The stallion flies up into the air and like a shimmering mirage with...an oddly sickening popping sound, he vanishes. Perhaps he is gone. The mare's left eye seems to glow a strange hue of red. She smiles knowing fully. "Nice try, faker." as if she had some manner to reveal who the identity of Disciple was.

Disciple chuckled, "Really should have checked before I ate your comrade shouldn't you?" With an audible snap the smoke coalesced into razer-sharp points extended just an inch short of each of their necks. "Now, if you all don't want to die today, you're all going to calm down, take a seat, and reconsider your goals in life. Were I the real Nightmare you'd all be dead right now, so count yourselves lucky I'm merciful, maybe you'll have a place worshipping a more worthwhile entity."

They backed off and sat down. The mare with the strange one eye laughed. "You really think we fall for that? You are sorely mistaken. Perhaps you are the one who has to reconsider your own goal. I can't blame you. You likely were lied to when you were young. It's quite sad isn't it? This world being a place of hidden truths." the mare spoke. "The name is Revealing Diamond. And I, I see all truth." she pointed to her strange eye which seemed to rotate, turning a deep orange hue. She turned to the side. Her cutie mark was an eye overlooking a writhing mass, with there being a diamond buried within. "If you claim to be an open minded individual, you will listen. If not, then that won't turn out good for any of us, now will it?" she cocked her eye slightly. He felt some sort of otherworldly presence come over him. It was not hostile...it was more of curiosity with the feeling of a deep glare accompanying it? Something like that.

Disciple chuckled, "You act like you have any power over me, like you could harm me in some way? I hold Infinity in my grasp, on a whim I could reduce him to atoms, I could kill every one in this room in but a moment. I'd threaten your families but I know none of you have any families, not living anyway. So enlighten me, and you better give me something more interesting than what I ripped from Infinity's mind."

Revealing Diamond laughs in response. "If you did that you'd have quite the guilty conscious, and none to gain." she would say in an extremely ominous tone. "You may have seen us attacking some other ponies. That is not the case, before you arrived they were Celestia cultists we have a rivalry with." he could tell that she was telling the truth. "Plus, do you even have a goal? Or are you just sent around to mess with people? Your displays of power do not scare me. Just another self-righteous all powerful being if I am honest. How quaint." 

Behind them all, there was another strange stallion with some sort of intellectual look on his face. He would speak up. "I am growing doubtful of your hollow platitudes. If you weren't more reasonable, this situation would have already ended." his cutie mark was some sort of clock with a distortion / enchantment around it. All of these ponies seemed to be honest, yet also ominous in what they say, and how strange they were.

-End-

Disciple laughed heartily at that, "A Guilty Conscience? THAT'S what I have to fear? I personally twisted each of the Elements of Harmony into grotesque perversions of themselves, drove the Element of Magic to murder me." He chuckled, "You should have seen it, the bloodlust in her eyes was a true sight to behold."

He shifted his form, forcing Infinity's body to lay down as he extended his imposing human form, complete with wings, out of his back, leaning against his staff, "You say I've nothing to gain, but the bones strewn about the area beg to differ. Dark arts are typically frowned upon, and you were trying to summon the Nightmare, forgetting what made Nebulous such a great speaker in the first place. Have you even spoken to her since she returned? I think she'd be quite disappointed in you. Besides, neither her nor Sunny are even in power anymore. So it sounds like you lot are the ones without a goal. Besides, publicly stated plans are the most easily foiled."

He turned his head without the rest of his body to address the clock pony, "I never claimed to be unreasonable, I claimed to be extremely deadly. Do you want an example?"

A pony in the back seemed to laugh. She looked to infinity, seemingly unphased by by Disciple's display of power and what he said. "Wait a minute!" she declared. "Who ate the donut?" the others look to her confused. She giggled nervously and seemed to back off a bit. They seemed to grit their teeth at what Disciple was doing. Another pony amongst the group, a green one said, "Come on, do we really have to fight it out! It's just what he wants anyways. Why must this always happen." he said with a disappointed tone.

The clock pony stepped forward proudly. "I am not afraid of you. Please, back off. Let it be known that we are former bearers of the elements of harmony. Your statement offends me, but we will not fall for your mind games. And as for an example, allow me to demonstrate." the clock pony said with narrowed eyes.

As he focused on a a spell for a brief second There was a weird distortion around him and then there was suddenly a loud BANG sound. Disciple found his form disrupted and Infinity was freed from Disicple's control. Infinity grunted and shook his head and slowly stood up, a bit weakened from the spell that the clock pony just did. It seemed that Disciple's form was knocked back. But it was not a harmful attack, it was just releasing Infinity. 

Revealing Diamond looked to Disciple. "Do us all a favor, and leave us be. We will leave you in peace, if you leave us in peace." they all seemed to have a unique aura, perhaps...residual magic of the elements of harmony within them?

Disciple simply chuckled with a slow, condescending clap to accent it, "The tree has certainly gotten better at picking elements since you lot. You call that magic? You may have been elements once, but now you're antiques."

He leaned in closer, "Frankly I respect your decision to not fight. I wouldn't want to fight me either. And besides, suicide after coming all this way sure sounds like a waste."

He turned his back on the group, "I'll hold you to that promise, so long as you leave me in peace, you'll get no trouble from me." He turned his head, or rather formed six pairs of eyes on the back of his head to watch all six of the gathered ponies, "My peace, is easily disturbed. So I've no doubt we'll meet again shortly... on far less friendly circumstances."

With a snap he would shut the door to the room they were in, and then walk through it, teleporting himself to where Cali was waiting as soon as he passed through the closed door. "What did you think of that?"

They all seemed to look to each other and frown. "We want no issue with you, Disciple." Clockwise spoke in a somewhat defeated manner. Revealing Diamond looked to the eyes on the back of his head. "Then may your doubt be proved unwarranted." she would reply with a sigh. However to what they said about the elements, they seemed rather insulted at that. But knowing what they know now, it was true. They were barely a fraction of who the elements are now. But even then, they did not have enough time as the embodiment of the elements to fully access their power like the others have.

Vermillion would look to Disiciple as he left. She would pull out a chocalate donut from...somewhere. She'd then smirk. "Here, have a donut! Don't forget who ate the donut." she'd say, looking to Infinity as she handed him the donut. It was just a normal, chocalate glazed donut. Nothing was off about it. 

After he left, they sat in silence. Utterly stunned as to what happened. They agreed through, they had to go somewhere...more private. 

As for Cali, she was still sitting there as Nightmare Moon. She seemed confused. "That...was not at all what I expected for us to encounter here. I am at a loss for words, quite frankly." she'd say rather stunned and then noticed the donut. "A donut? Where did you get that?"

Disciple hadn't noticed that he had been given a donut, "Oh this? One of those strange ponies gave it to me, you can have it on account that I can't eat anything." He would give Cali the donut if she wanted it.

He cast a glance at the building the old elements were in, "To be frank I hardly expected then either. I've got a feeling that won't be the last we see of them. Regardless, shall we keep moving? Or would you like to do something more to them?"

Cali took the donut and ate it. She seemed to enjoy the donut. "Mhm. Chocolate. You are really missing out you know." she winked as she turned back into her unicorn form. "Let's keep moving. I don't think we should do anything else. We don't want more enemies and those ponies didn't exactly seem hostile. It's better to have...friends than enemies..." Cali frowned remembering what happened with Blu and that whole situation.

"Anyways! On then!" she said jokingly doing some sort of soldier salute and then lead the way away from this area.
> Chapter XVII
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Disciple chuckled, "I don't know about that, a good enemy can keep you on your toes, keep you improving. Not having an enemy is... boring sometimes."

He shook his head as he followed Cali, "You going to stay that way? You'll give some poor pony a heart attack."

Their path takes them into the forest, and it isn't long before they hear the sound of two young ponies arguing, "I told you this was the wrong way!" "Liar! I was the one who told you!"

Clearly they were lost.

Cali smirked as she reverted back to her normal form. "As true as you say, a too strong of an enemy will end up with you know, someone dying and that's not good is it?" she'd smirk as they walked, eventually coming across the two young ponies. She'd observe the argument.

To them, they would see a blue unicorn mare, and Disciple standing next to her. "Hey." she'd initiate a conversation with the two ponies. "What's going on here? Looks like you are lost." she would ask. 

The young ponies were, understandably, a bit nervous at being approached in the middle of the woods by a stranger and... whatever Disciple was.

Disciple had adjusted his form prior to coming into view of the ponies so as to make his features less distinct as well as taking on a glow that made him seem more angelic or ghostly.

Despite their nerves, one of them, a pegasus colt, stepped up to respond, "Um.. yeah... we're trying to get back to Ponyville, but we've gotten a bit turned around here in the forest."

The other pony, an earth pony filly, added, "Do you know the way?"

Cali smirks. "Ponyville? I've been there before. Would you like me to fly you there? I am sure me and my...interesting friend here wouldn't mind. We have plenty of time to do what we were going to do." she'd say to them. "Don't be alarmed though, we are not your usual...ponies? Or something? But promise you, we will get you home." Cali said, offering a hoof to them in attempt to get them to trust her. They would notice Cali didn't have wings.

Cali not having wings definitely contributed to the young ponies' hesitance to go with her, though the biggest turnoff was likely when she said that she wasn't a normal pony.

They backed up when Cali offered her hoof, "N-n-no thanks, I... I think I know the way now, um... lets go."

That said they would start to trot off, looking back every so often to see if they were being followed.

Disciple sighed, "You really need to work on your approach, ponies are skittish by nature." He snapped and they appeared further down the path in the direction the young ponies had been walking, they startled when they saw that the pair had somehow gotten past them, Disciple chuckled, "Ponyville is the other way, if you get above the treeline you can see the castle and use that to guide you."

The ponies still seemed skeptical, but nodded as they turned to go the other way. They'd get some distance before the pegasus colt would take wing up to the treeline to confirm that what the Disciple said was true.

Disciple would turn to Cali, "See? Usually they much prefer to solve their own problems anyway, not just to have their problems solved for them. Well, the younger ones do at least."

Cali was impressed by Disciple's resolve and did not enjoy the way she was snapped at but did not speak any further of that. She smiled slightly as the young ponies began heading back from where they came. She silently lamented her thoughts as the left. She frowned at the way the ponies did not trust her. Deep down, she hated that and was a bit jarred by the way Disciple teleported them off like that. 

She sighed and looked to him curiously. "You speak of problems but....what problems do you have? If you can so easily deal with situations, then what would be something you are struggling with? As of yet, I do not see any fallibility in your logic or your actions." she'd quirk her eyebrow slightly.

Disciple cocked an eyebrow in surprise, "Hmm? I suppose I have a few problems of my own, the least of which being that I don't know my own name, nor remember much of my life before I came here. Beyond that, there's the ever-present boredom one has when they have vast amounts of ability but no strong purpose. I drift about looking for things to interest me, things I can put my considerable ability towards. Yet time and time again those things fade over time. I've yet to find a calling in this world other than a benevolent jokester who wanders the countryside."

Cali sighs and continued walking alongside him. She didn't really care what direction, or where they were going at the moment. "You know honestly, my situation is sort of similar. I have all of this ability. I could easily cause massive problems for others and say, steal all of the wealth in this land for myself but that wouldn't amount to anything good, would it? Honestly, I am the best thief there is but after all that has happened I am no longer interested in acquiring physical wealth. Sure, it looks good but does it feel good? Not at all. It just leaves you more empty than you were before." she sulked slightly at those words.

"It has only been recently that I have caused a massive ruckus in the town known as...ponyville. I was not in the right mindset clearly. Only upon being threatened with banishment from this dimension among other things did I really realize, you know? I have 'Starburst' to thank for relaxing charges against me. I have to say, those 6 ponies made this world peaceful. It's best we keep it that way. My brief stint and reveal before...dozens? Possibly more? Was thankfully the worst it had gone to." she chuckled a bit at those words. 

"I've been to more worlds than I can count. I've met a lifetime's worth of people, made so many enemies with my reckless act and pursuit of power...I've been through enough pain and punishment to realize such pursuits are not only not rewarding, but punishing, utterly degrading, and life risking. Its definitely time to settle down somewhere and no longer do that." she'd say in a quite honest fashion. 

Disciple chuckled, "I saw that, that show you put on for Starburst. There was some nice buildup but a fairly anticlimactic ending. A good twist at the end, but anyway." He waved a hand dismissively, "It seems you've going down one of the same paths I sent the elements down. Get them to question what their element means, think themselves unworthy of bearing it, only for them to have a self discovery and find that they didn't understand their role in the first place. It sounds like you're between losing faith and self discovery, I wonder what sort you'll be when you come out the other side?"

Cali rose an eyebrow at that. "When I first met Blu I had a certain necklace. I claimed it was an element of disharmony, that being greed. I lied, it was just a trinket. But the fact of the matter is, there is bound to be elements of disharmony out there. But what element do I bear? I may never know. As for 'other' side, I'm afraid it isn't as simple as that. Everyone changes, its...complicated." she frowned a bit at that.

"But hey, we can't simply wait around and let destiny decide. We must decide for ourselves. I don't have any qualms as to where we go or what we do for the foreseeable future. If you have any ideas as to interesting places to go we can. We can even go beyond Equestria if you see fit, or we could go look at one of the mane 6's places. That Fluttershy pony is an interesting one. We should totally walk up and knock on her door and she'll open it and see us." Cali chuckled.

Disciple shrugged, "If there were such a thing as elements of disharmony, Discord would be the one to know them, perhaps he is them? He does look like an amalgamation of several other creatures. Maybe they were all merged into one being?"

He chuckled at the thought, "As to where we're going, we're still headed towards the thestral village are we not? After that, there's certainly a number of other places we can go."

Cali chuckled at her forgetting of the village. "Oh yes we are, onwards!" she'd say and follow after Disciple. Eventually they came across a grassy hill, by this time they were far enough away from other areas that no towns were seen on the horizon. Eventually up ahead was a large abandoned temple adorned in moss and stone. It had a large sphere at the top. "I didn't expect  to come across this, have you seen this before?" Cali asked her traveling companion.

Disciple didn't chuckle for once, a more curious look coming to his face, "I can't say I have, though I've hardly been here long enough to see everything. This is part of why I like taking the slow way, you get to see all sorts of things along the way."

With a snap he was at the base of the temple, calling back to Cali, "Well? We going to explore it or what?"

Cali smirked to him. "How about we do? I also thought of information that could potentially destroy the world by the way, not really sure if I should tell you about it but if your interested I can tell you." she'd grin somewhat wildly as she'd cautiously approach the temple, just in case there were any booby traps or anything of that nature.

Disciple would float above the ground, thus avoiding any pressure plates and most tripwires, "Destroy the world? I'd much rather if you didn't. That sort of thing is on my short list of reasons why I don't like people. And I'd much rather not have a reason to kill you."

He looked around the temple as they started exploring, "This looks familiar somehow, but I can't seem to put my finger on it."

Cali sprouted alicorn wings, and also floated above the ground and followed him. "Not really destroy the world per say, but more or less subject us to absolute tyranny. But, let us explore. Perhaps we may find out why this is so familiar to you. I don't remember coming across this before. Maybe you have, long long ago. You were human once, I am human. Maybe you saw this place or one similar to it where you originated from." Cali would watch out for anything unusual, not touching anything. 

"What can you tell me about your Earth? It likely is not the same as mine is. But we have a similarity, we are not from this world. We do not belong...technically, but now we are apart of it and we must not interfere with the natural order of things as they go here." 

Disciple shrugged, "Maybe, though if it is some foggy memory from Earth I think that would be even more worrying."

He looked over more directly at the question he was asked, "My Earth? I can't say too much unfortunately, I don't hardly remember it other than the fact that I didn't like it. I wasn't happy there, and Discord brought me here. I don't remember my name, my family. Maybe I never had one?" He shrugged, "I can't say I miss it, all things considered."

"My Earth well, I remember a lot. The world was divided between 3 superpowers. Nations with large amounts of power and control. The United States of America, the Empire of Japan, and the Second German Empire. I lived in a town called Hammond. It was a farm town. Lots of amish and rural folk. Small school, too. Everything was normal until I found a gem that gave me the immense power that I had today, and I eventually honed my abilities to the point where I accidentally ripped a role in reality and fell through. From then on, began who I am today. I started off my shapeshifting and magical power by robbing local banks, then eventually...uncovering government secrets." Cali shuddered.

"Using my power, I was unable to uncover that the people of my world were working on time travel and other various destructive weaponries that would very much lead to destruction, as well as the fact that various nations and peoples are in contact with races from other worlds that manipulate outcomes of various events. I was quickly able to become very rich, but I hid my wealth and lived a mostly normal life until the age of 19 or so, and that is when I left and never went back. Can't say I'd go back really....seeing how peaceful this world is compared to mine." she said with an honest, knowing grin.

Disciple kept his eye on Cali as she talked about her past, "Interesting... The names... they sound familiar, but I can't seem to put my finger on it. I think I lived in a place called America... but again I haven't a clue."

He turned his attention back to the temple, "I'm surprised though. As powerful as you were, or are, that those powers didn't manage to turn you into a weapon for them to use, or duplicate the circumstances that gave you your powers for others that they could control. Still, I suppose that's neither here nor there. They can't get to you here."

"Then it is entirely possible you lived in the United States of America, where was from. Specifically, I was from a state called a New York and lived less than a half hour away from Quebec and Canada." she'd say with a slight smile. 

"The governments of my world were never able to track me down. As far as I know they had heard of me but were never able to find me. I am just too damn elusive for people who have no access to magic, you know? But given the resources they have, it is entirely possible they have been able to duplicate or experiment with things to create or harvest magic. But let us see what is inside of this temple." she would turn her attention to the temple's interior, so far it seemed to be dark inside resembling an ancient Mayan temple, or something of that sort. With various hieroglyphs, as they entered white flames popped up along the wall as if the temple sensed their presence. 

Despite the boasts of his imperviousness Disciple reflexively avoided the fire, "White, either very hot or magical in some way. Probably shouldn't touch those until we know which is true."

Turning his attention to the glyphs on the wall he pondered, "Hmm, I don't know if these look familiar. I highly doubt I could translate them, but I don't think they're pony glyphs."

Cali agreed. "If they aren't pony then perhaps they could be Zebra? Or something else? If this temple is around then why haven't we heard of it? Its very interesting. Maybe it is alien in some nature." Cali agreed as she continued. 

It seemed oddly silent within these halls, everything felt strange. As if they did not belong here. The white flames illuminated in strange angles. They felt a sudden influence come over them as they got a certain distance within the temple.

Disciple shook his head, "Nothing old here could be from zebras, they're not native to this continent. Though... neither are ponies. Maybe it's from whatever lived here before the ponies? It doesn't look like changeling architecture, maybe griffons? Some forest dwelling race?"

He'd slow his movements when the presence was felt. "Something's here with us, be on your guard."

Cali felt the presence. "Wait...ponies aren't native from this continent either? I never knew that." she'd hush up upon feeling the presence and would stand on her guard. "It appears we have more pressing matters. Perhaps we should leave...whatever that is it feels like...a warning." Cali said, while she was confident of her ability, she knew not to get too confident. 

Disciple looked over, "You didn't know?" He was about to continue when Cali suggested their departure, "That sounds like a good Idea, best not to make enemies if we can avoid it."

Once / if they left the temple Disciple would elaborate, "Ponies came from a place that they call the Old Lands, and area now overrun by windigos fueled by infighting among the three races of ponies. They then came here to find a new land about... 2 thousand years ago? probably longer."
> Chapter XVIII
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As they left, the influence seemed to diminish. "That is pretty fascinating. I won't bore you with the history of my world, that's a story for another time. Old Lands? Sort of like the Old and New World then? Would that mean they have sailed over an ocean? Sounds similar to what happened in my world." Cali replied.

They would reach the entrance. All of a sudden there was a loud screeching sound as multiple hands of a black swirling mass would flow through the halls. It sounded quite demonic. Cali and Disciple were lucky enough to avoid it. As soon as they exit the temple, whatever that was seemed to vanish back into whatever it came.

Disciple looked concerned when the darkness had tried to attack them, he stood pondering the temple from the outside, "Hmm, that could be dangerous if left unattended, some foolish creature could wander in and be attacked, who knows what that darkness might want? But that also would mean either dealing with it ourselves, or talking to local leaders and trusting them to deal with it." He turned his gaze to Cali, "Thoughts?"

"I mean you could always use your magic snap to like delete it from existence, if you are truly as powerful as Discord is. At the very least we could go inform local leaders in the area about this and have this Temple blocked off from intruders so nobody ends up getting hurt." Cali suggested with a slight shrug as she started to walk away from the temple itself. 

Disciple snorted at that, "Really calling me out there aren't you? You've got a rather skewed perception of Discord anyway. Best he could do is move it somewhere else, he's actually bound by some sort of cosmic law that states he can't kill anyone, which he circumvents by getting other to do it for him, or moving them somewhere they'd very likely die anyway, like the bottom of the ocean."

He put his hands together, drawing in a glow as he focused, "How about this:" He stretched his arms out and started snapping as he brought his hands together again, the ground rising up on either side of the temple to cover it like a closing eyelid. The surrounding trees being brought along such that, provided nothing went wrong, there would now be a forested hill covering the temple.

"Out of sight, out of mind."

Cali laughed at what had happened, she was quite impressed by the alteration of the land he just did to the land. There was now trees and dirt covering where the temple was. It looked like an out of place hill, but one that concealed the temple perfectly.

"I mean hey, that works perfectly as well! And about Discord, I know very little about him. I know about what he did, and I know what he is capable of doing but I know little else besides that. What is discord like...as in be around? What is he...like?" Cali would ask curiously, meaning no offense to him. With that, she would glance at the hill and walk off.

Nothing bad happened.

Disciple was slightly out of focus for a bit upon finishing moving the hill to cover the temple, but after a bit or rest he regained his sharp appearance. "Discord... The times I interacted with him he was always focused on the future, he hardly enjoyed his victories when he had them as he was already planning how he would make his next victory even better. Too focused on the future to enjoy the present. If anything, his relationship with Butterflies has done him some good, rooting his view much closer to the present, where she is, instead of the future. That's part of why I try to focus just on the present, don't plan ahead too far, I don't want to miss the present for some future that might not happen."

He looked over at her, "So, you've mentioned your disdain for the prince on a few occasions, care to explain what happened between the two of you? You weren't in contact very long from what I could tell."

Cali watched as he would regain his focus and appearance there, and listened intently at his words. "That makes the most sense, focus on the present and enjoy the now. Now will not come again, so it is best to enjoy the now. From what I have heard of Discord he is quite an interesting sort. Intelligent, powerful, yet he likes to mess around and be chaotic as his title implies. I wonder what he is up to these days. I hope he is enjoying his time in the present." Cali would nod slightly at her words and would allow Disciple to lead them, they were going to a Thestral village after all.

"The Prince? Is that what you call Blu? Or are you referring to someone else? In case if you are referring to Blu, he literally stole my magic and backstabbed me and kept me trapped in my dreams. That...just enrages me. To think that I could be so trusting and so powerless just...just offends me." she seethed, it was more of a regretful seethe. One that she never wanted to happen, and will never do again. Her legs bursted into flames but that was just a part of her shapeshifting. Perhaps due to her anger. But it quickly died down and she sighed.

"However, being in such positions is enlightening. I won't get into trouble with world conquering plots ever again." she'd say honestly. "I was such a crass, ignorant, and disgusting fool." she spat. It was more like she was talking to herself, really. She'd smile wearily. "Rather learn then, than learn now." 

Disciple looked surprised, and no small amount of impressed, "Truly? That far exceeds what I thought he was capable of. I'll have to adjust my assessment of what he is capable of. Then again, I shouldn't be surprised. As far as humans go he was always the more conniving of us. Though it isn't a large sample as there are only four of us total."

They'd travel for some time without incident before entering the Shimmerwood Forest, upon which they'd encounter a pair of strange creatures, one green and the other blue with a horn like a goat. The green creature spoke aloud, but it wasn't in any language either of them had heard before.

More noticeably, the green creature lacked any sort of facial features, it's head instead having a sort of glow to it. The blue creature did have normal facial features.

Neither had any sort of hair on them, and they had the general appearance of lizards, only without scales. 

"There are others? Me and him would be two. Who are the two others? I would like to know more about that but it seems like we have some interesting ones up ahead." Cali spoke as they reached the forest. The creatures up ahead were quite strange and they seemed to be communicating. Cali looked to Disciple quizzically.

Disciple would gesture to himself, "I'm the third, both in your list and chronologically. The last one was also the first one, the thestrals can tell you more about him when we get there."

"Should we try to talk to them or what? Fly over them and avoid contact or what? They could be dangerous but we both could take them on if they prove to be dangerous. Up to you, I don't know what we should do quite frankly." stated, looking to the two creatures with curiosity. 

Disciple thought for a moment before snapping his fingers, then moving them like he was tuning a radio knob. As he did so the green one's voice became more understandable.

"We are the green man, I hope you will stay for a drink."

Cali would thank Disciple for what he did here for a whisper. She'd look to the creatures. "Hello, we are travellers. Heading to a village. We wonder who you are." Cali spoke to them, trying to speak in a simple way that the spell could work easier for communications with the creatures.

Disciple whispered, "I put together a sort of translation barrier, when you speak it will read your mind and attempt to convey your intent in words they understand. Using simple language helps. I think talking to them might prove interesting, I haven't seen anything like them before."

Cali simply acknowledged what he said about the fourth one. He'd be in the thestral village, maybe she could end up moving there. She was very interested in what would lie ahead, but also very interested in what was happening now.

The green one titled it's head before responding, "I am the Green Man. I used to be a cute and cuddly creature, but the bubbles in my soap became hard. Now I'm just ugly."

Disciple looked over and shrugged, "I didn't say it was a perfect translation, maybe you can parse out what it means? Sounds like someone hit him with a potion of sorts."

Cali looked to Disciple. "Seems to me like he had some sort of accident, perhaps some sort of spell gone wrong or someone purposefully did this to him." she said to him in a rather analytically and looked back to the creature.

"Someone do this to you, or accident be made? We may help. If know." she tried to keep her words simple here.

The green one didn't hesitate as long before responding, "A pony did this to me!" The memory of the experience seemed to be causing the green one pain, or it was always in pain.

The blue one disappeared for a moment, before reappearing with some cotton soaked in water, which the green one rubbed on its featureless face.

Cali rose an eyebrow. While a part of her expected this, a part of her did not. She seemed concerned but also deeply curious as to the identity of who did this. "Who did this to you?" she'd ask the green one and watched as the the blue one returned.

She looked to Disciple. "Do you think your abilities could help us out here? If you can move mountains, can't you put these guys into better bodies or help them with their problem?" 

The green one thought for a moment, "A filly did this to me. She was so sad. I tried to cheer her up, but she didn't like it. Now she is mean."

A faint image appeared on the green one's featureless face, it was a crude drawing of a sad face, perhaps an attempt to convey the filly's sadness?

The green one continued, "You should cheer up too."

Disciple looked unsure, "There's a reason most mages stay away from transformative magics, as they are more or less the result you can get if it goes wrong. Frankly the green one is lucky to be alive, having no mouth and all. If I tried anything I'm just as likely to kill them as make things better. Maybe with a few mages working together we could try reversing this, but knowing more about what happened would help. You seem to be doing a good job of getting answers."

"What we can do here is get more answers out of him, and I'm sure you can take us to somewhere where there are some very wise and powerful mages who can hopefully deal with this situation. As, I do not know anything about how to transform others. I can transform myself, but I cannot do others. I've never dabbled in that and I am not going to. So what we should do here, is learn more, and take the green one here along with his friend to a place where he is more suited to get the help that he needs." she nodded grimly.

She'd look back to the Green one. "I am sorry. You need help. We can get you help." she started, giving him time to think.

The green one seemed touched by the offer, "Y... you are too kind. I wish I could thank you, but I am ugly and my mouth doesn't work."

"Whether you may be ugly or not, I think I have realized what I am meant to do. Atone for the past mistakes I've done. May this be...one of the first atonements I do." Cali would grin somewhat. 

"Its the least I can do." she frowned sadly. 

The blue one approaches and says "I am sorry for your losses. I am intrigued by your new acquaintance, however. Can you spare a few moments?"

"Of course I can. I have all the time in the world. Say what you need to say, don't worry about me." Cali nodded in a respectful manner. 

"Who is this filly? We might need her. To help you. Please let us help." she stated and felt guilty, knowing what she had done in the past. 

Green Man says "Her name is Pink Eyes."

Green Man points to a tree, where some what looks like a cutie mark is pictured. It is that of a green eyeshade and a crosshair.

Examining the image closer, they'd find it was something of a magical projection rather than something painted there, likely conjured by the green one.

Cali looked to the projection over the tree. "That's one part of the puzzle. We need to know where this...Pink Eyes is, so we can help you. Maybe she can turn you back?" Cali suggested, looking at the projection in a rather close manner.

Disciple nodded, "Provided they are amicable o the idea, I know a place not far from the thestral village that might be able to help."

After some more discussion with the transformed creatures they eventually settled on bringing them to the thestral village with them where they would then be treated by the Lunar Order residing in the nearby Archback Mountain.

In the thestral Village Cali was able to learn about Fastar, the fourth, or rather first, human to come to Equestria. 200 years prior he had rescued a thestral filly and founded the thestral clan that called the village home to this day.

Disciple and Cali would part ways then, each going their own way in the world, helping all those they came across. They would run into each other every few years or so to swap the stories they had gathered on their journeys.