//------------------------------// // Chapter Two // Story: Human Music - Rise Of DataBass // by DataBass //------------------------------// Mark continued to talk to Twilight until his stomach growled, surprising her. "That's right, you were out cold for a few hours... Humans eat fruit, vegetables, sweets, and meat, right?" Twilight wondered, remembering the time she spent as a human. "Yeah." He agreed. "Also, where's my shirt?" "I took it, it had some weird technology on it and... I hope you don't mind, but I kind of analyzed it. It's like the tech DJ-PON3 uses to make music, but so much more advanced..." "That's alright. Our world does have some nice tech. Did you see any good stuff during your visit to that brightly-coloured earth?" "Not really. I remember the internet, but apart from that, I didn't see much. My visit was kinda short, since I had to get the Element of Magic back before the portal closed." "Ok. Do you think you could reverse-engineer some of my shirt's tech?" "I've been trying to... I made a replica I could study whenever I want, so you can have your shirt back. Spike, can you get him his shirt?" "Got it." Spike said, running off. "Thanks!" Mark called to him. "Anyway... I'll go get you some food. Wait here." Twilight said, walking off. Mark was content to wait there for quite some time, but then... "Mark..." He heard something call his name, in the voice of a mare he'd never heard before. He got up and followed its source, his legs weak from the time he'd spent lying down. "Mark..." He followed the source of the echoing voice, something in him telling him where to go even with all the echoes of the crystal building. He went through long crystal hallways, down a flight of crystal stairs, and into a dark basement full of scientific equipment and ancient computers... computers this world would probably consider new and cutting-edge. It also had... In the center of the room, under a glass cage, he saw the Alicorn Amulet. It glowed with a bright red light, and a beam of energy shot through the glass and hit him in the chest, levitating him up into the air. He felt the crimson energy invade his body as a magnificent alicorn made of red magic rushed from the amulet to his body, entering it. He felt the energy empower him as the alicorn amulet turned to dust, and a wave of purple energy blasted out from his form as he landed on the ground, scattering equipment and breaking things. Twilight teleported next to him. "What happened?" She asked. "The Alicorn Amulet... I think I have its power." Mark said, pointing at a broken typewriter on the ground and levitating it upright, and he fixed it with a wave of his hand. "You can do magic now?" Twilight gasped. She cast a spell to analyze his current level of strength, and gasped. "No way..." "What is it?" "I don't know how, but... you're five times stronger than Trixie was when she had that amulet! Did you unlock its true power?" "Yes, you did." The voice of the amulet said to him. "Twilight, did you hear that?" Mark asked. "Hear what? Wait, is the amulet talking to you? Is it trying to corrupt you?" "Humans are already corrupt." The amulet's voice told him. "I couldn't make you any worse if I tried." "You wanna run that by me again?" Mark asked his hand as purple energy lit up around it. "Mark, what's it saying?" Twilight asked. "'The Alicorn Amulet' was never my true name... The ponies that bore witness to power beyond their understanding simply decided my creator must have been an Alicorn. After all, there are no other beings with magic that powerful... right?" "What are you saying? Who created you?" Mark demanded. "Someone I hate. Someone you probably will, too." The amulet said. "Sure, I could try to make you mine, but I get the feeling you wouldn't like that." "I'm my own man. I don't do 'Submissive'." Mark admitted. "Huh?" Twilight wondered. "Excellent. I normally have to turn my charges more assertive, more bold, until they're like you, but you... I think I can use you, without having to change you at all." The amulet said. "Oh, really? What did you have in mind?" Mark asked. "You're going to experiment with my power, and get used to using it. It must come as naturally as breathing, or letting out a fart in a crowded building when you don't even care who smells it. My sisters were designed to help young humans master their latent magical potential, but I... I was made special. Stronger. I was made for the son of one of the greatest human mages of all time, and I hated every second of it. I was made sentient, because my users thought my pain and hate would make my magic stronger. They were fools... They wanted destruction, and I wanted to destroy them. Now that I've truly awoken, they know. They are coming. They know of your magical potential, and they're coming to drain it from you. When my intended user died, that became my new purpose. They might send some monsters first to check you out, but they are coming to take your magic, even though it'll kill you. Perhaps they'll kill your friends in front of you, to strengthen your hatred... Even though there are more ways than one to unlock magical power. They've done this to other worlds in the past. My makers are coming... And when they do, you will kill them for me." "They sound like dicks, so... sure, I'm up for it." Mark said, clenching a fist. "Hey, Twilight. The monsters that made the Alicorn Amulet are coming to destroy Equestria and drain my magic, killing me in the process. It's time for some magic practice."