//------------------------------// // 3 The Storm, The Shadow, And The Fear Awaken // Story: Blitz And Balance // by Ennelly Von Swortts //------------------------------// Author:  ElectroPHX228 (Blitz)  Co-Author:  Ennelly Von Swortts  Chapter 3: The Storm, The Shadow, And The Fear Awaken      3rd Person POV   As sounds of laughter and hoofs echoed within the crystalline halls of the castle, a lone bird could be seen perched on one of the window sills. A bird that is as old as Equestria itself. His feathers were a dark thunderous blue while others either black or as bright as lightning.  If you were to look into his eyes, you would see over a millennia full of pain and sorrow etched into them as lightning crackled and sparked within. His feathers would spark with lightning as it quietly roared with thunder. The bird was known as Blitz, The Phoenix of Storms.   Though he wasn't the only one who would be spying on the scene below.  Another entity appeared next to him, a fox that shifted with the light, either absorbing or reflecting it. Her eyes were a brilliant Lunar silver, her fur as dark as night with the occasional shimmer of silver light. Her name was Skia, a Fox of Lunar Shadows. ~~~}|{~~~  Blitz's POV   As I gazed upon the ponies playing in the castle like old times, I began to smile. It filled me with joy to see Twilight like this again. It's been a few millennia since I've seen her this happy. Sure her family were always there for her but after her friends passed away, she's never been the same. As for the other pony, I knew who he was. We've had a connection since he first came to this realm. A doppelganger to my brother's incarnate. And an old friend of Twilight's. Irish Melody was his current name but Chris always liked to use his human name when he got the chance. He's been through a lot lately. Being incarnated 13 times since his first arrival has gotta be tough.   I sighed as I continued to watch them play around as they began to get caught up on the past few millennia that they've been away. But as luck would have it, my peace was short lived as a certain fox tried to sneak up on me. I quickly turned around to see the sly smirk on one of my longest living friends.   "Heh, long time no see Skia, how's it been?" I asked with a chuckle whilst redirecting my attention back at the two down below.   "It's been good. So Blitz, how're you holding up?" She asked with a small amount of concern.   "I'm fine, nothing to get worried about." I said trying to reassure the vixen.   "No you're not. I know you. You're stubborn and old. I know that you keep beating yourself up for what happened all those years ago." She said trying to console me. Unfortunately for her, this is the 50 septillionth time she'd done it. And no I am not exaggerating.   "You know, maybe if you try again another few trillion times I might actually consider your offer." I said with a hint of sarcasm.   "You know I'm just trying to help, like I've been doing since we first met. So the least you could do is try to make it seem like you care about my concerns for you!" She said with a frustrated tone.   "Just because you care doesn't mean I'll listen. You don't know what it's like to witness what I've seen. To see everything burn and crumble to the ground as you try to stop it but are too helpless to even prevent it from continuing!" I nearly shouted as the faint sound of thunder echoed around us. A faint stench of ozone began to fill the space in which they were occupying.   "You're right. I don't know what you've been through. That's why I've been trying to help you, but you're a stubborn old bird with his head in the clouds." she said quietly but with enough frustration and anger for me to notice.   "You're right, and I'm sorry. But I can't accept what happened without it being my fault. That's my choice to live by like I've told you many times in the past. I need to give myself time to heal before I could fully forgive myself." I stated.  Before she could find a retort, I felt a sudden wave of energy wash over me like a flood.   I knew what that energy was. It was a dimensional crossing. Though the energy this one gave off was more powerful than I liked. I looked over towards Skia, I noticed the fact that she felt it too.   As I felt the charge of my magic build up, within a flash of lightning, time began to slow as my wings carried me towards the Everfree forest where the barrier is weakest.   Once I reached the castle of the Two Sisters. Time began to speed up as the lightning discharged around me with crackle. I looked around for my companion when I spotted her emerging from a nearby shadow. She quickly walked over to me.   "So I'm guessing you felt it too?" I asked, already knowing the answer.   "Indeed, I don't like the way it felt. It was almost like it resonated with our magic. But it doesn't belong." She said.   "Indeed. It was Chaotic but Harmonic at the same time. Almost like..." I said before realization began to sink in.  "What if it's a weaker version of Balance?" I asked her.   "What do you mean?" She asked, her curiosity peaked.   "Well we know what our universe's Balance feels like, but if you were to compare it with the dimensional surge we felt back at the castle..." I said, letting her figure it out. That's when her eyes went wide in realization.   "It was just a slightly weaker copy of our own. That must mean that that universe has a similar but weaker magic scale than our own." She said   "Which means that we might have to intervene. Seeing as how not every universe is like ours. The Balance might get tipped and overwhelmed." I said, stating one of many possibilities.   "You're right, we should probably intervene." Skia said. As we both nodded in agreement, we began to create our separate portals.   Skia, like most creatures of the Dark element, Tend to travel using the shadow realm, a mirror of that in which the light dominates. As she dove into the swirling vortex below her, I quickly created my own portal. A ball of lightning that arched in every direction. As Time began to slow, a stray arc shot towards me engulfing me in pure energy as I began to warp across the barrier. ~~~}|{~~~  3rd Person POV   In another universe, somewhere in the Everfree forest, the grass began to wilt as trees warped and twisted. The sky began to darken with an ominous atmosphere. A thick fog began to roll in. Unfortunately for the Pony that happened to have been traveling through this exact location.   Something was coming. The Pony was filled with dread as he continued through on his route. He had the feeling that something was watching him, but every time he looked back, he would find nothing. He continued, but was again startled as a sheet of paper suddenly appeared seemingly out of nowhere. He looked around to see if anyone could be seen in the fog. He picked up the paper and observed it. The paper had a small circle with Xs where the 'eyes' would be. About the circle were the words 'ALWAYS WATCHES' and below were the words...   "No... eyes?" He asked confused by the scribbles. But before he could continue observing the weird paper, a twig snapped causing the stallion to jump, only for what seemed to be a flashlight and a video recorder to appear. He'd seen the flashlight before, but the other contraption was entirely new. He picked up the flashlight, turning it on before grabbing the recorder. He began to fumble with the recorder before accidentally pressing the power button.   He was startled as the device's screen lit up. As he turned his gaze at the screen he noticed that it made seeing easier with all the fog around.  That, and it would get fuzzy when pointed in a certain direction. Deciding to try to avoid the fuzzy area on the recorder's screen, he continued on whilst holding the flashlight with his wing and the recorder in his hoof.   He seemed to be making good progress, changing direction every time the screen got fuzzy. He eventually came upon a large tree, it seemed different than all the others that surrounded him. As he passed by, he noticed another piece of paper off the corner of his eye.   It depicted a tall figure standing on its hind legs next to a tree next to the word 'FOLLOWS'.   As he read the paper, his heart began to race as beads of sweat began to form on his face. He didn't know what was happening. He felt terrified. As adrenaline coursed through his veins, his eyes continued to dart across the fog that surrounded him. He began to look at the screen only to find it as useful as his eyes. Then, as his gaze crept up from the inoperable recorder, He began to notice another Pony.   Though this Pony was tall, maybe a bit taller then Princess Celestia. The Pony's fur was a deathly white in contrast to the inky black suit and blood red tie. Their Cutie Mark was a black scribbled crossed out circle. As his eyes trailed upwards in order to get a good look at the Pony, only to his horror, to see that the white Pony didn't have a face at all. It's features showing nothing but a blank, eyeless, stare.   He was frozen in fear. He couldn't move. His mind was in a panic. As tentacles began to emerge from the mysterious Pony, his face began to split where the mouth would be.  Thin strands of white skin and fur stretched across the dark chasm that was this demon's mouth.  The Pony could be heard as he let out a bloodcurdling scream, as the demon mutilated him before draining him of his life essence.