Peach, Luigi and Bowser came back in Equestria two days after the departure of the Merchant, with bad news ; everyone gathered at Canterlot Castle.
"Mario disappeared !?" Twilight exclaimed.
"Yes", Peach replied, holding back her tears.
"How it happened ?" Celestia interrogated.
"He… He… w-w-was h-h-ere… J-just next t-t-to m-me. A-a-and w-w-when I-I-I look at h-h-h-him, h-he is n-n-not here a-a-any-m-more…" Peach spluttered, before breaking in tears and covering her face with her hands ; Bowser and Luigi put their respective hand, or claw, on her shoulders.
"King Boo’s checking Death’s Realm every hour : he’s not there", Bowser informed.
The fact suddenly hit Twilight and Starlight :
"He’s fallen into a hole !"
"That… being, the Merchant, told us there are holes in space-time in certain places. And they’re at precise places, but also constantly moving", Starlight explained.
"The more Darkness destroys, the more of these breaches are created", Twilight added.
"And that means he can be absolutely anywhere !" Starlight exclaimed, biting her lips.
King Boo appeared in the room.
"Death’s mad at me for asking so much ! But It said Mario could’ve been transported to a dimension where It doesn’t exist or isn’t needed, that’s why It can’t locate him !"
Everyone gasped ; someone knocked at the door ; as soon as Celestia opened it, Thorax barged in the room, his crystalline wings messed up and his face covered in sweat. He immediately ran towards Spike, ignoring all others.
"Spike ! Emb… Princess Ember ! She disappeared !" He panicked, shaking Spike with his hooves.
He then realized he was not alone in the room with Spike and let go of the stunned baby dragon.
"How… how do you know Princess Ember’s missing ?" Twilight interrogated, confused.
Thorax blushed and looked at the ground.
"We were kinda… together when it happened…" He replied whisperingly. "But that’s not the point ! She was next to me and in the blink of an eye, she wasn’t anymore ! I searched everywhere with everyone, but I can’t find her ! Please, help me !"
"No Equestrian in Death’s Realm these days ! Are you reassured ?" King Boo asked to the changeling leader.
"Yes ! No ! Yes ! I don’t know ! But we must rescue her, wherever she is !" Thorax affirmed.
Before anyone could respond, Link, Zelda and Illia materialized at the entrance of the room with a lone Boo visibly exhausted by the act of teleporting them.
"Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Twilight Sparkle, Leader Thorax, Princess Peach, Bowser, King Boo, Luigi, everyone", Zelda lengthily saluted. "We are here for a matter of utmost importance : yesterday, in the middle of afternoon, a citizen of Hyrule has vanished without a trace".
"Epona’s gone !" Illia exclaimed in tears, before Link comforted her with a hug.
"We three were talking about our newfound bonds, and as Epona was getting up to… drink at Ordon Spring where we were, she just vanished. In the blink of an eye, she was not here anymore. With the Boos’ help, we searched through all Hyrule and beyond : there is no trace of her. We are here because we hope Equestria can offer support and assistance, and partly because Epona is one of your kind now", Link explained.
"I traveled as far as I could with Death’s help, there’s nothing in the dimensions I checked ! Nothing ! But I can’t go everywhere ! I can’t ! I’m not Death !" King Boo exclaimed.
"Can’t you… huh… pressure Death into helping more ?" Starlight interrogated.
"No one can coerce Death", Bowser replied. "It doesn’t care about the living, and with Darkness coming, It cares even less…"
"J-Just what can we do !?" Illia cried.
Everyone stayed silent.
"Maybe we can try to send a message across dimensions ?" Celestia suggested ; she turned to Bowser :
"Is that possible ?"
"In theory, yes… But it’s not gonna really help them. Besides, it’d attract attention on Equestria, and some worlds and planets aren’t gonna take that signal as an act of peace".
"It mustn’t be a threatening signal…" Twilight thought aloud.
"Something signaling our position to our friends…" Starlight mused to herself.
"Like a beacon ?" Applejack asked.
"Yes ! Exactly !" Twilight and Starlight exclaimed.
"And how are they gonna respond to us ?" Rainbow Dash interrogated.
"They won’t have to", Bowser replied. "The signal will localize them, but we’re gonna spend time to design this. The frequency must only respond to Equestrian, Hylian and the Mushroom Kingdom’s magic, or the frequency of their universes, or their chemical makeup. As for putting enough power in the beacon and retrieving them, I can surely help…"
"Why building something to track them? Hey, can’t your table-map do it ?" King Boo interrogated.
"It doesn’t work that way", Starlight replied.
"Something’s about crossing to other worlds seems familiar…" Twilight mumbled under her breath. "Crossing… travel… opening portals…" She sighed with exasperation and clenched her teeth.
"Twilight ?" Rainbow Dash asked, confused.
Twilight let out a frustrated growl :
"It’s on the tip of my tongue !"
"Say the words and the thoughts that are crossing your mind out loud", Peach advised.
"Violet, hat, portal, pyramid, powerful, fireworks, magic, ego, blue, crossing, bits, great", Twilight blurted out.
"That hardly makes sense", Bowser groaned, scratching his head.
"Not to you. But to me, some words echoes to my best friend", Starlight said. "Violet, hat, blue, magic, ego, great, powerful. Do you mean Trixie ?"
"Yes ! At last ! Thank you ! Phew !" Twilight sighed with relief. "The Merchant gave an interdimensional portal to Trixie as a gift ! They said it can analyze sample of other worlds and bring us there, but it only responds to Trixie, and it’s invisible for all others".
"We do not possess any samples of the worlds in which our friends had disappeared", Zelda countered.
"That’s… right", Twilight agreed with a down voice.
"We can find samples", Bowser affirmed. "There are chances that these moving holes left some traces of their passage, and King Boo and I can find them. Here’s what I suggest : we begin in Equestria, then Hyrule, then the Mushroom Kingdom, or we can search two worlds at once. Once we find the samples, we’ll bring that Trixie and her interdimensional portal here, and we’ll go on a rescue mission".
"I agree with that plan", Twilight concurred.
"And so I am", Zelda added.
"Me as well", Peach said.
King Boo approached Thorax, who instinctively took a step back.
"Princess Ember, is she that tough dragon girl ?" The ghost asked.
"Yes", Thorax replied.
"Hey, I sense you love her, I’m not color-blind, and the soul’s colors never lie. But that’s not important. Not important ! Well, maybe a little. I need you to think about you were the last time you saw her", King Boo explained.
Thorax blushed under the evidence and the surprised looks of his friends and fellow rulers.
"You’re picturing the place ?" King Boo asked to him.
"Y-Y-Yes".
"Here we go !" The ghost exclaimed before vanishing along Thorax.
"King Boo just sent me a signal, shall we go ?" Bowser asked after a moment.
"Is it absolutely necessary for everyone to come ?" Luna asked.
"No. You can’t detect out-of-place matter. I just want someone who can collect samples without destroying them accidentally", Bowser replied. "I’ll try to find a way for you to see space-time breaches and stuff like that later".
"Starlight and I will use your books and whip up something, don’t worry", Twilight said. "I already have some ideas about goggles…" She shook her head and came back to the subject :
"I think taking me and Starlight will be sufficient", she told Bowser.
The Koopa King nodded and teleported himself, along with the two mares, towards the signal.
Talking to Peach and without any transition ending up here was unbelievable ; he was still conversing even as he was not in the castle anymore, like nothing happened. Mario was totally ignorant as to the place he had landed ; he was roaming since a day and half, even though there was no night in that world ; the only things present were an endless, flat white surface covered with a few centimeters of water and immeasurable, scattered beige limestone pillars, three meters in diameter, that were piercing the blue sky. Mario had quickly found out that the white substance under his feet was salt, but the water was not seawater, and, after a boiling inside his cupped hands, was perfectly drinkable. He doubted there were germs in that strange dimension, but he was staying cautious, the incident at the Shipping Hub still fresh in his memory. He sighed : climbing the pillars was totally unfeasible given their impossible height, and there was nothing to do but walking in that surreal décor that he surmised was boundless. He imagined his family and friends in his situation : what would they do ? Peach would fly to search an exit, Luigi would do the same thing as him, Daisy would grow plants, Princess Twilight Sparkle would find that dimension extremely interesting, Link or Zelda would stay perfectly calm, Bowser would explode with rage and destroy everything…
The last fact hit Mario : there was nothing to destroy but the pillars ; he pondered the benefits and potential setbacks of this measure. At worst, it would destroy a part of that dimension or wake up something. At best, it could open an exit or simply do nothing at all.
He finally took a decision after a quick internal deliberation : his hand packed with an explosive fire shattered the base of the nearest pillar.
She was lost. She was so close to kiss him ; it was going to be her first kiss. But instead, she was transported here, in that empty, silent, grey and totally lifeless modern city under a perpetual orange sky. The tall skyscrapers were in perfect condition, and everything inside it was virtually untouched : the working offices had their computers turned on, their papers ready to be read and their chairs untouched ; the shops were open and their articles undisturbed. She noted however the complete absence of food of any sort in the shelves, worrying her.
She wandered in the streets and finally found a town square with a fountain in the center ; she ran towards it and found a few centimeters of clear water left inside : she drank avidly almost all the liquid before realizing it could not have been water, or a poisonous one ; she immediately wanted to throw up, but it was too late. She went pale and lay down for a few minutes before her anxiety subsided. She roamed the maze-like streets again, until spotting a library of sorts ; she went inside the building and searched through the shelves : all the books were written in a series of undecipherable symbols that she quickly gave up on trying to understand ; she however picked up one with a solar system on the cover, and another depicting fauna and flora : she put them into a synthetic bag she had found behind a counter and left the place ; the books might probably interest Princess Twilight Sparkle, Starlight Glimmer and Bowser. She searched through the colossal city for another hour before seemingly reaching its heart : a small translucent dome of glass with only a meter wide, two meters tall and ten centimeters thick rectangular, shiny black monolith in the middle ; the dome had fifteen semi-spherical, regularly spaced holes at its base, allowing entry at any point. She cautiously approached the glass, then the rectangular surface firmly sealed in the ground.
"What is this ?" She thought out loud, her voice echoing endlessly through the city.
She prudently brushed the monolith which immediately gently hummed, surprising her ; she took a step back as Hylian language was displayed on the obsidian-like surface in a vivid blue color :
Neural analysis complete. Language deconstructing complete. Biological analysis complete. Living entity confirmed. Sentience confirmed. Sapience confirmed. Awaiting inquiries.
Path and walls of yellow stone gaining in height as she was trying to see above ; night sky with unknown stars, no moon : that was all she could see.
The path she was following was making ninety degrees angles in random directions at random intervals : she was in a labyrinth.
She walked hours between the two walls before finally taking a break, leaning on the yellow stone ; she looked at the sky : there was no sign of the night beginning to light up with the rising of the sun. The stars were all shimmering of cold, distant colors ; none of them were moving, and there were no shooting stars. The air she was breathing was cold, odorless and old.
After ten minutes of pause, she again tried unsuccessfully to see above the walls ; they were constantly rising at she was jumping. With no other choice, she walked again.
At a corner, she stumbled upon a worrying discovery : a half-crushed skeleton, three times her size, with a bronze helmet on its skull ; the creature, as far as she could deduce, was some kind of dog or wolf. She passed by the remains and after following the maze a hundred meters further, she discovered the dried body parts of a gigantic insect. From that point onwards, she kept on stumbling upon various remains of all sizes, but always – if slightly – bigger than her, sometimes clad in armor and with varying weapons, all crushed in some way or another : a bird with four wings, a cockroach, a serpent, an armadillo, a cat, a ram, a vaguely human shape with six arms, a deer and countless more, mixing with each other, along with scraps of metal, glass, wood and plastic, and some gears of gold and copper ; she even encountered what could have been a former crystal form of life, totally shattered.
“Something’s killed those things a long time ago… So by now, it’s probably dead” she reassured herself.
She was cautious to not step on any bone however, and she proceeded prudently. The skeletons were far less in number as she was progressing, and she felt better, accelerating her pace. She turned the umpteenth corner, only to find herself face to face with the beast.
The bipedal monster was five times her size ; it was heavily clad in a golden armor from head and muzzle to hooves, its helmet only allowing its horns and snout to pass through. In its left hoof, a metallic double axe peppered with dark green spots was slung over its shoulder ; in its right hoof, covering its entire forearm, there was a round, copper shield emblazoned with two very detailed bull’s horns. Strapped on its back, the handle of a sword could be seen, and a wrapped spiky leather whip was hanging on its right side. The red eyes, perfectly visible under the helmet, looked at the intruder.
The minotaur let out a long, terrifying bellowing that resonated through the endless maze, before giving chase.
It took two minutes for the impossibly tall pillar to fall in a titanic crash : the whole pan of salt violently shook, throwing Mario off balance. Two minutes later, another fell in the distance, and then a third and a fourth : ten columns crashed on the ground before the dimension fell silent again.
Mario sighed ; it had not changed anything ; as he was going to continue searching for an exit, the whole place began to vibrate before undergoing a long, violent earthquake. Still lying on the ground because of the quake, Mario saw the crushed and intact pillars quickly approaching him ; the columns suddenly shattered, and he managed to roll out of the way of the crumbling limestone that was sending a meteor shower towards the ground. He understood that the dimension was shrinking : he was going to be crushed. The shrinking stopped abruptly, but his own size shifted much more brutally : he closed his eyes and formed what he believed was his last thought : his family. He pulverized the place in its entirety.
He opened his eyes after a minute : he was outside the dimension, or rather outside of what he was inside. Mario looked under his shoes and crouched : in the reddish sand, there was half of an oyster shell, totally crushed by his weight ; he checked his cap to find the remnants of the other part of the shell on it ; he dusted his headwear and looked around.
The land was not welcoming : under an orange-yellow sun – between the skies that were the brightest and the sea that was reminiscent of a puddle of black ink – everything was shades of red.
Mario stayed away from the unmoving dark waters while walking on the barren beach : there was no life, no shells or algae, not even rocks. Finally, in the distance, Mario spotted something, a silhouette standing out the setting sun and the otherwise flat landscape ; it took twenty minutes to attain it.
The galleon was in pristine condition : however, it was washed ashore portside, half-buried in the sand, sufficiently away from the sea for the water to not reach it ; its white sails were furled. Mario jumped on board ; the deck was totally clean and polished, to the point of being slippery. He went towards the cabin – precisely the captain’s quarters – and opened the door : everything inside was left untouched, from the bottle of wine to the fruit on the table. The cabin was luxurious : portside, there was a black desk with a bottle of ink, a quill, and a book ; it was separated from the berth half-hidden by open red curtains by two crossed cutlasses attached to the walls. Starboard, some navigational instruments were resting on a shelf, waiting to be used ; just next to them was a chest the size of Mario. In the middle, not far away from the windows showing the black sea, a wooden table covered with a white silk tablecloth and surrounded by seven velvet chairs was ending the room, along with a dresser and sideboard showing an immaculate dishware through its glass doors.
Mario approached the chest and tried to open it to no avail ; applying his burning hand on it, he finally melted the metallic lock and opened the wooden box : it was full of rubies. Red, bloody rubies, the same color as the sky ; as a result, they were not beautiful, their sickening low glow under the red sky making them repulsive even to watch. Mario, however, took five of them ; Bowser or Twilight Sparkle would be glad to analyze them. He went towards the desk and took the black, featureless book put on it before opening it. On the first page, there was a series of glyphs which quickly took the form of recognizable letters ; the sharp, black writing finally became decipherable : Log of captain Annah Steel, officer of the Order of the Travelers of Her Majesty.
Mario flipped the page and began to read :
Captain Annah Steel, day 1 since arrival.
We’re at our destination, or at least I think so ; my crew and I were sent by Her Majesty aboard the ship The Wanderer to discover new seas, as per our traditions, and to add them on the Map of the Oceans. Including myself, my crew is comprised of seven experimented sailors, five women and two men, all of them having sailed countless waters of countless worlds and captains of their respective ships : captain James Briggs, captain Francis Wood, captain Martine Smith, captain Paula Flescher, captain Ella Connelly, captain Charlotte Rez. On that vessel however, they’re all under my command : Her Majesty trusts me to lead them, even though I’m younger than them. One day though, I may end up serving under one of them on different conditions. I am the leader for one reason : this sea is totally unknown. Each of the captains has her or his specialty : Charlotte knows how to sail in foggy conditions, James can operate a ship underwater, Ella is able to pass through any kind of storm, Paula had fought so many monsters she’s able to decrypt patterns and species at first glance and Martine is a geographer. Of course, we all know those fields well too, but these officers are the best in their domain. As for me, besides being a good coordinator, I am… adaptable : as soon as I go somewhere else, I become aware of that world’s sea rules : I know its weather patterns, what kind of beasts lurks in the abyss, and what sort of currents I can encounter : this is a gift from my mothers, passed on through generations since eons. Back to our arrival :
First (unpleasant) sensation and impression : my powers and our instruments don’t work here. That machine, the Sender, finally settled on that sea ; it took days and days of research ; that was unusual, as it usually choose in hours ; we even thought it was broken. Her Majesty was concerned about this place, but she decided, after hours of deliberations, to send the best among her navy to conquer and map it. Now we’re here, under that red sky : the crew seems unnerved by it and by these black waters, can’t blame them ; they make me feel uneasy too. Most of us had sailed through seas of literal madness and chaos, but this is different, and we’re not sure to what extent. No wind, no waves, no life. We took samples of water and sent them back to home via a portal : results inconclusive. It means we don’t know why it’s black as ink and we don’t even know if it’s really water. At least it’s not toxic on contact, but nobody wants to try to drink it.
We unfurled the sails and used a wind spell to move the ship ; otherwise, we would stay in place ; we put a beacon at our starting point. First time I saw ripples on the water with the ship. On a side note, the day doesn’t seem to end ; we’re lucky to keep time from our world.
Captain Annah Steel, day 2 since arrival.
We’re traveling fast thanks to the spell, but the sea is large, and as we’re moving towards the sun, it doesn’t move from its place ; I’m sure it’s immobile now. Instruments still not working, no one was able to fish out something from the sea by any means.
Captain Annah Steel, day 5 since arrival.
Nothing new, still sailing aimlessly towards the sun. I think this place is frozen in time ; the crew agrees.
Captain Annah Steel, day 10 since arrival.
The engineers from our world sent us a device to stabilize or in that case, restart the flow of time. We tried it and it did nothing. Our home sent us some food, but we barely ate something since we’re here ; we’re not hungry. Nothing apart the ship and the crew are moving : it’s driving me crazy. We won’t spend months in that place, Her Majesty said, any of us are free to come back home whenever we want. I didn’t show it to the crew, but I’m relieved.
Captain Annah Steel, day 14 since arrival.
It’s been two weeks since our arrival, but it’s like two months. We finally fished out something today with the net : rubies. We’re sure the net never reached a bottom, and the gems sink… how did they get inside ? We sent some for analysis… Maybe they’re alive and were swimming before being caught ? The results will be sent tomorrow. At least something happened.
Captain Annah Steel, day 15 since arrival.
Results inconclusive. Are they kidding me !? I (nicely) asked for an explanation : the scientists told me they were unable to extract any information from the rubies, just like the water. They tested them, broke some of them, put them through their best analyzers, and they got nothing. The only five things they can say is that : they exist, they’re solid, oval with facets (meaning manufactured ?), has the same hardiness as normal rubies and that they’re red. Great. Let’s be honest : my eyes couldn’t have told me that… To summarize, all other information from the rubies is “unknowable”. When they look at them under microscope, they just see the smooth surface, not any atoms. When broken, they’re just… broken like normal rubies. When tested extensively through chemical reactions, etc., nothing happens. I’m mad at this place, but I will understand it.
Captain Annah Steel, day 27 since arrival.
James and Paula went back home, saying there’s nothing to get from that place. Maybe they’re right. But I won’t give up.
Captain Annah Steel, day 30 since arrival.
A month in that place seems like ten years or just a second, I don’t really know. I doubt there are landmasses here, and our instruments are useless to find them. Martine can’t draw a map or even find a landmark here. Engineers sent us sonars : nothing around us. What did we expect ?
Captain Annah Steel, day 47 since arrival.
We saw a landmass just as Ella was opening the portal to go back home. She stepped back into the ship and we anchored the ship on the beach. The sand is red, why am I not surprised ? We’re making the preparations to explore the land, and we’ll go tomorrow.
Captain Annah Steel, day 54 since arrival
This land has nothing to offer. It’s just plain blankness. We searched it for a week : there’s nothing but dry red dirt ; it’s a literal definition of barren, and it’s as flat as a land can be. We took samples of the soil, but we already know the results. I’m starting to feel really tired, and I sometimes forget the names of my remaining crewmates ; I don’t want to stay any longer, but I feel compelled to do so.
Captain Annah Steel, day 60 since arrival
Everybody’s gone but me. I don’t want to stay here, and my crewmates (what were their names again ?) wanted to force me through a portal. I sent a letter to Her Highness Majesty to explain my reasons : I must stay here and discover something, anything ; didn’t get a reply. I’ll go back into the land tomorrow.
Captain Annah Steel, day 80 (?) since arrival
I walked for two weeks in the land. TWO weeks. Didn’t find anything. On a side note, not hungry. Will go again and again ‘til I find something. Tasted the water : no taste, no temperature, nothing. Not sick or anything.
Captain Annah Steel, day ?? since arrival
Found something today ! Just kidding. Feeling weird, memories seem to fade. Don’t remember having a crew, barely remember home. Something’s wrong.
Annah Steel, day ?? since arrival (?)
I don’t remember being a captain or a sailor. I’m coming from here somewhere, but definitely not where a “Majesty” exists. I have a mother father parents, but can’t picture their faces. It’ll probably pass soon. A question remains though : how did I get here ?
Annah Steel, day ?? since arrival first entry
I don’t know who I am anymore, but I’m not scared. Am I Annah Steel ? That’s the last thing I remember, my name. I’m sensing home this world through my head. I am the sea. I am the sun. I am the sand. I am the sky. Am I home ? Am I at home ?
Annah Steel (name found somewhere else), day ?? since waking up
I am not Annah Steel. I am everything but not Annah Steel. I am this log, I am this ship, I am the sea, I am the world. Crying (?)
How I came to be is irrelevant. I wasn’t, and then I was. The sun, the sand, the sea. But I am not alone. There are other worlds around me, but they’re not like me. They’re not what I am. They’re just… bubbles floating amongst other countless bubbles. I can’t reach them. I can’t talk to them. But I can see what’s inside : there’s life. There’s death. There’s everything that I can’t be. Everything that I can’t create. But I watch. I learn. I did this for an eternity, but can’t really tell, can’t create time in me.
I am alone. Alone. ALONE. But sometimes I create something. Something that doesn’t really exist (?). A story. Characters. Objects. All inspired by other worlds. But it’ll never be real. Never real like me. I create… illusions to play with, and I create a character to enjoy what I am : a universe. But this is false, everything’s chimeras and I can never be anything other than the sun, the sky, the sand and the sea.
A hole passed through me today. It hurt (?) Parts of me are gone, but I snatched something from that moving… wound (?) It’s an oyster shell… or two oyster shells, still together but empty. There’s something new in me, and I don’t know what to do.
I stole a ship from another hole. Is something happening in everywhere that’s not me ? I’m going to create a story with this ship : the story of Annah Steel and her crew. Seems like a good idea.
Story finished. Ship’s still in me, with everything onboard. Found a log. Maybe writing to read me ?
Tired of being me. Want to be something else. Oyster shell’s interesting.
Found idea. Will put myself in the oyster shell and… sleep ? Cease to be (please) ? Die (?) ?
Hope someone gets into me with a hole and destroy me. Can’t stand what I am.
Managed to be the shell, almost complete. Holes will now pass through new me, little oyster shell. Breaking it equals ending me, fixing me the world in… reality (?) and anchoring my husk… the sun, the sea, the sand, the sky, the ship in time. Nothing but this will be left of me. A broken shell. Finally
End
Mario closed the log, took the quill, put them both into his pocket and jumped from the ship ; he ran back to his starting point ; the pieces of the oyster shell were still lying in the sand. He crouched and dug a hole in the beach ; delicately, he picked up the remains of the shell and buried them ; he made a small mound of sand and planted the quill at the top. Finally, Mario stood in silence, facing the burial site. After some minutes, he addressed the silence :
"I hope you’re now really free to be what you want to be".
She stood motionless in front of the monolith and its displayed text on its smooth surface ; the text finally disappeared to be replaced with another one :
Awaiting inquiries
"Can… can you hear me ? Understand me ?" She asked.
The text shifted again :
Accurate affirmation
"Who… what… a-a-are you ?"
Unit 666-201-850EOW-K
"Are y-y-you… alive ?"
Inaccurate affirmation
"You are a… machine ?"
Accurate affirmation
"Oh… I… I understand. Where are we ?"
Clarification requested : scale
She was puzzled for some long seconds before understanding.
"What is this city and what is this planet ?"
City of Agorath - Planet Rehas
"What happened here ? It’s totally empty, but the… machines are still functioning".
Cause of cessation of life unknown
"What !? You mean everyone just disappeared into thin air !?"
Affirmation of 99% accuracy
"Who… what did this ?"
Cause of cessation of life unknown
"That’s terrible !" She exclaimed, fighting the wave of sadness rising inside her.
"But… there… there must be a reason ! What… what do you think could have happened ?"
List of events causing cessation of life sorted by ascending order of probability :
-Conflict : 0%
-Pandemic : 0.5%
-Physics experiment failure : 0.5%
-Unexplained dimensional/temporal shift : 4%
-Other anomalous event : 5%
Unknown : 90%
"I don’t understand what you mean by “event unknown”. What does “unknown” means ?"
Cause of cessation of life unknown – Probability of cause of cessation of life being unknown = 90%
She changed her approach :
"Did you see what happened to the people of this city ?"
Invalid formulation – accurate affirmation
Now displaying recovered video footage – T-1min before incident – location : central plaza
The text on the monolith was replaced by a high-quality video encompassing the whole surface of the computer, showing the square where she was standing, including the machine under its dome.
Agorath was full of life under the radiant sun and the blue sky ; the plaza was filled with people, all outwardly indistinguishable from humans ; there were women, men and children, all enjoying walking, cycling, reading and playing. “They seem–seemed so happy”, she thought. Suddenly, the sky brutally turned orange ; the inhabitants of Agorath looked up to see the strange phenomenon before abruptly vanishing ; everything in their possession suffered the same fate, from books to bicycles. The video changed to other locations, rewinding each time to depict the same unexplainable event ; there was no sound, no sign of panic and no remains.
"Except me, is there any remaining life on this planet ?"
Probability of life remaining on planet Rehas : 0%
"When did this happen ?"
323025 days, 13 hours, 41 minutes, 8 seconds ago
She concentrated and managed to estimate a more approximate duration, or rather one that was making more sense to her :
"Almost nine hundred years ago ! And everything’s untouched !? And you’re still functioning !?"
Cause of preservation of planet unknown. Remaining time before shutting down : 2 hours, 1 minute, 24 seconds
"Can I keep you functioning for longer ?"
Distance of nearest generator from starting point : 1,11km. Location : building of Agorath Electricity Corporation, -1 floor. Unlocking access to restricted area complete. Translation from Rehasian to Hylian of all virtual interfaces complete. Now displaying map and location of building of Agorath Electricity corporation.
When she looked at the map, she was relieved : Agorath was so full of narrow streets, avenues, dead ends and buildings of all sizes it was impossible to navigate without a map. However, the building she was searching for was in a straight line from where she was standing, with only a short right turn at the end of the route.
Now displaying activation procedures for Unit 666-201-850EOW-K
The monolith suddenly displayed another plan, totally different, but so complex it was mesmerizing ; the circuit board was extremely detailed, and its vastness was making most of its components barely visible.
"Do… do you have a… an easier way to show me what to do ?"
Now displaying footage of activation of Unit 666-201-850EOW-K
The video proved to be far more understandable : it was showing a human – an Agorathian blue-haired woman – briefly interacting with a lime green virtual control panel before leaving the scene. She quickly memorized the hand motions, but remembered that the machine had apparently already translated everything on the control panel.
"I’ll be quick", she said to the computer.
Estimated time for full completion of task at normal pacing based on physiology, behavior, intelligence, memory and hazards : 38 minutes
"Just as I said", she replied before going towards her destination.
She flew in the labyrinth at an astonishing speed, making sharp turns and knocking over the desiccated remains of the creatures in an attempt to slow down the beast ; despite this and its immense size, it was getting inexorably closer, its hooves crushing the skeletons in a sickening, atrocious melody. She finally stopped ; she was not a coward ; she was not defenseless ; her strength was even renowned amongst her peers. The minotaur appeared at a turn : they looked into each other’s red eyes. The stream of pink fire hit the shield violently, but the creature stood its ground ; it slowly walked towards her, its armor and shield perfectly withstanding the heat. Ember saw its hand raising the axe and she flew out of harm’s way as the bovine beast slammed it onto the ground. She saw the opening and spat out a fireball two times her size ; it crashed against the armor to no effect ; she took off and hovered out of reach, the walls still growing in height in such a way that she was never able to see above.
“Going close combat with that thing’s not the best of ideas… Some of those skeletons were almost my father’s size, and there’s not a single scratch on that minotaur-thing. How to beat it ? Think, Ember !”. She suddenly remembered something ; she flew above the minotaur, going back towards the remains of the victims of the beast ; the monster followed her.
Ember failed to find her way back ; however, she stumbled upon a gruesome scenery in one of the hallways : by thousands, piled up so as to form a river between the walls, were skeletons ; the peak height of the mass of bones, armors and weapons was three times the size of Ember.
“Disgusting. But these armors and weapons are just my size… Just have to hide to put them on… in that…”.
Hearing the beast near, she closed her eyes and quickly buried herself in the bones, using her strength and fire to pass through ; she had just found an armor at her size and an intact sword that the entire pile of bones shook ; the minotaur was swinging its axe from side to side, efficiently and quickly clearing the bone ocean. Ember buried herself deeper in the remains, until she was at the end ; she grabbed a dented shield and waited just around the corner following the river of long-dead soldiers. The beast approached, its axe sending fragments of bones, armors and weapons right in front of her ; the opening was going to be small.
As soon as the minotaur crossed the corner with its axe centimeters from her, she jumped on it and used it as a leverage to propel herself, sword drawn, towards the surprised bovine face. The monster moved its head just in time to avoid losing its eyes ; however, the sword deeply cut into its muzzle : it bellowed in pain and rage, swinging its axe defensively at Ember, who dodged it in the nick of time. “That thing got some reflexes !” she thought as the creature strapped its axe back on its back before drawing its sword : a pitch black scimitar engraved with a glowing blue, maze-like pattern. Just as it was doing this however, the height of the walls ceased to change, and Ember finally saw the labyrinth from above : it was endless, or at least was spreading as far as her eyes could see ; she focused her attention on the sole landmark lost in the twists and turns of the walls : a temple. Unlike the yellow labyrinth, it was entirely white and built on an elevated base forming an array of steps from all sides despite the building having apparently only one entrance. Ember immediately flew towards it, only briefly looking back to see her opponent ; it had disappeared.
She was at the entrance of the temple in five minutes, despite flying fast and high. The building was imposing, its entrance tall enough to allow two minotaurs to pass through. Its massive roof was supported by fourteen columns ; on the gable roof were engraved two golden horns. Ember looked back at the entrance ; two closed giant copper doors were blocking her path ; however, she glimpsed a slight opening and she approached ; just at the base of the slightly opened door, there were dust and minuscule degraded pieces of bones, along some flakes of rust. “At least someone or something got there. A long, long time ago”.
She managed to slip inside the opening between the doors.
She was prepared for anything inside the temple but definitely not this ; she dropped her weapon and shield in surprise. She had never seen anything like this : floating above a basin of blue water, there was a machine entirely made of gold, copper and silver gears, all rotating silently ; even for Ember, the vision was magnificent. The shape of the structure was familiar to her, and she approached it cautiously to be sure ; there were glass pipes going into the pool and the walls, with three larger than the others, and an even bigger from where sprouted three small tubes. Ember was not a doctor, but she was still able to recognize a heart.
Walking through the ghost city was unnerving ; Epona hurried up to her destination. In comparison to the other buildings, the siege of Agorath Electricity Corporation was not really tall ; it was an unremarkable glass skyscraper with a logo – a circuit board in the shape of a lightning bolt – at the top.
The thick glass doors opened automatically when she approached them ; once inside the building, her senses tingled ; something was off with the office, but she shrugged it off. The building was unsurprisingly empty ; at her immediate left, there was a reception and in front of her, a large circular red sofa and a round table covered with magazines in the middle. She looked around ; at both ends of the room, there was a white cabin ; she went towards the right one and stepped inside. Immediately, on her left above her head, the white surface of the wall displayed a list of lime green numbers ranging from -555 to 555 ; they could not have possibly fit on the panel without being written no bigger than a millimeter in size, but they were all perfectly visible, their place and order all constantly shifting. Epona looked at the numbers with a puzzled face. “It’s an elevator but… what’s wrong with the floors and numbers ?”. She then looked up and immediately regretted of doing so : above her, seen through the glass floors and doors, were desks, chairs, sofas, tables, all repeated over and over until it was sickening ; Epona put a hoof on her mouth. “Don’t look up again. I’ll ask to that machine what is that… magic ? Technology ? Whatever. So, floor -1”. Her hoof pressed the virtual lime green -1 ; two panes of glass immediately closed the cabin. When she looked through the glass, the office instantly disappeared, causing her to feel nauseous again ; she was now looking at a white wall, and the doors opened. She stepped outside the elevator and found herself in a long white corridor ; she panicked. “Where are the doors !? I was supposed to take the fifth one on the right from the elevator !”. Another lime green interface on the wall next to her head caught her attention : “Control room Unit 522-878-444-TMU-L”. A few steps away, there was another virtual text : “Control room Unit 032-000-213-BOA-E”. And so on until the unseen end of the corridor. Epona stayed focused and observed the one she was searching for : “Control room Unit 666-201-850-EOW-K”. Tentatively, her hoof brushed the interface, prompting a portion of the adjacent wall to change into a rectangular opening in which she penetrated.
The control room was bare : a simple white cube. However, as soon as she crossed the threshold, the virtual control panel she had seen in the video provided by the computer appeared in the air, just at her height ; she approached the long hologram and looked at it ; even though the text was translated in Hylian, it was barely understandable : there were so many technical terms or otherwise wholly unknown words that she doubted she could find the activation button. She searched the control panel for the word “generator”, but eventually gave up and remembered the hand motions of the Agorathian. While doing so, she finally found an “activation” button, and pressed it. The remainder of the procedure was unlocking various failsafe and determining for how long the generator would run. As soon as she accomplished the last step, a text appeared above the control panel “Activation of generator for Unit 666-201-850-EOW-K successful”. Epona was not sure as what to do next ; she backed away from the hologram which finally disappeared ; she left the room and went back to the elevator ; her hoof was going to hit the ground floor button when she stopped it. “I wonder what the lowest and highest floors look like. But I must return to the machine… but…”. Her curiosity finally got the best of her and she pressed the button of the lowest floor ; the numbers disappeared and writing appeared in their place : “Access denied”. Epona sighed with disappointment. Suddenly, the words changed : “Administrator privileges revoked by Unit 666-201-850-EOW-K Access authorized”. The elevator gently shook and, after a few seconds, its glass doors opened on something unexpected : a small rectangular cave, two meters in height and width, carved from a smooth, dark olive rock. She went in the corridor and followed it along its few turns, before reaching the end from where a white light was emanating. She stopped breathing when she saw the circular chamber ; or rather what was inside, hovering in the middle.
Ember approached the heart ; inside what was its pulmonary veins and aorta, barely visible, small grains of yellow sand were circulating ; through the pulmonary artery and superior and inferior cava however, it was water.
"What’s the meaning of this ?" She asked to herself, cautiously flying around the object ; she was careful to not let any part of her body touch the gears, fearing she would be pulled inside.
It was barely noticeable because of the ambient lightning – akin to daytime – but, under the mass of gears, weakly radiating, was a blue light.
“I wanna destroy that thing to see what’s inside, but… I don’t. I wanna know its purpose first”.
She took her dented shield, looked at where it was the most damaged, and managed to break off a tiny part of metal from that spot that she threw onto the moving gears : the piece was immediately soundlessly crushed and disappeared inside the structure ; it did not reappeared.
Ember examined the basin and slowly dipped one of her claws in it ; it really seemed to be water. She reached the bottom of the pool as her arm was halfway through it, the water stopping in the middle of her elbow ; the tube in the basin, however, was only a few centimeters deep inside, weakly pumping water.
“It’s impossible to pump that much water from that tiny pool”.
The other tubes were abruptly ending in the walls and the roof, the sand and water apparently passing through them ; she went back to observe where the sand was coming ; the tubes were neatly plunging into the mass of moving gears, making it impossible to see from where the grains originated.
"It doesn’t make any sense !" Ember finally growled in frustration.
A faint sound – easily audible in the silent room – caught her attention ; one of the doors opened, letting the minotaur in ; the beast easily and silently closed the door behind it, trapping the dragon princess in the room. The monster approached the heart, Ember hovering just above of it, in plain sight. The minotaur, however, paid no attention to her and simply kneeled down before the heart, its head bowed respectfully, for a full minute of total silence. It then got up and looked at Ember, who readied her shield and sword ; the beast shook its head, turned away and left the temple, once again closing the door behind it ; she stood motionless, confused. The dragoness then imitated the minotaur ; she kneeled in front of the heart : nothing happened ; she finally lashed out at it :
"What are you, big dumb silent piece of scrap !?"
Fed up, she flew next to a tube representing a pulmonary vein ; she closed her eyes, hoped what she was going to do would not backfire to catastrophic proportions, and punched the glass, shattering it. Not far away, she heard the minotaur bellowing in rage.
Ten seconds later, a first strike dented the gigantic doors ; the second teared them apart just as Ember destroyed the last remaining tube connecting the heart to the walls ; the severed pipes spewed out water and sand on the gears and the floor ; despite this, the mechanical organ stayed in the air, its gears still running silently.
Ember sensed the whole dimension literally shrieking ; the ground shook violently, forcing the minotaur to crouch. “Bad idea Ember” she thought.
Seeing its opponent confused, the beast seized the occasion ; it unsheathed its sword and swung it towards the dragon princess, launching a beam of blue energy and compressed air. Ember dodged in the nick of time, the razor-like projectile barely missing the spikes on her head. It struck the heart however, deeply cutting down the gears. The dimension shook so violently the stone of the temple cracked ; Ember dodged the falling debris and immediately flew towards a hole in the roof as another attack from the minotaur missed her ; the structure collapsed on the monster and the heart just as she was flying outside.
The five meters tall crystal lozenge immediately pulsated when she stepped in the room ; Epona was mesmerized by its beauty, along with the many rectangular openings in the wall all leading to a bright red void ; she approached the object and noticed the beams of light coming from it, plunging into the doorways. The white light was relaxing and warm, and Epona went closer. “So beautiful… so warm… Is this light from the Goddesses themselves ?”. She touched the structure ; in spite of the warmth it was radiating, it was extremely cold. As soon as her hoof made contact with the thing, she instantly knew what it was, myriads of information passing through her brain in a split-second : the diamond was a power source, an incommensurable nexus supporting multiple universes ; the secret of planet Rheas ; the secret of Agorath. Epona also understood something both terrifying and ineluctable : the power of the great radiant lozenge was waning. Slowly but inevitably. One day, it would cease to glow, and every universe tied to it – including the one she was in – would collapse. There was nothing that could be done to stop the deterioration process : here and behind the doors, all the dimensions were doomed.
She jumped away from the diamond, as if she was hurt ; she let some tears fall from her eyes and briefly thought of warning the people inside the other worlds. She sobbed when she realized it was impossible, and stood motionless, frozen in sadness, for a couple of minutes. She finally left the room – not without glancing one last time at the diamond – and went back to the elevator ; she pressed the last floor, the five hundred and fifty fifth ; it could not be worse than what she had just seen.
The elevator took five seconds to reach the last floor ; Epona closed her eyes, fearful of what she was going to see ; however, the doors opened on a simple boardroom with a large oval glass table in the middle and fifteen white, hovering egg chairs around it. There were no walls, but a bay-window on all sides, letting the sunlight flowing in the room, giving it an orange tint. Epona stepped in the room and looked outside : nothing but clouds : she was literally in the sky. She reflexively jumped away from the view ; she was not yet comfortable with such heights. As an Equestrian pony, her animal instincts were going to mostly disappear, but for now, they were still intact. She noticed glass stairs going through an opening in the ceiling ; she gulped and approached them. “Do it, Epona, or you’re going to miss something important !”. She slowly and shakily climbed the fifteen steps ; an automatic hatch opened when she was halfway through her ascent, and, closing her eyes, she stepped outside, on the roof.
She cautiously opened one of her eyes on the orange sky ; there were no more clouds above, just the orange, cool sun. All of the clouds were beneath her, surrounding the roof in a beautiful woolly endless sea. The top of the building was bare, except for a two meters tall, thin pane of glass in the middle ; Epona approached it and brushed the surface ; nothing happened. After concluding there was nothing here, she went back to the stairs.
"Leaving already ? I thought you were going to stay a little longer", a female voice echoed behind her.
Epona almost died from fright, and she turned around : there was nobody behind her, but her ears were powerful enough to pinpoint the location of the voice ; she went back to the pane of glass.
"Sorry, I was analyzing your neural schemes and your physiology. Deconstructing your language took me ten seconds, I’m so rusty… So, you’re… Epona, right ? Pleased to meet you. I’m the consciousness of an Agorathian, Linda. Linda Demay. I was uploaded in there some thousands of years ago".
The voice paused, then spoke again :
"Now that we more or less know each other, can I ask you how did you get there ?"
"I… I… B-by accident. I was in Hyrule and then, I was here. Please, please, can you help get back home ?" Epona implored.
"Can’t do that, sorry. I’m just a consciousness. But since you’re stuck here with me, maybe we can talk a little ? It’s been nine hundred years since my last conversation…" The voice replied.
"You… you’ve been alone all this time !?"
"Yes. Oh, don’t worry, I was kind of… sleeping".
"You look like that machine… Unit 666-201-850-EOW-K. It sent me here to... get its energy source back".
"Some units were still functioning ? You’re lucky".
"It was going to… shut down soon".
"Yes, of course. It had to draw energy from other sources to maintain its running".
"Please, can you tell me what happened here ? The machine showed me but… I don’t understand, and neither does it… it just says “cause unknown”".
"You saw what happened. The sky turned orange and all organic life disappeared. Poof. Just like that. I don’t understand what happened either, but if you want my opinion, it’s just that life simply ceased to exist. To be precise, I think there’s nothing behind this ; no enemy, no angry dimensional thing, no space-time displacement… Just life that disappeared. All Units and me have access to data from different parts of this universe ; no more organic life in this entire dimension. All universal constants are normal. The Sun is normal. The planet is normal. Time is normal, you’re proof of this. We can’t detect any major anomalies in our reality. Everything is totally fine from a time, space and matter point of view".
"But there’s nobody here anymore ! Just machines, you and me !"
"Correct".
"So, there must be something wrong ! Something that caused life to disappear !"
"I don’t think so. I had some time to think about all of this when I was sleeping you know, and I think there’s just no answer. Life ceased to be. Period".
Epona stayed silent.
"Of course it’s frustrating. But, you know, this universe will soon disappear, so we don’t have to worry about that".
"I know. The… thing showed me".
Epona silently cried as she remembered the waning power source.
"All these worlds and this one… T-t-t-hey… they… will…"
"Collapse, yes. Nothing can be done to save them, and they’re already starting to fade away ; this one will follow. The Nexus is its own power source, and the moment it boomed into existence was just the beginning of a slow countdown towards its end. Maybe it’s sad it’s going to disappear, and everything with it".
"What… what if… What if it had a relation with what happened here ?"
"No, no link between the events. As I said, this reality’s still solid. Besides, the Nexus can only watch, it has no grip on the dimensions it’s the power source of".
"A-aren’t you sad ?"
"How could I not be ? I am sad, resigned, scared. Even after almost nine hundred years…"
"When… when will they… disappear ?"
"Can be anywhere from now to one year for total vanishing".
"Wait… D-d-do you me-me-mean we-we-we could di-di-disappear t-to !?"
"No, this dimension will last a few years more. Unless something happens. The Nexus’ not predicable. As for you, since you’re not from here, maybe you’ll be spared".
"I-I have friends that are probably searching for me. Is… is there anything I can do to help them find me ?"
"No. And they’re powerless to find you. But since we’re here until you or I die or we both disappear, I have a request : it probably didn’t vanish since it’s not here, so… can you find my body ? As with all non-artificial Units, my fellow colleagues put it away in stasis in case I’d want to go back in. That’s why I’m asking this : I want to go back inside my body and feel something physical, anything, before everything ends, and have the chance to end my life before it happens. Listen. All you have to do is finding a touchpad, or a tablet if you prefer, bringing it here for me to upload myself in it and we’ll go to find my body. It’s stored inside another dimension. Epona, can you grant me this ? My last wish ?"
"I-I…" Epona spluttered. "I-I agree but… you have to be positive in return, or just stop being so… depressing".
"Is that all you want ?"
"Yes".
"Okay then. We’ll get through this together, and your friends will come to save us".
"Perfect ! Now, what is a tablet and where can I find it ?"
Ember hovered above the rubble ; the heart was in the center, its gears dripping off it in large patches, slowly uncovering what was inside ; the remaining pieces of metal suddenly all collapsed at once into an inert puddle, letting only the object hovering above them.
Ember approached it ; it was a gem. An oval, clear blue stone, the size of her iris. Cautiously, she touched it with the tip of her sword : nothing happened. Just as she was going to take it in her hands, the minotaur emerged from the rubble, unscathed, bellowing in anger. All around them, the labyrinth was losing tangibility, matter fading away under the absence of the forces keeping it together. The sky turned pure white, and the temperature sharply dropped.
Seeing its home breaking down, the beast charged Ember, its eyes glowing with a boundless rage ; it swung its sword horizontally, careful to not destroy the stone, and forced the dragon princess back away from it. This time, Ember struggled to dodge the fast swings of the sword, and even more so to retaliate ; she had nowhere to hide anymore ; most of the walls were now translucent and vaporous, and even the rubble of the temple was fading away ; only the ground was maintaining its solidity. One of the energy waves cut her shield in half, almost reaching her scales. She was going to lose ; the monster was not showing any sign of tiring or relent ; worse, it was quickening its pace. Ember managed to put some distance between them ; she advised a still solid rock – almost twice her size – from the rubble, dropped her sword and lifted the boulder above her head before launching it at the minotaur : the beast charged the projectile and head-butted it, its horns shattering the stone. Ember barely managed to pick up her sword and jump away as the giant scimitar pulverized the spot she was at milliseconds ago. The tough shield blocked her stream of fire, and her opponent retaliated with the blue beams of its sword, slicing hers in half. “Not good at all”, she thought as she pulled manoeuver after manoeuver to dodge the beams. “Sorry Thorax. I don’t think I’m gonna make it. But I can still go with a bang !”. She accelerated, circling around the minotaur at high speed ; the beast was, however, perfectly able to follow her movement. “That thing’s just made to fight and destroy anyone who comes here. Ugh ! I hate to say it but… there’s no way I can win against it. But if I can cripple it enough, at least I’ll do much more than anyone before !”.
"Hey, beast ! Prepare yourself ! It’s gonna be my last trick !" She shouted, her words echoing through the vortex she was creating.
She let out a stream of pink flames, still inside her tornado, instantly igniting the rotating air mass and hiding her from view. Her wings slowly began to hurt, and she suddenly made the sharpest turn she was capable of : she fused towards the anticipating minotaur which raised its shield ; at the last moment, she used her painful wings to brake ; she still impacted the circular copper protection brutally, nearly breaking her bones ; her claws gripped the edge and she popped her head above the shield, just under the confused bovine face.
"Eat this !" She exclaimed before unleashing a torrent of fire from her mouth right into the face of the monster.
Although it reacted quickly by putting the shield away from its face and dropping it, the minotaur nonetheless sustained damage ; its fur burned in an atrocious sizzling noise and its snout was seared by the intense heat ; the intense, foul odor of burnt meat and fur disgusted Ember, lying on her belly on the shield, totally drained of her strength. The beast screamed for a full minute before coming back to its senses and looking at Ember ; it was only slightly disfigured : its snout was totally burnt however, showing a russet color ; part of its fur on its muzzle was missing, replaced by white blisters, and most of the remaining hair was now pure black ; its eyes were intact, and Ember sighed in frustration : she had hoped to blind it.
The minotaur cautiously approached its motionless opponent and pointed its sword at her ; she lost ; it was the winner.
The beast slowly raised its sword. “At least it has some sense of honor. It’s gonna be painless. Sorry Thorax. I really would’ve liked to spend much more time with you. Heh… we were gonna build something, but it’s too late now. Thorax, father, everyone… I’m gone”. She closed her eyelids, surrendering, and waited for the scimitar to end her life ; she sensed a crushing presence and a gentle gust of wind, and she opened her eyes : just above her, an arm was blocking the sword and its energy waves ; a burly, scaly orange arm decorated with spiky bracelets.
"Who…" Ember began before being seized by a huge clawed hand and tossed away right into the conical stubs of a ghostly ball.
"Gotcha princess !" King Boo exclaimed. "Hey, hey, I think that’s not how you treat friends ! She’s going to be mad at you ! Mad at you !" He yelled to Bowser still gripping the sword.
"She’ll thank me later", the Koopa replied.
Ember finally registered what was happening around her, just as Thorax, Twilight and Starlight came into her field of view.
"Ember ! You’re safe !" Thorax exclaimed, tears filling his eyes.
"Yeah, almost. Just… overdid it… can’t feel my wings anymore. They’re still in place ?" She asked, wincing.
King Boo let her down and the changeling king immediately hugged her, ignoring her protestations of pain and embarrassment. He let her go and she leaned on him to stand up.
"Thanks guys. I… She took a deep breath. Lost against that thing".
"No", Starlight replied as she watched Bowser shattering the minotaur’s sword with his grip. "You survived it, and you injured it. Almost no one here could’ve done that, I’m sure of that".
Ember smiled.
"You ponies are such optimists…"
Thorax slowly escorted her towards a triangle-shaped portal from which her friends could be seen inside ; Spike immediately crossed it to come near her.
"Ember ! Are you hurt !?" He panicked as he took her claw inside his.
"It’s okay Spike, I just need some rest. But… I wanna see that monster goin’ down…"
Thorax and Spike advised Twilight and Starlight ; they bit their lips, but King Boo replied in their place.
"Okay, but I’ll make everyone invisible, and you two too !" He said to Twilight and Starlight. "Besides, the dimension’s going to fall apart much more quickly with my and Bowser’s presence !"
They all stayed close to the portal and disappeared at the eyes of the minotaur, which was reaching for its axe. Bowser jumped on it, but the beast dodged, managing to reclaim its shield in the process. The fire the Koopa breathed was much more potent than Ember’s, and the monster once again resorted to dodge.
"Foolish beast. You think you can win against me ? Go ahead and try", Bowser mocked.
The minotaur swung its axe horizontally, using both of its hands, to Bowser’s side ; the Koopa King did not even flinch, and the weapon shattered on his body.
"You gotta try harder".
Bowser jumped faster this time, but the beast raised its shield ; the claws teared through the copper-like material with ease, almost cutting the minotaur’s arm. The beast subsequently fluidly dodged the fireballs and the punch coming from above with agile backflips and somersaults.
"You can even dodge my teleportation. You’re fast for a beast of your size… Maybe too fast for me. Allow me to even the odds a bit".
Bowser form changed almost immediately, not letting any opening for his opponent to exploit.
"There’s going to be steak for supper !" King Boo exclaimed, much to the disgust of everyone.
"The stone !" Ember suddenly exclaimed. "The stone’s important ! Someone go take it !"
"That tiny thing in the middle of the battlefield ?"
"Yes !"
King Boo teleported next to the hovering gem and touched it.
"That’s just the former power source of another power source, that puddle of metal. Not important, but whatever".
The lost stone between the two monsters suddenly disappeared ; King Boo came back near the portal and gave it to Ember.
"Here’s your souvenir miss !" He said. "It’s totally useless now, but hey, it’s shiny ! Shiny !"
The monstrous form of Bowser dwarfed the minotaur ; however, the bovine beast suddenly grew taller, enough for it to rival its opponent size again.
"Look at that… A shapeshifting minotaur… lost and lone guardian of a purposeless relic far past its usefulness… I imagine lots and lots of knights and thieves went here to steal your worthless treasure, am I correct ?"
The minotaur drew its whip in a lightning fast move and in the same motion, wrapped it around Bowser neck before pulling to bring him down ; it did nothing, and Bowser not even moved a millimeter ; he swung his head to the side and his opponent let go of its whip ; the rope immediately froze and fell apart to pieces ; the frost extended past Bowser’s body, and its clutches caught the bovine monster too fast for it to escape ; Bowser slowly walked towards it, his shell covered in electric arcs.
"You will not suffer", he declared.
"I erected a shield around us and the portal", King Boo told his friends.
"Why ?" Twilight asked.
"Because it’s going to be brutal", the ghost replied.
"What…" Spike began before being cut by the ghost king showing him something with his arm.
Bowser was now some meters away from his frozen opponent.
"Farewell, beast".
He leaned back and seemed frozen for some seconds before violently thrusting his upper body towards the minotaur in a titanic head-butt.
The minotaur had not always been here, watching over the heart ; it was born somewhere else, from cosmic and mystic forces long since faded away. From as long as it could remember, its duty – or its nature – was to guard something inside its labyrinth ; be it a treasure, a living being or a mechanical heart. Once its duty was accomplished, or when the world ended, it was moving to another world with the stone : the source of the maze. Something has changed when it arrived here however : the labyrinth was occupying the entire, empty dimension, and the heart of gears, the lone thing here, was helping maintaining it, with, inside it, the stone. The minotaur did not know what the heart was, why it had absorbed the stone, and why it had drawn it here ; the mechanical organ was, however, sought after by many, which was the reason of the guardian’s invocation in that strange world. The minotaur had defended it for eons, not knowing why, the stone and it adapting to better match the intruders, and not a single time they had failed to their task. Until now. The stone was depleted of its energy, sucked by the heart ; now it was just a useless rock, just as the heart was now a simple puddle of metal. Without them, the minotaur had no power over the dimension or the maze. But now it was unimportant : the dark power – oblivion – was consuming everything, and the monster with which it was merged had won. It was the end.
The explosion, if it could still be called an explosion, achieved to destroy the dimension and the maze. Twilight, Starlight, Thorax, Ember and Spike, and, to a lesser extent, everyone behind the portal, only saw a giant mass of fire before a blinding light forced them to close their eyes. There was no sound, although it could have been because of King Boo’s shield, but the earthquake following the fire made them bounce in the air, and the ghost was forced to keep them floating to avoid them being thrashed around in the shield.
The light and quake finally subsided, only letting a boundless, empty white space where the maze, the temple and the minotaur were before ; Bowser, shrunken back to his normal size, appeared in front of the shield which deactivated. Far away but drawing close, a rumble drew Twilight and Starlight’s attention.
"The mesh’s going to squish that empty space", Bowser explained. "Let’s go".
"I don’t understand", Thorax said.
"I think Twilight and I can explain", Starlight replied as they were leaving the former dimension and were coming back into Canterlot castle ; the breach abruptly closed when Trixie touched her portable interdimensional portal.
Starlight used her horn to form a shapeless blob of magic, hovering in the air ; Twilight did the same, splitting it in two halves that she pressed against both sides of Starlight’s construction.
"Starlight’s magic’s the dimension, and mine’s the mesh, surrounding all of the worlds without being one itself. Now, look what happens when a dimension disappear", Twilight explained as Starlight popped her bubble of magic.
Twilight’s two blobs, with nothing between them but thin air, immediately rejoined to form one mass once again ; the alicorn then dispelled it.
"You can’t be more clear, thanks", Thorax said.
"We didn’t know about the mesh before the Merchant", Starlight replied.
"Now", Bowser declared, "how about saving my ex-rival ?"
Epona finally found a tablet in an employee’s desk ; she took it in her mouth, careful to not damage the very thin glass-like material with her teeth. “What a strange machine”, she thought as she took the elevator back to the last floor and the roof ; the voice greeted her as soon as she stepped outside.
"You found one ! Perfect ! Can you put it on me ? I mean, put it anywhere on my physical storage unit ; I’m going to transfer myself in it".
"Will you fit in this ? I mean, I don’t know anything about machines, but you’re huge and that thing is small", Epona asked when she approached.
"The storage’s endless on those tablets, they’re made to contain basically everything, even entire neural architectures. From your point of view and beliefs, you can say it’s akin to my soul being put into something. The thing I’m currently in is technically a brain ; it absorbed everything I was before. That means my body can’t be reanimated because, even if my former brain’s still inside it, there’s nothing written on it. And even if the soul wasn’t a myth, it’s just like my flesh and blood brain : a blank page".
Epona shivered. She pressed the tablet on the cold surface of the glass monolith with her hoof.
"It’s going to take some seconds", Linda informed.
Epona waited for twenty seconds before the voice resonated again, coming from the tablet :
"All done ! Thank you so much Epona ! Now, let’s go find my body ; I’ll guide you".
Epona took the tablet in her mouth and she followed Linda’s instructions ; she ended back at the lowest floor.
"You’re going to face the Nexus again ; my body’s behind one of the doors. Listen carefully, Epona. You already approached it, but it’s going to draw you towards it again ; it doesn’t know that it’s doing this. You will close your eyes when I’ll tell you, and concentrate on my voice only ; forget the warmth and everything, just focus on my voice, okay ? You’ll open your eyes when you’ll be behind the door. Do you trust me ?"
"Yes Linda, I trust you".
"Okay. Here we go".
When Epona approached the last turn of the corridor before the Nexus, Linda told her to close her eyes ; she guided her steps, avoided getting her too close to the diamond, before making her stop.
"Now stomp one of your hooves five times, and a platform’s going to appear to take you to a door. Don’t panic, I’m here with you".
Epona obeyed ; as soon as the last stomp resonated in the room, a lime green, square platform with a safety fence formed under her ; it gently took off before stopping in front of a door, forty meters above the ground.
"You’re going to step inside the door ; you can walk and open your eyes in two seconds".
Epona did as instructed ; when she opened her eyes, she was in small orange cubical room, totally devoid of anything, except two things : in the middle, lying down on the ground, there was a human body with a pile of neatly folded clothes next to it. She approached it : it was a young, naked white woman with short, platinum blonde hair ; she was about the same size as Illia, but her figure was much stockier, with her hips wider than her bust ; on her forehead, there was a small, translucent green pentagon solid.
"That’s my body. Hello, old pal", Linda saluted the body.
"Now Epona, put the tablet on the device on my head. Be careful and don’t under any circumstances break contact between them until my consciousness’ totally transferred, okay ? Don’t worry if I don’t wake up immediately, it’s normal. You’ll know it’s over when the device will fall off my head ; it should take about three minutes".
Epona gently apposed the tablet against the gem-like green object and waited, slightly blushing when looking at the naked body. When three minutes and a half passed, the pentagon solid suddenly broke off from the forehead of Linda’s body, fell on the ground, and turned to dust. Linda’s pale blue eyes slowly opened a minute later ; she sat down and stayed silent, touching and checking her body ; she then cried and hugged a surprised Epona.
"It’s… so… good… to… feel… again", she said very slowly, clumsily drying her tears.
"Is everything okay ?"
"Yes… Just… relearning… how… to… speak. Going… to… pass".
She stood up with an infinite slowness and caution, using Epona as a support ; the latter was slightly blushing, earning a giggle from Linda as she was trying to walk.
"Do you… find me… attractive, Epona ?"
"Yes, of course… and not just because you remind me of somebody I love dearly".
"That’s… nice and frank, thanks", Linda said as she crouched in front of Epona, caressing her cheek while looking in her golden eyes ; she gently deposed a kiss on her lips.
"You’re cute too. Let me know if you want more once we’re off that empty world".
"You really think we’ll be able to leave ?"
"We have an agreement, haven’t we ?"
"That’s right. And Linda ?"
"Yes ?"
"I think I’m going to want more".
Linda put on her clothes – black jeans, white shirt and green sneakers – took the tablet, and they got out of the now totally empty room, running in the Nexus ; Epona and Linda approached and then touched it.
"Sorry. We have to leave", Epona sadly whispered to the diamond.
"It doesn’t understand you. The only thing it understands is that it’s going to disappear, and everything along with it. As I told you, I think it’s making it sad, but we’ll never know".
They parted away with the Nexus, and Epona looked one last time at the hovering lozenge ; its light blinked multiple times.
"“Sorry”. “Farewell”", Epona said as she was taking the elevator with Linda.
"What ?"
"The Nexus… it said “sorry” and “farewell”".
"We can’t save it, I’m sorry".
"I know".
Once outside the building, Linda stayed frozen in the middle of the street.
"Sorry", she apologized after a moment. "It’s just… shocking… seeing everything like this".
They got back to Unit 666-201-850-EOW-K under its dome ; as soon as Linda approached within two meters of the black monolith, a wall of text appeared on its surface :
Rehasian detected. Analysis… Welcome back, Linda Demay.
Awaiting inquiries.
"Hello, long time no see. Here’s my request : try to detect any dimensional anomalies in Agorath and expand your search on a planet-wide scale if you don’t find any".
Operation in progress, please wait.
One minute later, the text changed :
5555 anomalies detected. Now displaying map of locations.
The map of Agorath that appeared on the machine was peppered with red dots ; Linda gulped.
"What’s this ?" Epona interrogated.
"Each of these dots represents a dimensional anomaly here, in Agorath", Linda explained. "I wanted to find the anomaly from where you came from. But now, we’ve got another problem in our hands".
"I don’t understand, what’s happening ?"
"Dimensional anomalies of this amplitude are exceptional here. Look at this map. It’s not normal. Usually, there’s not any dot on it, or there should be only one caused by the breach you came from".
"But there are so many dots ! We’re… surrounded by anomalies ?"
"Yes. And that can only mean one thing : this world is collapsing".
With nothing to do in the empty dimension, Mario searched the entire ship in hope of finding something ; there was nothing else aboard the vessel other than what was in the captain’s quarters, and he went back to his starting point, the oyster’s grave. He sat down next to it and addressed the silence :
"Nothing’s gonna happen, right ? Time passes now and that’s all… Maybe you hoped for things to suddenly get in motion inside your husk once you’d be gone. But it won’t happen. I’m sorry. At least you escaped your prison : yourself".
Mario closed his eyes and lay down ; he was slowly falling asleep when a deafening, thundering cracking sound shaking the whole world made his heart skip a beat ; he immediately got up and braced himself for another terrific noise. The second bang literally teared up the sky ; a white gash slowly ripped off a portion of the red atmosphere, and a third one a part of the sea. Soon, the dimension was covered in bright wounds, all appearing in an apocalyptic sound and a violent earthquake. Mario briefly thought of going back to the ship, the only thing not coming from the shriveling husk, when a tear opened in the direction of the boat ; seeing he could not turn around the blank gash, he deduced the fate of the ship ; it was erased with everything else by the hungry void. With this came a horrifying realization : he was not immune to the effect of the dimension’s collapse. All around him, the white color was now dominating the red of the sky and the black of the sea, and, at each bang, the latter two were receding further and further. There was nothing he could do to stop it and he sat down, resigned to his fate. Just as he felt something strange inside his belly however, he jumped back, avoiding bisection from another tear ; he jumped around, avoiding the cracks of light as the ground enabling him to do so was slowly reduced to patches of sand.
"Mario !" A familiar voice resonated in the thundering noises caused by the wounds.
Inside a triangular opening cutting both the gashes and the remaining parts of the dimension, Peach was calling out to him ; King Boo went in the gnawing void and Mario jumped towards him on the ever-reducing ground ; just as he was going to jump on a tiny spot of sand, his support vanished under his feet, and he fell into the void under Peach’s screams of terror. King Boo immediately caught him and he rocketed towards the portal, crossing it just as the mesh claimed the last bit of the husk.
"No… no… y-y-you’re k-k-kidding, r-right ?" Epona spluttered fearfully.
"I’m afraid I’m not", Linda replied. "Unit 666-201-850-EOW-K, determine the nature of the anomalies and their threat level".
Processing data, please wait…
WARNING.
Nature of anomalies : WARNING. DC level.
Level of hazard : WARNING. Maximum.
Additional information : WARNING. Reality failure scenario in progress. Total failure imminent. Cause : WARNING. Nexus instability. WARNING. Evacuation recommended.
Linda stood perfectly calm as Epona panicked, the words on the monolith perfectly clear.
"Check the anomalies again. Are they all DC Level ?"
Analyzing anomalies… Accurate affirmation. WARNING. All anomalies DC Level.
"Wh-what “DC level” means ?" Epona asked, scared of the answer.
"“DC” stands for “dimensional collapse”".
Epona paled and her trembling legs gave away under the fear.
"Epona ! Are you alright !?"
Linda helped Epona getting up and kissed her on the forehead.
"We’ll get through this. I’m waiting for another kind of anomaly to appear, a portal-type ; that way, we’ll be able to jump inside to escape", she explained to the terrified pony.
WARNING. Chances of survival inside dimension undergoing total reality failure : 0%
55555 anomalies detected. WARNING. All anomalies DC Level. WARNING. Partial reality failure in progress. WARNING. Total reality failure imminent. WARNING. Chances of scenario aborting : 0%
WARNING. Total reality failure detected in all dimensions.
"All of the other dimensions…" Linda whispered, tears in her eyes.
"T-t-t-this… t-t-this a-a-a n-n-ni-nightmare", Epona wishfully stammered.
"Unit 666-201-850-EOW-K, anomaly report please ! Type of anomalies !" The blonde woman ordered to the monolith-computer.
555555 anomalies detected. WARNING. All anomalies DC Level. WARNING. Total reality failure imminent. WARNING. Evacuation recommended.
Under Epona and Linda’s eyes, some buildings in Agorath suddenly appeared in a blur, along with some parts of the orange sky.
"Please, Goddess Hylia, please, Goddess of Time, please, Golden Goddesses, hear my prayer ! I implore you to make this world last a little longer ! Please, put it on hold, even just for a few minutes ! Give our friends some time to find us !" Epona prayed.
"They can’t…" Linda cut herself as Unit 666-201-850-EOW-K displayed text on its surface :
Reality failure scenario interrupted. Cause : unknown. WARNING. Estimated duration of interruption : 1 minute 55 seconds.
"Thank you. May you watch over Hyrule forever", Epona thanked.
"Your gods are too far away to support this world for longer, but every time we get is of the essence. Unit, how are the anomalies ?"
5555555555 anomalies detected. WARNING. All anomalies DC Level. WARNING. Estimated duration of interruption of reality failure scenario : 1 minute 22 seconds.
"We can’t do anything but wait", Linda said sadly as she leaned on the monolith.
"Even if we can escape in a breach, what if it’s far away from here ?" Epona interrogated.
"It can teleport us at the coordinates", the Agorathian replied, showing Unit 666-201-850-EOW-K behind her with her thumb.
The two girls waited for a minute before noting that the buildings appearing in a blur were fading away further, and Linda checked the computer.
WARNING. Interruption of reality failure interrupted. WARNING. Total reality failure imminent.
"THE ANOMALIES !" Linda roared at the machine.
The now almost invisible skyscrapers totally disappeared, and others began to phase in and out of reality.
5555555555555555555 anomalies detected. WARNING. 1 DP anomaly detected. Now displaying location of DP anomaly. WARNING. Unit 666-201-850-EOW-K now disconnected from all generators and power sources.
The map displayed a location Epona immediately recognized : it was her starting point, from which she had appeared in Agorath.
Almost all the buildings had vanished, and Linda once again yelled to the monolith :
"Teleport us there now !"
WARNING. Operation impossible. Cause : DC level anomalies preventing time-space manipulation.
"YOU’RE KIDDING ME !?" Linda screamed in panic and rage as she punched the cold surface of the computer.
"We…" Epona spluttered as all of her hopes shattered.
Both girls cried in despair, and they tightly hugged each other.
"They’re here !" A voice resonated through the silently collapsing city.
Epona and Linda opened their eyes : King Boo was flying towards them, accompanied by three Boos.
"Who are they !?" The Agorathian panicked.
"They’re my friends", Epona replied, drying her tears.
The king and his minions stopped next to them.
"This world’s going to poof any second ! Any second ! Let’s go !" King Boo exclaimed.
"Wait ! Can your subjects take that machine ?" Epona asked, looking at Unit 666-201-850-EOW-K.
"It’s just a computer, but whatever. Take that thing buddies, and don’t waste time here !"
Everyone, including the computer, disappeared as the dome and everything around it abruptly winked out.
The Boos holding the monolith and King Boo holding Epona and Anita popped next to the portal, immediately hurrying inside. The breach closed on the mesh.
Everyone – barring Bowser and King Boo – collapsed on sofas, still trembling. Even though the survivors were obviously having the hardest time, the others had helplessly witnessed the close calls as Bowser, King Boo, Twilight and Starlight had banned everyone from going inside the portals, except Ember’s one.
"I’ll get you some water", a unicorn guard declared to everyone.
He came back with two fellow soldiers, each holding an impressive plate of glasses and carafes of water that they gave to the stressed friends before leaving the room.
Unit 666-201-850-EOW-K suddenly hummed and slowly displayed its characteristic text :
Foreign dimension detected. Recalibration in progress… Analysis in progress… Please wait.
Dimension analysis complete.
Space-time analysis complete.
Physical laws analysis complete.
Chemical laws analysis complete.
Laws of thermodynamic analysis complete.
Planet analysis complete.
Fauna analysis complete.
Flora analysis complete.
Neural schemes analysis in progress… Please wait.
Sentience confirmed.
Sapience confirmed.
Civilization analysis complete.
Language analysis complete.
Society analysis complete.
Economy analysis complete.
Power sources [electricity] detected.
Unknown variables detected. Analysis impossible. Cause : unknown.
Anomalies detected. Analysis… Please wait. Error : anomalies uncategorized. Level of hazard : unknown.
Unknown energy fluxes detected. Analysis… Please wait. Error : energy fluxes uncategorized. Level of hazard : unknown.
Analysis of “Equestria” complete.
Awaiting inquiries.
"Standby", Linda commanded.
The text disappeared and the machine stopped humming.
"Is everyone okay ?" Twilight asked.
"I… think so", Ember replied.
"What happened to you ?" Luna interrogated.
Each unwilling traveler told their story, beginning with Mario and finishing with Epona.
Celestia then addressed Linda :
"We’re all pleased to meet you, Linda. If you’re willing to, can you tell us more about you ?"
"Yes, of course. Hi everybody, I’m Linda Demay, a former dimensional department engineer of Agorath Electricity Corp.".
Linda made a pause, gathering her words and ideas, before resuming :
"For you to understand better, you must know that we Rehasians are… were an engineer civilization created by what we called the Nexus some millions years ago ; most of our job was to make sure space-time and the Nexus didn’t go crazy, in our world and in the others ; we were the caretakers of reality if you prefer. About a thousand of years ago, I was asked : “do you want to be uploaded in a Unit ?”, and I said yes. You know, uploading’s just a benign procedure, and you’re free to go back in your body whenever you want. So, my consciousness was transferred into a machine, kind of like that one", she explained as she nodded towards Unit 666-201-850-EOW-K.
"My body was put inside a stasis dimension, a timeless pocket space. Uploading’s just… awesome. You get access to literally everything about every dimension connected to the Nexus, meaning you learn everything that can be learned, and trust me, that sensation’s the… quintessence of life for every being. The only drawback : your emotions are… dulled, you become part machine and you’re fueled by rationality and logic. Of course, when you’re put back in your body, everything returns to normal, but you lose most of the data – I mean information – which you once possessed. Rehasians’ brain can’t cope with that much information, so most of it is erased. I’m back to square one, with basically only my engineering skills as a flesh and blood Agorathian from a thousand years ago remaining. Before you ask, yes, I had a life before my uploading ; I had family, friends and girlfriend, a house, a job, interests, etc. I was…"
Linda let out a sob.
"Sorry… just emotions and feelings coming back… when I was a machine, everything was… different".
"Please take your time", Luna said kindly.
"I was close to my… family, close to my girlfriend… she was called Tara… and close to my friends. Rehasian’s way of life is… wasn’t divided between free time and work like in some other societies ; we only worked to solve problems or of our own will. However, problems are… were frequent in other dimensions, so we had to work most of the time. You must understand that Rehas is… was managing dimensions other than itself, and while everything was held in place by the Nexus, it was me… my people… who were… keeping the worlds afloat. When all the members of our civilization vanished, everything went wrong in the dimensions ; they didn’t disappeared, but most societies and tiny fragments of their reality… broke. And then I discovered that the Nexus was waning… That great thing, the creator of everything, was going to end. If I could’ve killed myself back then, I’d have done it without hesitation. But instead I coped with the fact, just like I endured the pain of losing everyone, and I went to sleep. And nine hundred years later, cute Epona comes out of the blue and reactivates me. That’s my whole story. My years before working for Agorath Electricity Corp. aren’t worth listening… Mundane as it can be : flirting, discovering my knack for dimensional stuff by reading and escaping to other spaces-times, making my parents and siblings mad ‘cause of this…"
Linda cried without noticing.
"And one day, I get caught by an employee of my future company making dimensional-hopping through the multidimensional rooms. He takes me to the boss, and the boss’ impressed by the “feat”, whereas it was nothing but just adjusting some… never mind. She hired me so I could continue messing around with a purpose, and it lasted nearly two-hundred years. Two-hundred years of annoying the whole company all the while doing my job. Before my proposition of uploading. You know the rest".
Linda finally noticed that she was crying, and she hastily dried her tears. Anita approached her :
"I am Anita, a Galanian. And I am just like you : homeless".
"Y-Yes, I know. Every Rehasian knows… knew about your dimension and its achievements. But we didn’t buy anything from you… Your factories were… scaring us, but we were on good terms. Some of your people even came to see the Nexus, and some of us went to Galania. I… I don’t understand… did something happen to your dimension ?"
"Galania, its factories and its customer dimensions were entirely destroyed two years ago", Anita replied, fighting back her tears.
Linda gasped from the shock.
"I am the last Galanian remaining, just as you are the last Rehasian so… I understand what you’re going through".
"Wh-what h-happened t-to your w-world !? Y-y-you were so p-powerful !"
"It was our fault for the most part. Everyone here can tell you more about it".
"Is that okay ?" Applejack asked to the assembly. "I mean, that’s an awful lot of info to swallow, and not the happy kind of info… With everythin’ she went through, maybe now’s not the best time to talk ‘bout that".
"I’m ready to hear whatever you have to say, even bad news… It can’t be worse, right ?" Linda replied.
Everyone bit their lips, and Twilight took on the task to tell Linda about Darkness.
Once she heard the whole story, Linda staggered ; she drank her glass of water to recover, almost spitting it out :
"Sorry, Rehasians don’t… didn’t normally drink or eat, even if we could. The Nexus was our energy… From now on, I must eat to survive…"
She coughed and continued :
"So, you’re saying oblivion – literally speaking – is coming, and two of you here have some… fragments of it inside them ?"
"Yes", Starlight replied.
Linda paused briefly before speaking again :
"That’s right… I mean, when I focus, I can… kind of sense something’s coming from you two", she said, looking at Bowser and King Boo. "Something ancient. Something dark. Something powerful. Powerful enough to shatter worlds like glass. Much more powerful and ancient than the Nexus".
She shook her head and slowly absorbed the information.
"I believe you", she finally said. "So… that’s why the Unit’s confused on certain aspects of this world… but not only you. It’s really dull, but I sense energy fluxes filling this world and between everyone here, including me. It’s just a remnant of my uploading though, and soon, I won’t be able to sense them anymore".
"Equestria and its inhabitants are filled with magic", Starlight explained, using her horn to levitate her glass.
"What you’re sensing too are probably the Magic of Friendship and the Magic of Love. And maybe some others", Twilight added.
"Is that so ? Interesting world, I can’t wait to discover it", Linda replied, joy in her voice for the first time.
Her belly suddenly growled.
"Oh ? It seems I’m going to rediscover how to eat sooner than I thought", she laughed, rubbing the back of her head.
Everyone laughed with her.