//------------------------------// // Stage One: This isn't Mobius // Story: Alternative Reality // by Crystal Night //------------------------------// No, wait! I can still fight! Those were his last words after getting defeated by Sonic and Rookie. After that, time seemed...infinite. He could feel his body was weak and in a bad shape, and the fact that the Phantom Ruby lost lot of his power was making things difficult for him. But that shouldn't be the issue, he knew the Phantom Ruby's Power Generator was located under the tower, so why wasn't being recharged? "Ugh..." - he grunted. Slowly opening his eyes, he expected to see computers or robots, instead he was greeted by a rocky wall. Now that he listened more closely, he could hear water dripping from the ceiling. "What the...?" It took him about twenty minutes and a lot of effort to simply get up. Glancing around the dark room, he noticed a small glint of light in the other side of the cave, which could only mean one thing. "Time to leave this wretched place..." Balancing himself against the wall, he took a few steps forward. He never remembered feeling like this before. He needed to restore his full power if he wanted to crush that blue hedgehog and his friends. However he had a strange feeling that something was off. As he got closer to the entrance, he clenched his eyes, what he saw next send him into a state of confusion. Clear blue skies and a landscape of trees filled his view. The sound of birds chirping and water rushing took hold of his senses. Placing his hand on his chest, Infinite glanced at the ruby. "Where...are we?" The Princess of the Sun stood once more in her private study, taking care of royal duties, as she was supposed to do, but something caught her attention. She was glancing out the window for what it seemed an eternity. Celestia stopped doing her work about thirty minutes ago. She felt that. That power. It didn't feel like magic or even dark magic, but it was something else. A soft knock on the door drew her attention. "Come in!" The alicorn smiled as her younger sister entered the room, closing the doors behind her. But that was only a brief smile, because the look on Luna was one of worry. "I can safely assume you felt it too." Luna nodded as she trotted closer to her sister. "I'm almost certain that is not from our world." "We need to find it, whatever it might be." - Celestia sternly said. Hours have passed since Infinite left and wandered around aimlessly in the forest. He knew he was going straight, but it felt he was going on circles. Everywhere he looked, seemed the same. He was tired, hungry, beaten, thirsty, powerless... He was weak... Weak Infinite growled as his fist hit the tree, shaking a few leafs. The word echoed in his mind, he would never go back to his old pathetic self. Curse them all... The sound of water caught his attention as he turned his head to the left and saw the river. With the remaining strength he had left, the masked jackal walked towards the river. Crouching down, he took his mask off and set it down. Infinite took a deep breath as he dove his head in the river. A few seconds later, he pull back. He had to admit that the water helped him relax a little. So relaxed that he didn't noticed the incoming guests. The only warning was from the Phantom Ruby, doing its usual sound. Infinite immediately placed his mask back, and with some struggle he got back up again, glancing at two ponies landing infront of him, just a few meters away. "What is that? I never seen anything like that." - said Luna, with some uncertainty in her voice. Celestia glanced at the dark figure, his yellow eye staring back at her. "I don't know what might be, just keep your eyes open, even though his power seems less than before, we don't know what can do." Her sister simply nodded as Celestia took a few trots forward. "Hello there." - she greeted him with her typical smile. Several minutes passed before Infinite spoke back. "Where are we?" Perhaps Luna was right... The Solar Princess thought. "We are in Equestria." This isn't Mobius. Just as he thought, he knew something was off about this place. Yet another spike of pain made him growl as he placed his hand on the left side. Slowly Luna approached her sister. "It seems hurt." Now that she mentioned that, she was starting to noticed small bruises and some cuts. It also seem struggling to breathe. "I'm Princess Celestia and this is my sister, Princess Luna, may I ask your name?" "You may call me Infinite." "Pleasure to meet you Infinite, but it seems you need some medical attention." As much he hated it to admit, that strange pony had a fair point, even if he wanted to fight, surely he would lose and his remaining power, nor he could run away, his pride wouldn't let him. There's only one option left. "I shall follow you," - Infinite said. "for now..." The last few words just a whisper. Fortunately for Infinite, Celestia had a chariot waiting for them, so it made walking less painful, even though the piercing gaze her sister gave him in the corner of her eyes was a bit unsettling. If I had more power, the look in your eyes would be a different one. The ride back to Canterlot was very silent, no words spoken, just a lot of stares, not that Infinite really cared anyway. Several ponies gazed at him, some had looks of fear, others of curiosity and a few of relief, mostly for the fact their beloved princesses were aparently escorting whatever that creature was. Celestia slowly glanced at him, trying to make sure he wasn't noticing her. He didn't flinch from the awkward stares or somethings some dared to say, she was excepting any kind of reaction, but nothing happened. Meanwhile Infinite was focused on something else, oddly enough the Phantom Ruby power was slowly coming to him. For now it would be best not to do anything to provoke them, especially the midnight blue princess, he could tell she was quite eager to fight, but he wouldn't give her that pleasure, not yet. Upon finally reaching the castle, the two sisters left the chariot first, however when Infinite tried to walk again, it sent more spikes of pain. At this point walking would be impossible, as he grunted an idea popped in his mind, perhaps he didn't even needed to touch the ground. Gathering the remaining power he had, his body suddenly became surrounded by a red aura as the ruby began to glow once more. The nearby guards and Luna took defensive positions while Celestia simply stood there. "At ease everpony. He's not going to harm anypony." Luna looked at her sister, trying to keep a close eye on Infinite. "How can you be so certain of such thing?" Some guards nodded at her question. Floating barely above the ground, Infinite placed his right hand on the metal mask, adjusting it slightly, before crossing his arms. The faint sound of the ruby could be heard. "See?" - Celestia smiled, while Luna rolled her eyes. This time Celestia caught Infinite looking around the castle hallways, but told him nothing. When they reached the medical wing, a small group of ponies were already waiting for them, ever since Celestia sent them a letter on their way back. "They will take care of you now." As the doctor approached him, he asked. "Do you mind removing your mask?" "I do." - he answered with a slight annoyance. The doctor glanced back at Celestia, who nodded. Returning to his patient, he spoke again. "Alright then, shall we get to work?" It took them almost two hours of medical treatment, and a few angry glares from the masked jackal for every time they nearly touched his ruby. Right now Infinite stood in the middle a medium sized bedroom, what he could guess it worked as a guest room. "You can stay in this room and rest, if you need anything, there's two guards just outside. Anything else you require for now Infinite?" - finished Celestia. "No." "Alright, rest well, tomorrow we shall talk more." As the Solar princess made her way out the room, she glanced behind her. "You coming dear sister?" Luna's blue eyes stared into Infinite's yellow eye, and spoke in a calm tone way. "In a moment." After her sister left, she returned her attention to him. "I don't trust you like my sister." This time her tone was aggressive, which Infinite darkly chuckled. "You shouldn't, princess."