//------------------------------//
// First hours 
// Story: Mystic Quartz 
// by pixelbit5 
//------------------------------//

I felt calm.

Which was weird, because I'd never really felt calm before. Or anything at all, to be honest. I probably should have been confused, but for some reason, I wasn't. I didn't understand what was going on, but I felt content that I would understand eventually.

The first thing that came to me was touch. It felt strange, feeling the ground beneath my hooves, a sort of gentle breeze floating lazily through the air. I could feel other things, too. The beating of my heart, the fur of my coat, my lungs expanding as I took my first breath. It felt strange. I had never had a heart before. Or a coat, or lungs. But I decided that it was a very good thing that I did.

Next, I felt my eyes open as I saw the world around me for the first time, millions of electrical signals rushing through my brain as the sight of the world rushed into my mind.

It was a bit boring, if I'm being completely honest.

Around me, I saw blue. An endless blue expanse, stretching off in every direction imaginable. Well, not blue, it was more of a cyan. Yeah, a sort of cyan void. That seemed right. I didn't know how I got here, but looking down at myself, I felt comfort in seeing my body. It was funny to think like this, I know, but just having a body was fascinating to me. I could see a white coat, stretching down to my hooves, which were tipped in a shiny, almost polished lavender. I gave one an experimental kick, chuckling as it responded to my command.

I turned my head, looking back at myself, also a new manoeuvre. I liked to think that I was getting the hang of controlling this thing. I saw a long, lavender tail, tipped with a sort of teal, and a couple of light blue wings sitting patiently by my side. I flapped them experimentally, revealing a slew of lavender feathers hidden beneath the primaries. I smiled. I think I liked these colours.

Raising a hoof to my face, I felt two tiny little horns protruding from my forehead. I somehow knew enough to know that these weren't normal for most ponies, and they felt different from a unicorn's. They didn't feel too magical… Shifting my weight, my attention was brought to my rear hooves, which felt… different. Looking back, I could see a number of sharp looking claws. I knew that they couldn't be normal either, but I didn't know how. If I wasn't a pony, then what was I?

I decided I would try and decide later, it wasn't really important. So, I decided to put one hoof in front of the other, making my way forward. Walking was clumsy at first, but I soon got the hang of it. Walking felt surprisingly natural, like I had done it before. Of course, I knew I hadn't. I was sure I didn't exist before a few moments ago. Was that how ponies came to be? They just 'woke up', like I did? Except, I didn't really wake up from anything. I was never asleep. I didn't know why, but I found it funny. Another new feeling.

Time passed quickly, walking at a steady pace through the void. I didn't have any specific place in mind, but I knew that I would know my destination when I saw it. As I walked, I kept musing about different topics, usually coming back to where, who, and what I was. I didn't have any answers yet, and I had more questions than I could count, but I was determined to find out anything that I could.

Would I be alone forever? Hopefully not. I would have liked to speak to somepony else at least once. Would I ever leave my void? Possibly. I did like it here, but I did want to get out and explore the wide world I knew was out there. What was I? I had no idea. I wasn't a pony, that much was clear, but I wasn't really anything else either. Dragon? Draconequus? I had no answers. Who was I?

I stopped in my tracks. Who was I? I couldn't just keep calling myself 'me' forever now, could I? That would seem a lonely existence, all by myself until everything just… stopped…

I decided I wouldn't worry about it.

I just needed to keep walking, and I would find something eventually, I just had to!

So I kept walking.

And walking.

And when I thought I would finally just give up, to sit down and forget it all, I saw it.

In the distance.

I wasn't sure what it was, but it was something.

So I ran.

I ran towards it, stumbling and falling over my own hooves a couple times, but I ran. I ran and I smiled as I closed in on the object. Soon, it began to come into focus, and I slowed to a stop as I stood before it.

A door.

A door made out of a sort of purple crystal, with an ornate silver handle, standing tall and proud, folding the void around itself. Where could it lead? My ears twitched as I thought I could hear voices through the door. I knew they were voices, they just couldn't be anything else! It was wonderful, finally hearing something besides the clip-clop of my hooves on the ground.
I took the handle in my hoof, but I hesitated. Would whoever was behind the door want me? I mean, as far as I knew, there could be nobody else like me anywhere in the world. Was I a freak? I knew I wasn't normal.

No. I was determined to see the world, and I was going to do that, freak or not.

Pushing down on the handle, I felt the door click, opening towards me. Smiling, I pulled it open as wide as I could, stepping through it, and into the world for the very first time.

Around me, I saw a hallway of pale purple crystal, doors lining the walls, a large glass window at one end. I gasped, rushing over and pressing my muzzle up against it, looking out into the world.

What I saw would stay with me for the rest of my life.

A quaint little town, with ponies of all ages, sizes, colours and species going about their daily lives. The buildings were a pleasant pale yellow, with pinks dotted sporadically around, giving the town a sort of cute little fantasy feel. Beyond the buildings, I could see a farm, with what had to be hundreds and hundreds of apple trees. For as long as I had lived, which wasn't saying much, mind you, I had wanted to see lush green trees. Maybe I could finally taste an apple or two? I smiled at the thought.

Beyond that though, in the distance, was possibly the most amazing thing of all. Past the rolling hills, and the magnificent train, past the forests and plains, was a castle. Set into the side of a mountain, was a glorious castle. But even that wasn't the greatest part in my opinion. Behind the castle, rising slowly in the sky, was the sun.

I smiled wide as I felt the warm sunlight on my face for the first time, letting it warm me as I stood there by the window. I felt like I was floating, lost in a dream. For the first time, I felt truly happy, and in that moment, I decided that it was my favourite feeling of all.

Now, I could have stayed there forever, and I probably would have, given the chance, but I was once again reminded of the voices.

I pulled myself away from the window, my ears twitching as I listened. I headed to the other end of the corridor, smiling at the door that held my void, before heading off to find whatever was speaking.

Wandering through the castle, I didn't see many others. Though I did come across a rather peculiar room. It had a fireplace embedded in one of the walls, with a table set in front of it. Surrounding the table, a few comfortable looking couches stood, giving the room a sort of cosy air to it. Though I did notice something. On the mantle of the fireplace, there were three photos, sitting in simple wooden frames. One contained five ponies, all smiling for the camera. They all looked happy, and I felt the memories made within this photo were special to many. The second, a picture of two alicorns, one light and one dark. I felt as if I knew them, but I couldn't exactly place the names.

The last photo though, confused me. It was turned down, as if the owner didn't want to see the photo contained inside the frame. I picked it up, looking down upon the photo. It was simple, just like the rest, but this one felt slightly different somehow. In the frame sat two figures. A purple alicorn, and a baby dragon. They both held eachother close. They were family, I could deduce that much, even though they seemed to be of two completely different species. It felt… sad somehow. It was as if the memories associated with it were painful, as if the people in the photograph had passed away. It was disheartening to think about.

I put the photo back, face down on the mantle of the fireplace. I didn't want to feel sad anymore. There was nothing about the photo that even suggested that it was sad, but somehow, I just sort of knew, felt the aura around it…

I crept back out of the room, back on my path towards the voices, the crystal walls glinting in the light as I passed them. That did help me to cheer up somewhat.

As I neared the voices, I could start to make out some of their conversation.

"You sure you're okay? You've been through a lot over the last few months."

"For the last time, Pixel, I promise, I'm fine! You worry about me too much."

"I know, but you're one of my best friends, Splight, and it was hard for me, seeing you like that…"

"Heh. You're a dork, you know that?"

Rounding the corner, I could see two creatures. They were both facing away from me, sitting at a round crystal table with a number of tall thrones surrounding it. I silently entered the room, standing close behind them. They didn't seem to notice me at first, so I decided to do my best to introduce myself.

"Hello! Who are you?"

Wow, alright, that felt weird. And was that really what my voice sounded like? It sounded funny. A bit high pitched. I liked it.

Both of them had jumped and were now staring straight at me, eyes wide. One was a white pegasus with a blue mane and glasses, and the other... Well, I couldn't really place it. They looked like a big purple dragon, but there were a couple things that didn't quite sit right with me. Some sort of weird dragon-pony mix? That was actually kinda cool.

The two glanced at eachother, obviously pretty bewildered. Was I using that word right? Bewildered? Probably not. Either way, I probably could have handled that better.

The pegasus turned to the dragon-pony. "Splight?" He muttered skeptically. "What did you do?"

The dragon flinched. "I didn't do anything! I've never seen this thing before in my entire life!"

They both fell silent, obvious tension between them. Was I a thing? I didn't think I was a thing. And did it even matter?
Maybe, maybe not. All in all, I didn't really mind. So what if I was a thing? I was going to be the best thing that had ever lived! It sounded like being a thing was bad though…

"So, uh…" the dragon looked down at me anxiously. "Do you have a name?"

I stared. I didn't think so. Was that bad? I shook my head, fiddling with my hooves. I could feel their eyes on me. I was getting a feeling from this, and I didn't think I liked it.

The dragon hesitantly moved towards me, holding out a claw. "I'm Splight. And that's Pixel." They pointed to the Pegasus, who was looking on nervously. I took their claw, shaking it. Pixel waved, managing a little smile. "So where did you come from, little pony?"

I smiled. I knew that one! "From that door back there! With the big blue void!"

Both of them stared at me, concern written across their muzzles for a moment. "Splight?" Pixel asked. "Can I talk to you for a second?"Was this bad? Did I say something wrong? I watched as Splight let Pixel drag them out of the room, closing the two large doors behind them, leaving me alone. This didn't feel good, but I couldn't put a hoof on why. Was there something wrong with me? I knew I wasn't normal, born of the void, without name or purpose. Maybe I was some sort of mistake, a glitch in the code of the universe. Maybe. But I couldn't really be an accident, right?

I sat down on one of the many thrones surrounding the massive crystal table, one with a sort of rainbow coloured lightning bolt on it. It looked kinda cool. I waited as the others talked outside. They were discussing me, I knew that much. What else could they be talking about? Some random pony-dragon hybrid showing up without any explanation, materialized from the void. I didn't know much, but I did have enough general knowledge to know that this wasn't normal.

My ears twitched as I managed to catch some of their conversation.

"Okay, so what do we know about them?" I could hear Pixel pacing. "They came from the void, which I didn't even know was possible, it being a void and all, they don't have a name, memories beyond today, or anything of the sort, despite clearly having enough general knowledge to get by, and most importantly…" He paused, sighing. I could feel the anxiety in his voice. "And most importantly, they look like us…"

"And I don't think they had any real gender." Splight spoke up. "I can identify with that…"

I crept closer to the door, my ears twitching as I continued to eavesdrop.

Pixel stopped pacing. "All I want to know is how there's another… whatever you are…" He paused. "Another dragonpony…"

"Yes, but take note of the fact that we're both still here." Splight explained. "When Twilight and Spike fused to create me, they weren't exactly running around afterwards."

Pixel hummed quietly. "So they weren't created through a spell, or at least not the same one that caused you… Any other ideas? You're a lot better with magic than I am."

Splight thought for a second. "Well, they obviously have a connection to the void, and a connection with us, but the only way I could think of something like that being created would be some sort of aura transfusion… I think I may have a book on the subject in the library…"

Pixel fell silent. It was almost if I could feel his realization, pieces of a puzzle coming together in his mind. Granted, I had no idea what those pieces were, but it was still a nice feeling nonetheless.

"What?" I heard Splight ask. "So you have something?"

Pixel's pitch rose. "Okay, this is probably a stupid idea, but remember back when you… broke down, as it were?" Splight nodded. "Well, you were sort of… leaking magic…"

I pushed the door open, peering through the crack. Pixel was back to pacing, his wings flapping enthusiastically. He looked a lot less anxious, which was good I guess.

"So you're saying a little bit of me escaped into the void?" Splight was obviously concerned. "That doesn't sound safe…"
Pixel shrugged. "I mean, yeah, it's just a theory. Besides, it's all we've got right now."

"But what about you? If we came together to make... that, then where do you come in?"

Pixel fidgeted. "Well..." He stared down at his hooves. "I did spend a lot of time with you while you were out..."

Splight smiled at that. Out? What was that supposed to mean? Like, out to the shops, or unconscious? Eh. I'd have to learn the lore later. But the real hit was being called a 'that' again... Being regarded like I was nothing... like I had no equinity... I don't know what happened, but it fired something inside me... filled me with a feeling I hadn't felt before, but knew full well what it was, and what I was about to do. I was mad...

"I'm not a thing!" I yelled suddenly as I threw open the massive crystal doors. "I may not look like it, but I'm a pony just as much as you are! You can obviously accept whatever they are, so why not me, huh?! Yes, I'm a freak! And maybe I was never supposed to exist! But speaking about me like I'm some sort of puzzle to be solved isn't helping anyone! I'm not a 'that', I'm a me! I might have been born an hour ago, but I'm not stupid!"

Pixel and Splight stared at me as I stood fuming in the main hall. Y'know, I felt a bit better after that. Getting my thoughts out and yelling a little kinda helped. Heck, I didn't even know I could be that loud. And now that I thought about it, my throat was a little hoarse... Heh... another new feeling. No shortage of those today.

Slowly calming down, I looked up at the two in front of me. Sighing, Splight stepped towards me, leaning down and embracing me in a hug. "I know how you feel…" they said simply. "You're new… Strange… Not something that some ponies want to see…" Wow, not really helping my mood here, Splight. "But you're you… and everything around you is a brand new experience… for everypony… and that's scary…"

Pixel walked up to us, fidgeting nervously. "Hey, sorry about… all that… probably could have handled that better…" I nodded as Splight let me go, letting me trot up to him. "But hey, new beginnings, right? Let's get you some food. You hungry?"

I nodded, and he smiled, leading the way to the kitchen. Things calmed down after that. While Pixel scrounged around for something for me to eat, Splight and I compared ourselves. It seemed that I was more pony than dragon, which I guess was nice, spawning in a town of ponies and all.

After that, we discovered that I could eat gems, which was amazing. Pixel had found a couple topaz, which were the most fantastic things I had ever eaten. Granted, they had been the only things I had ever eaten in my relatively short existence, so I really didn't really have the greatest gauge of these sorts of things. Point still stood though.
Anyway, while Splight read up on void dynamics, Pixel sat with me and tried to come up with a name for me. After a while, we settled on a name that I thought sounded rather pretty...

Mystic Quartz...

I thought it was funny. Mostly because not even Celestia knew where I had come from, hence the whole mystic thing. Still unclear on who exactly Celestia was, by the way. Splight liked the name. Said that Mystic Quartz was a particularly rare gem. Tasted pretty bland apparently, which was honestly a little disappointing. Just quartz in a fancy suit according to them.

After that, Pixel took me on a walk through the void. It was a little nostalgic for me, revisiting my birthplace… Was still pretty boring, if I'm being completely honest. We did find a couch though. Couple bits and a raisin between the cushions. Probably the most interesting thing to come out of the void, even considering the only other option.

Splight ended up doing a few tests. Most of them were pretty simple, just general knowledge I had no idea I had. We did find out that I was far-sighted though, and needed glasses to read. Pixel managed to fish out an old pair of his. Didn't help much, but I thought they looked pretty handsome on me.

As the sun began to dip, Splight led me into one of the many guest rooms in the castle. My very own room. It wasn't much now, just a bed and a desk, but I knew I could make it work. I smiled as I climbed in bed, snuggling under the covers. Soon, I was alone again, the lights dimmed. Seeing the shadows dance across my walls, I went over the day's events in my head, playing back my limited existence. From the void, to the rocky beginnings, to where I was now, everything just seemed… right.

I didn't know where I was headed, and I wasn't even sure if the general populous would accept me as they eventually had with Splight, who had become my sort of unofficial parent, but all in all, I was content that everything was going to be amazing.