Phase Shift

by redtau


Day 20: Experiments in Crashing

Day 20: Notes on another world

As I may have previously noted, my body is slowly accumulating some kind of arcane energy. This buildup can become painful when it stretches the limits of what I can hold. Imp tells me that the more I use the power and the more I let it build, the more I will eventually have access to.

With the help of Dusk Shine I have managed to create a simple ball of telekinesis that I can use to bleed off the excess power. While I cannot lift or manipulate objects with this ball of force, I can knock them around fairly easily. The little spheres are mentally controlled, and can usually smack something twice before dissipating. I've managed to pull out three sequentially and hold them around me.

Unfortunately, being mentally controlled means that anything that breaks my concentration becomes the immediate target of any spheres I've summoned, and once they are "fired" I can't really call them back. I've given a couple of my friends near misses and at least one intruder got a black eye and a broken camera for their troubles.

Today Imp, Dusk and I are going to see if I can't copy any other abilities into a more stable form.

I grinned and waggled my fingers at the poor pony stuck in the nest of wires. Rainbow Blitz sighed and hung his head.

"Is this going to take much longer?"

"Just a few seconds more." Dusk looked over the paper readout and adjusted a knob. "There, I've recorded your basic energy levels and attributes."

"Great!" Blitz bulled off the cap and started unsticking the wires. "I know you are a major egghead Dusk, but I never want to have to sit through this little mad science routine again."

Dusk grimaced. "Actually, you're going to have to after the scan, that's why I needed this as a baseline."

Blitz groaned. "When you said 'Hey, want to teach Justin how to fly' this was NOT what I had in mind."

"Relax Blitz, we should be all done with the readings for a while." I waved a large broach at him. "The next bit will be fun."


Blitz hovered in the air, slowly flapping his wings. "How is this fun?"

"I need to understand how you do what you do." Imp said, flying around the blue pony. "You know you're about as aerodynamic as a brick right now, right?"

"Hey!"

"Blitz, think about what your are doing." I said, waving at him. "You are hovering in the air by barely flapping your wings."

"So?"

"So? A hummingbird is the only animal I can think of off the top of my head that can hover at all, and they have to beat their wings impossibly fast! Every other animal in existence, even here in the magical land of Equestria, is envious of your ability to just do what you are doing Right Now."

Blitz seemed to consider this before nodding. "Yeah, I am pretty awesome."

"Butterscotch can do this too." Imp said.

"And he's awesome as well, what's your point?" Blitz was defensive of his pegasus friend.

"I've got the basic form," Imp redirected, "can you show me some higher powered flight?"

"Finally!" Blitz groaned before taking off like a rocket. I watched in awe as he zipped through the sky, making hairpin turns that would have been impossible for anything bound even remotely by the laws of physics. As a grand finale he shot so high I lost sight of him.

A few moments passed in silence before I turned to Dusk. "Did, uh, did he just fly off and leave?"

Dusk squinted into the sky for a moment, then his eyes got real wide. "INCOMING!"

I looked back up to see the blue pony pushing a white shock-wave through the air. A moment later he passed through the barrier and a sonic boom shook the trees and rattled the windows. Additionally, a huge circular rainbow aura burst from the point and stretched across the sky. The prismatic aura settled over me and I could instantly feel my magic filling to near bursting.

"What was that?" I asked aloud as I pulled a spirit ball up and sent it chasing a falling leaf.

"You like it?" Blitz was already on the ground next to me. "I call it my Sonic Rainboom! Pretty cool huh?"

"It is awesome!" I turned to Imp. "Tell me you were recording, tell me I can do something like that!"

Imp laughed. "Yeah, sure, if you can hold about a thousand times the magic you currently have in your body then maybe you can do that, maybe. Otherwise, let the professional lunatics break the sound barrier in their birthday suit and you just sit back and enjoy the show."

"What's a birthday suit." Dusk asked.

"What you were wearing when you were born."

"Humans get dressed up when they are born?" Blitz looked confused and a little disgusted. "How would that even work."

"It means naked. You were naked when you did the Rainboom. Dusk is naked right now. Ninety percent of ponies are naked all the time."

"Oooooh." Blitz said in realization, then thought for a bit. "Why didn't he just say naked then?"

"Imp, please tell me you got the pattern down properly this time!"

"Well, I've got it," Imp held the bright blue broach up to me. "But it needs something to work on. You don't have wings, so it's going to borrow your power and your cape to give you some. Temporarily at least."

I clasped the thing in front of my throat and felt a surge of power. A moment later the pressure from the magical headache dropped.

"Alright, I think it's working. How do I turn it on?"

"No idea boss, it's supposed to be intuitive."

I looked around, noting our location in Dusk's front lawn and grumbled. With a sigh I began to swish my cape around, flap it around, run while holding it out, anything to make it work. All I got was chuckles from Dusk and Blitz, along with some odd stares from ponies on the road.

"Well, I've got no idea. Dusk?"

The unicorn's horn lit with a purple glow. "I can detect your magic on the stone, and on the cape, but it still seems inert." Dusk tapped his foot to his chin a few times. "Maybe, since Imp recorded Blitz in flight, you need to be up in the air to use the power?"

I did a little hop while glaring at the smirking Blitz. "I'm already the laughing stock of the block. If I'm seen jumping off ladders while flapping my arms, I'm gonna get laughed out of town."

"That's alright, I've got an idea."


The huge purple sack overhead rustled as the arcane heater pushed more hot air into the envelope. Never a fan of heights in any situation, I was huddled at the bottom of the balloon basked with a white knuckle grip on a rope.

"THIS IS A TERRIBLE IDEA!" I yelled at Dusk again.

"<Is he still complaining?>" Dusk asked Imp, who nodded. I'd been complaining since we got off the ground, but Dusk was certain this was going to work. He was going to have me jump from the balloon at a reasonable height of a few hundred feet, which would give me time to work out the fight mechanics before I hit the lake below. Said lake was why my translation spell was currently off.

Blitz was following along under his own power, and had been trying to reassure me with calm gestures. It wasn't helping.

"<Alright, we are at the proper height. Time for him to jump.>" Dusk said.

"<Don't worry buddy, I've got you.>" Blitz soothed.

"It's go time boss." Imp tugged at my shirt with a grin. "Come on."

"You can tell them I'm not jumping out of a perfectly good balloon." I saw a gleam in Imp's eye. "And you are not going to sabotage it just to make me jump."

"<Why is he still sitting there?>" Dusk asked, "<Science awaits.>"

I stood up and got right in the pony's face. "You put me back on the ground right now!"

Dusk waved over the edge of the basket.

I shook my head.

Dusk made a pleading gesture followed by a motion to the edge. Blitz mimicked a dive.

I stomped my foot, crossed my arms, and shook my head.

I realized that I had let go of the rope I was holding to do so about the time a purple aura enveloped me and threw me from the balloon. I fell, screaming, kicking my feet and flailing my arms. I was going down and all I wanted was to go up instead just a little-

For a brief moment my cape seemed to unflurl and a pair of translucent feathered wings appeared. They were the same black and tan as the cape, but looked like they were made of glass. The wings flapped once, and suddenly I was going upward again.

I'd done it! I'd mastered flight! I could soar among the clouds free and I'm Still FALLLING!

The uppward motion lasted only a moment before gravity grabbed me and pulled. Blitz, thinking I'd gotten it had backed off and was a little slow in getting to me before I hit the lake.

The water didn't burn, thank goodness, but my clothes and cape were not designed for swimming. I sturggled as the surface of the lake slipped further away. I didn't burn, but I still needed to breathe.

My boots touched the muddy bottom and I pushed off as hard as I could, reaching for a surface that was just beyond my fingertips. As I started to slip down again the wings came back. Their ghostly nature was even stranger in the water, as they had no drag or pull but still propelled me upwards.

I broke through the surface and gasped air, flailing about for help. As I started to sink again Blitz caught my arm and pulled, keeping me above water and dragging me to shore.

"<Stay with me! I've got you.>" he yelled, and I waved and smiled up at him. He let me go when the water was only about chest deep and I wadded the rest of the way.

Dusk sat on the shore, his magic already drying me off and scanning me over. Imp flew over to me as I worked to catch my breath.

"What happened boss?"

"Well, I got it to work, sort of."


Walking back I showed my mastery of my new skill, jumping in the air and producing a sudden woosh of ghost wings and a higher elevation. I caught a tree branch that was nearly fifteen feet off the ground and hung there for a moment.

"It has to be your inter-dimensional nature, like with the telekinetic spheres." Dusk said.

"There's no wind or air movement from you flapping." Blitz noted. "How is that even possible?"

"I could do it submerged too with no resistance." I looked to Imp. "Any explanation would help."

"I don't think you are pushing against the air when you flap, more like you are pushing against reality." Imp looked over the amulet. "If I had time and your companion, we might be able to perfect this, but right now it looks like you have to reset after each flap."

"Yeah, I noticed I couldn't flap again after hanging from the tree." I paused to rub my sore legs. "But there's another question I've got. Dusk teleported down to the shore after splashdown right?"

"Of course!" Dusk put a hoof to his chest. "I was worried about you."

"Where is your balloon?"

Both ponies paused, looked at me, looked at each other, and then glanced skyward where a purple dot was rapidly disappearing on the horizon.

"I got it!" Blitz cried, a rainbow blur streaking up into the sky.


Gilded Hoof opened the packet from the strange new Justin, levitating the silver letter opener (Minotaur Adjunct, 996 AN) and slipping the sharp edge in skillfully. The sheaf of papers slid onto the desk and Gilded lifted the gold and crystal manacle (Griffon Criminal Expulsion Request, 982 AN) and scanned over them. Each was filled out properly and appeared correct. After flipping through them all he lifted the papers up and shook them, followed by the envelope. Nothing else fell out.

Frowning, Gilded pulled a fresh piece of paper and lifted a gem encrusted quill (Princess Cerulean Information Request, 1000 AN) before scratching out a simple letter.

Dear Applicant,

We appreciate your continued vigor and determination in your goal of becoming an

Gilded paused and consulted the forms.

an Inter-dimensional ambassador for ARCO. We here in the Canterlot Records Office wish you the best and want to help you in any way we can. However, your recent application was missing a few Bits.

Gilded chuckled at the subtlety of that line.

Please resubmit the forms and double check that there is nothing else you wish to add.

Nodding, Gilded signed and sealed the note before dropping it in the mahogany outbox (Yak Damage Compensation Submission, 979 AN). He looked over the submitted forms before nodding to himself. They had been expertly completed, it was nice to see a creature taking the paperwork that made Equestria run so seriously for once. There wasn't any hoofprints, jelly stains or doodles anywhere.

With a smile on his face, Gilded selected three of the hardest forms and placed them in an old silver pail beside his desk (Dragon Migration Registration, 725 AN). His predecessors had always found great use for it. As soon as the papers hit the bottom there was a bust of dragon fire and the forms were no more.