//------------------------------// // 2: It Came from Below // Story: My Little World // by CrackedInkWell //------------------------------// The crawlspace was barely big enough for Lauren. On her hands and knees with her phone in one hand and a baseball bat in the other with a thread of twine; she uncomfortably moved forward. Although something in the back of her mind told her that something about this was oddly familiar, she didn’t want to stop for anything. Not until she knew for a fact that her daughter was safe in this maze. From her only light source, she passed by the stucco, the wooden beams, the scattered collections of lost toys, knick-knacks, and neglected objects that she could have sworn were centuries old. But passing through the cobwebs and dust that threaten to suffocate her, only to pause to listen for any sign of her child, she pressed on. Eventually, the material around her kept changing from stucco, wood, wires, and pipes; to dirt, roots, and stones; to eventually solid crystal. In the light of her phone, the colors of blue, lilac, dark purple, and turquoise. The same shades and shapes of the crystal that was underneath the School of Friendship. Eventually, the space she was crawling in became wider where she could finally be able to stand up. Although mostly dark, the space she walked into was still light enough for her to see. And she couldn’t believe what was all around her. Although the cavern and tunnels were undoubtedly three-dimensional, yet, to her eyes, it somehow looked flat with its colors, shapes, and shading at the same time. She ran her hands over the reflective surface of the surreal walls, and they were solid despite looking animated. Lauren looked down at her hands. “You’re dreaming again Lauren.” She muttered to herself. “You’re not in a cartoon. It’s just a dream. Alice is safe in her room and not run off to a world you created.” She took a moment to pinch her arm hard. Yet, despite wincing at the pain, nothing happened. “This… This place can’t be real. It’s… It just isn’t.” She flashed her phone left and right. “Unless… I’m hallucinating? But how can that be? I never had one before and I’m certain I didn’t take anything before going to bed.” But in her ramblings, she paused at something terrifying. It wasn’t so much of what she saw or heard. Rather, the lack of it. In this cool crystalized cavern, it was quiet. When she was in the crawlspace, she could at least hear bits of her daughter. But now, there was nothing. “Alice!” She shouted desperately. “Alice, where are you!?” In the echoes of the underground, she listened intently, hoping to catch a giggle or a cry of her child. Instead, a moment later, something responded. A gentle clopping of hooves. At first, she couldn’t figure out where it was coming from, but it was getting closer. “Hello?” “Is somepony here?” Lauren was startled. Not because she heard a response, but rather because the one who responded… was in her voice. “Whose there?” “Over… here?” The hoofsteps got closer. Then out from one of the tunnels, she spotted not a shadow, but speckles of pink and purple light. It was faint at first, almost like a phantom, but Lauren could make out something shifting into a rather large horse. A thin white horse with enormous wings and a horn with a red, messy mane. The figure stopped. Its eyes were wide in shock and amazement. “It’s… Is it you?” Lauren instantly knows who it is. From the blue eyes to the quill cutie mark, this thing was her original character. Her Fausticorn looked back at her as dumbstruck as she was. The only difference was that this one was see-through and gave off a glow that was similar to what the Tree of Harmony gave when it went about in the form of Twilight. The human mother raised a figure. “This raises so many questions.” “How do you think I feel?” the alicorn copy questioned. “It isn’t every day that the author comes to this world. Let alone, the main one.” “Okay, stop, stop.” Lauren dropped the bat and put her phone in the pocket of her pajamas, running her fingers through her hair. “How? What? What’s going on? Who are you? Why are you sparkling?” “I am?” The Fausticorn blinked, looking at its hoof. “Huh. I guess I am. While I can say the same thing about you, I suppose a proper introduction might be in order. Although I take on many forms, I believe I’m known to you as the Tree of Harmony.” She shook her head. “No, no you’re not.” The alicorn tilted her head. “Why do you doubt me?” “For one, the Tree of Harmony has been smashed to pieces. It’s been destroyed. Finished. And the only time it manifests itself as anything, it was of Twilight Sparkle.” It nodded. “Yes, that is true. I do not deny that I was weakened by Sombra. But I am not gone. My roots are still under Equestria, and I have learned how to adapt, even in the grimmest of circumstances.” She walked closer. “Yet, now I sense a presence that is not of this world. Not just you, but another. It is this that I came to see.” Lauren laughed. “This is crazy!” she started walking in a circle. “I’m in my own show and now my daughter has apparently gotten lost in it! And to top it off, the Tree of Harmony is somehow not only dead but is going around as my OC.” “OC?” “Original character, but you know what? No.” She waved a hand at the alicorn, in which case it went through. “You are just a figment of my overworked imagination and I’m just in the process of having a mental breakdown. That’s it! That’s what all of this got to be. Just my brain giving me a hint that I’m working too much again.” Before she could start heading towards the crawlspace, she felt a strange, tingling sensation – like that of having one’s foot falling asleep – that surrounded all around her, Lauren found herself a foot off the ground. She swings her arms and legs; and shouts to be put down. But she noticed that the horn of the translucent alicorn was glowing. “Author of another world,” the tree said to her, “do you believe in me or not?” “Put me down!” Lauren demanded. “Alright! You proved your point! Put me down!” The transparent creature did. “You’re not telling me that… this is real?” The Fausticorn nodded. “I wouldn’t have come unless it’s something most serious.” Lauren gasped. “Alice! If this is all real then, that would mean that she could get hurt by the other creatures, the spells, and other dangers in this place! Where’s my baby?!” Closing its eyes and touching one of the crystalized roots, the tree focused as a light shimmered outward. “With Gallus, heading towards the surface. In the school library with students.” “Do you know how to get there?” Lauren asked, untying the twin around her ankle and then weaving it around a rock. “I need to get Alice back as quickly as possible.” The Phantom of the Tree leads the way. An air vent cover was moved aside where Ocellus’s head peaked out. A light blue Changeling with shiny eyes, a soft red mane, and chitin on her back. Looking around, there wasn’t anyone around as she climbed up. “I guess I must be the first here.” She mused, unrolling a piece of parchment. It was a rough map of the tunnels that were underneath the school – or at least, her portion of what she found. “I hope they didn’t go too far.” She heard the sound of pebbles being kicked aside. Turning around to the air vent, she was in time to see her Yak friend squeezing through. One that had brown, long fur, a braided mane, and a traditional green cloak on her back. “Where friends?” Yona asked. “I’m not exactly sure, but I’m sure they’ll be here soon.” Lending a hoof, she pulled her large friend out from the tight space. Once freed, she asked, “So did you get far with your tunnel?” She nodded. “Yona drew new tunnels and rooms. Some big as huts back home.” Taking out her map, she unrolled it on the floor. “Yona’s tunnel go on further. No time to record all. And nothing down there.” “Makes you wonder how come no one noticed this place when they built the school.” A third voice joined in. Out from the vent was a dragoness with orange scales, a pair of horns, and a purple fin on her head and tip of her tail. Smolder emerged from the tunnel entrance with a map of her own. “I swear they must go on for miles. It’s like a maze down there.” “Where’s Silverstream, Sandbar, and Gallus?” Ocellus inquired. “No clue.” The dragoness shrugged. “It’s nearly noon, and I haven’t seen any sign of them yet.” “Did you find anything?” She shook her head. “Besides crystals as far as the eye can see, nothing much to munch on.” “Yona hopes they’re okay. Underground easy getting lost in.” “Hey guys!” A voice called out along with an excitable quick trot of talons and hooves. Out from the air vent, Silverstream appeared. A light pink hippogriff with a mane as blue as the sea. Around her neck was a necklace that held a piece of a pearl. “There are tunnels that go underwater too! I tried to map those out but…” She held up a dripping wet parchment with smudged lines, “It got wet.” “So I guess you didn’t find anything either?” Smolder asked. “Well… I did find a city of gold, a cup that says ‘Holy Grail’ – whatever that means – and a chest that had Starswirl’s name on it that contained a bunch of weird magazines. Oh! That reminds me, did you know that Starswirl was into-” “Anycreature there?” A male voice interrupted. Smolder leans over the hole. “We’re up here Sandbar. Did you find anything?” “Nah, not really.” A moment later, a sea green pony with an unkempt mane and three sea turtles as a cutie mark walked out. “I just keep finding a bunch of dead ends. Did anycreature find anything?” “Silverstream might have.” Yona pointed out. “Silverstream found weird magazines from Starswirll.” “Really? Of what?” Before the hippogriff could excitedly tell it to her in detail, there was a scream that pierced through the moment like a butcher’s knife. “HELP! SOMECREATURE HELP ME!” However, before any of them could make a move, a blue griffon rushed out, slammed the cover of the air vent, and proceeded to put a bunch of heavy books on top of it. “Gallus, what happened?” Silverstream asked. Out of breath, he flew on top of the pile, sitting on it. “Guys… I think… I found something…” He said, panting. The Changeling could sense from her friend that the griffon was afraid. “Did you find a monster?” “I don’t know.” He said between breaths. “I found a crawlspace… it led to a… bedroom… I was ambushed…” “How did Griffon get out?” Yona asked. Gallus took a moment to catch his breath before speaking again. “Turns out, the thing that attacked me, was only a little kid, and its mother came with a club but… she didn’t hit me with it. Somehow… somehow that mother knew me so I was let go. But the kid uh… followed… me.” There were a thousand questions from the students, but before any of them could ask one, they heard a muffled voice of a little girl, knocking against the vent. “Cat bird. Play with me.” “Ugh! I am NOT a cat bird!” Gallus hollered to the floor. “And leave me alone! I don’t wanna play!” The library echoed out, and the griffon received the “Shush!” of shame. “Well… what creature is it?” Sandbar asked, tapping against the pile of books. “I don’t have a clue,” Gallus replied. “I don’t know what this… thing is.” “Play! Cat bird play!” The griffon stomped on a book. “My answer is still no.” “Can we see it?” Ocellus asked. “If this a new creature, don’t you think that maybe we should at least try to learn about it?” Smolder put a talon to her chin. “Actually… that wouldn’t be a bad idea. After all, we do have that report for Professor Fluttershy’s class coming up. So imagine the grade we’ll be getting if we do ours on a creature no one has seen before.” “I vote we study something else,” Gallus said, raising a claw. “Just not to the thing that really ought to go back to its mother.” “But I wanna have a peak,” Silverstream said. “C’ mon, let us see.” A groan escaped from him. Flying up to the second floor, he dove into an empty suit of armor, telling them that he was now ready. The other students pushed the heavy books aside and the cover for the air vent was pushed open. Forming a ring around the entrance, the creatures watched and hesitated with caution about what might be coming out. The first thing they saw was what they could describe as a soft claw. It wasn’t hard like a dragon, griffon, or hippogriff. It was almost a pink, sandy color. This was attached to an arm that was covered in a sort of flowing, fuzzy gown. Another such thing joined the first, and together they pulled into the light, a head. One with brown curly hair and an adorable round face. The face itself had no fur, or feathers, not even a beak or a muzzle as far as they could see it. It was perplexingly flat except for a nose that pointed out. The teeth weren’t sharp, nor did they realize that it had any claws or a tail when it crawled out and stood up. As far as they saw it, the thing was weird-looking, no doubt about it, but it didn’t come off as dangerous either. “Huh…” Smolder said with a raised eyebrow that matched her perplexed look. “Now there’s something you don’t see every day.” “What is that?” Silverstream reached out, touching the creature’s hand which was just as confused as she was. “It feels… squishy.” “Bird?” Alice asked. She giggled. “No silly. Hippogriff.” Alice still looked confused. “Hippo… quaff?” “Griff. Can you say, Griff?” The three-year-old took a moment to process this new word. “Gr…if?” “Mhmm.” Silverstream nodded. “That’s right. Griff. Now can you say, Hippogriff?” “Hippo… griff!” Upon hearing the name, she clapped her talons. “That’s it. That’s what I am. I’m a Hippogriff.” “At least it shows some signs of intelligence,” Sandbar commented. “Pony!” Alice ran over to the young stallion, wrapping around his neck like a boa constrictor and trying to swing a leg over his back. “Heyheyeheyheyheyhey!” Sandbar started running around the library while the child tried to mount on his back. “What are you doing!?” “Get off Sandbar!” Yona shouted as she and her friends tried what they could to get the strange creature off of the panicking pony. As much as they tried to pull her off, the girl stubbornly refused to be separated, if anything, it made her grip around Sandbar’s neck tighter. “Alice! Let go!” Before any of them could register what was happening, a longer pair of arms, similar to the fraying creature’s, instantly grabbed her and was lifted right off of the pony. “You do not piggyback on ponies without asking. That’s bad.” The students looked up, their mouths gaped. “What the-” they all tried to say at the same time, but the giant continued on. “And don’t just run off like that, you might have gotten hurt.” “Mom!” “It’s also way past your bedtime too. We are going home and that’s final.” Before the students, were not of one giant, but two. One who was holding the strange creature looked similar but quite different. The thing in which they assumed to be the mother was tall, wore a two-piece thin clothed pajama, had straight red hair, and had worn a mixture of anger and relief as she both hugged her child and scolded it at the same time. However, what got their attention was the alicorn in the room. One that had very much resemblance to the creature that was holding her child. Before Lauren could take a step towards the air vent, an orange dragon flew into her face. “Okay, that’s it! What’s going on? Who are you? What is it that you’re holding? And why is there an alicorn that looked like Celestia if her mane accidently died red and went through a lawnmower?” “Hey!” Both Lauren and the alicorn said at once. “That’s her!” Gallus, finally able to stick his head out from the suit of armor called out, pointing at the human. “That’s the mother I was talking about!” “But who is this?” Ocellus questioned, pointing at the alicorn, “And why is she see-through?” “Greetings young ones.” The Fausticron said. “Be not afraid, a major problem has just been resolved.” “Who are you?” The appetition blinked. “Oh, that’s right, you don’t recognize me in this form.” The spirit glowed and its shape was shrunken down and reformed into the image of Twilight Sparkle. “I believe you’re familiar with this one.” “The Tree of Harmony is still alive!” Silverstream exclaimed, “And… Apparently a shapeshifter.” It nodded. “Although my physical form can be shattered and rooted in one place, my spirit, does not. While my magic is weak, it is still enough for me to take on the most comforting form. As long as there is friendship, there too is harmony.” “And if you all excuse me,” Lauren said, taking a few steps to the underground entrance, “I am going straight home and back to bed where I can pretend that all of this is a dream.” A yak stood in her way. “Wait! Creature can’t leave now. Creature got here, unknown to everyone.” “Yeah,” Smolder nodded, “For all we know, you could be some rare species that none of us has ever heard of before. We don’t know what you are, and you’re going to just leave without asking any questions?” Lauren yawned. “Look… we need to sleep. As much as part of me wants to take a look around, I need to get this little troublemaker and myself to bed.” “But not without having Professor Fluttershy at least take a look at you?” Sandbar asked. Lauren paused. “It would be for just a moment.” “I don’t know if the Tree of Harmony would want to keep a lady up longer just so you could ask some- where did it go?” The spirit of the tree was nowhere to be seen. As much as the students looked around, even Gallus from above, all of them were surprised at the sudden disappearance. “That was weird…” Gallus got out of the suit of armor and gently floated down to them. “Look, I get you’re tired, and again, I’m sorry for waking you two up. So how about this – for now, how about we give you a place to sleep, and when you get enough, we’ll have the Professor ask some quick questions and you can go. You’ll never see or hear from us again. Just at least let us try to help you out a little.” ‘If I didn’t know any better,’ Lauren thought, ‘I’d say that right there is a combination of Fluttershy’s kindness, Rarity’s generosity, and Applejack’s integrity all rolled into one.’ A yawn from her daughter later, and Lauren had made up her mind. “Okay, fine. We’ll stay here until we get enough sleep. You can ask a few questions, but once you’re done, we’re headed home.” The students agreed to this.