//------------------------------// // Chapter 14: Coincidence // Story: Chaotic Harmony: Do Over // by shirotora //------------------------------// The calm of the night was shattered by screaming and crashing as a pegasus stumbled and tripped in a panic through the halls of the palace. “Oh god! Oh god! Oh god!” the pegasus screamed as he turned a corner and slammed into a table, knocking a vase of flowers off. “What the fuck is going on?!” All he knew was that one moment he was hanging out with his friend, and the next he was in some weird place, in a weird body being chased by a weird tiger monster. Another of the horse things came around a corner, wearing what looked like a maid outfit. Still not accustomed to his quadrupedal stance, he plowed into her, hard. The hit the ground in a tangle. He disengaged from the other creature as fast as he could, gave a quick apology and continued his mad dash through the halls. “Zack?!” he called, desperately. “Where are you, man?! This isn’t funny!” “Wait, please!” someone called, but he ignored it. It was probably that tiger monster trying to eat him. He had to get out of there. Maybe he could hide until they gave up. He crashed through the first door he saw, tumbling through as he heard a woman yelp. “Huh?” He looked up just in time to see an angry looking horse thing launch something glowing right at his face. “Thank you. I don’t think we have anymore questions,” the guardspony said as he finished taking our statements. “If there’s anythin’ else we can do, just let us know,” I said. I sighed and slid down into the couch. The night had been going so well, and then, bam! I was suddenly being led on a merry chase through the palace. I tried to relax, spinning a feather the poor guy lost in his panic. “This is one hell of a coincidence, isn’t it?” Jynx asked. “First you, now him.” “You think it might not be?” I asked. “Well, I’m not saying it isn’t just a coincidence, but the odds are pretty far out there,” she answered. “Right now, all that matters is that he’s lost and confused,” I said. “We can solve that little mystery later.” Jynx settled next to me. “Yeah, I know. It’s just on my mind right now. I’m not going to poke and prod the guy before he’s ready.” “Good.” Jynx regarded me with a curious look. “You’re taking a particular interest in him, aren’t you?” “Well, he did kind of land in our laps, didn’t he?” I replied. “And interrupted our fun before it even started.” Jynx said with a smirk. “We can always have fun later.” Jynx gave me a concerned look. “Yeah, you seem to be a bit distracted, anyway.” I gave a little snort in amusement. “Can you blame me?” “No, I guess not,” Jynx said with a small smile. “Why don’t we just go to bed?” I sighed. “Yeah. That sounds good.” As the morning sun filtered through the window, Cedric winced and tried to roll over, only to find himself unable to do so. “The hell?” he mumbled, groggily. He tried to move his arms, but found himself bound to the bed he was in. “What the fuck?!” He pulled against the bindings, but couldn’t move an inch. Not even his head could move. As if someone was just waiting for him, the door opened and in walked one of those horse things he saw the night before. At least, he was pretty sure it was. He couldn’t see it very well from where he was, but he could see it out or the corner of his eye. “Oh, god. It wasn’t a dream,” he uttered to himself. “Good morning,” the horse thing greeted. “What the fuck’s going on? Who are you and what did you do to me?” Cedric demanded. “Let me go!” “Sir, please calm down,” it pleaded. “We had to restrain you for your own protection, as well as our own. I know you’re probably confused and frightened, and you have every right to be. First, this isn’t something we did to you, but it is something we would like to help you with.” “Then who the hell did?!” Cedric yelled. “Where the hell am I?!” “You’re in one of the guest rooms in the palace of the Crystal Kingdom,” the horse explained. Cedric swallowed his nerves. “Am I... whatever you are?” The horse nodded. “More or less. You aren’t exactly like me, but of the same species.” Cedric felt his resolve shatter. “H-how?” “We still don’t know,” the horse said sympathetically. “But you aren’t alone. There are others here, many others, that have gone through the exact same thing you are now. In fact, one of them is right here, wanting to help you, if you want to see him.” “What do you mean they went through the same thing?” “I mean, they were humans on Earth, now they’re something else here.” Cedric thought for a second before nodding his head. “Alright, I’ll send him in,” the horse said before leaving out the door. “I’ll remove the restraint spell, now, since you seem to be in control.” Cedric saw a light and felt his body loosen. “Alright, I’ll be right outside the door. If you need anything, just yell.” With that, the horse left. Cedric sat up as well as he could, forcing himself to sit the way a dog would. It felt natural, anyway. Not ten seconds after the nurse, or who he assumed was a nurse, left the door opened again and in walked the very same tiger monster that chased him the night before. The guy looked utterly terrified. I couldn’t really blame him, but it did hurt a little. “Hey,” I said, trying to be as calm as possible. “So, welcome to the Crystal Kingdom, Ah guess.” He seemed to relax slightly. “Y-you’re human?” “Ah used to be, yeah,” I replied. “From Virginia, USA. Where are you from?” “Seattle, Washington,” he answered. “So, Ah know you have a ton of questions. Heck, Ah still got questions and Ah’ve been here for months,” I said with a chuckle. “Months?” He asked, eyes widening. “Does... does that mean...” I sighed. “Yeah, there ain’t no goin’ back, Ah’m afraid.” “You mean, ‘not yet’, right? Someone’s looking for a way to send us home,” he said, almost pleading. “Well, there are folks still lookin’ into it, but this has been happenin’ for eight hundred years,” I explained. “You know all those folks that disappear without a trace and are never seen again? Well, some of them come here.” The guy looked contemplative for a moment before asking, “How many of us are there?” “Thousands. Ah don’t know the exact number, but it’s a lot,” I replied. “We’re all over the place, and most of us are willin’ to help out. “By the way, mah name’s Shiro,” I introduced myself, holding out a paw. “Uh... Cedric,” he said, accepting my paw. “Is that your real name?” I shrugged, “It is now. Most of us take on names to better fit in with our new lives.” “So what was your name before?” he asked. I let out an exaggerated gasp, bringing my paw to my chest in mock indignation. “Oh, my. How rude.” I let out a little chuckle. “Nah, but seriously, it actually is considered rude to ask a native about past names.” “Really?” “Yeah, but don’t worry, there’s actually classes to help you learn stuff like that,” I said. “In fact, if you want to come home to Ponyville with me, Ah can introduce you to the teachers. Ah’m friends with all of them.” Cedric’s eyes widened in realization. “Wait, Ponyville? I’m a pegasus... Holy shit, am I in that My Little Pony show?” I laughed. “You a brony?” He shook his head. “No, but a couple of my friends are. I saw the first few episodes and didn’t really care for it.” “Ah, well, to answer your question, you are but you aren’t,” I tried to explain. “It’s more accurate to say you’re in the world that the show is somehow based on. Kinda like when Hollywood makes a movie ‘based on a true story’.” “Huh,” Cedric looked at his hooves. “I guess that’s why they don’t exactly look like they do in the show.” “Bingo.” Cedri sighed. “Okay, so, when can I leave?” “Well, that’s up to the doc and the prince,” I said. “You kinda did barge in on him. Don’t worry, though. He’ll let you go soon as the doc says you aren’t gonna hurt anyone. We aren’t leavin’ town for a few days, though, so we’ll have to get you situated. “Ah got somewhere Ah gotta be in a few minutes, though, so someone’ll be by to help you out.” “Thanks,” Cedric said. “You’re a good guy.” “Well, Ah feel there’s a reason we were brought together,” I said. “Why’s that?” I gave him a smile as the sunlight hit his ruby coat, refracting through the crystalline fur and feathers. “Because we’re both extinct.” “How is he?” Jynx asked. “Ah think he’s gonna be okay,” I answered. “I hope so,” Jyn said. “Anyway, come on. We’re late, as it is.” “Lead the way,” I said with a flourishing bow. We left the palace and made our way toward the Crystal Spire. As we approached, we started seeing the aftermath of its appearance along with Sombra’s Remnant. Black crystals jutted from the ground, through buildings, and in the middle of parks. People of every race were still working to remove them. “Umbra crystal is dangerous and has proven to be very hard to move, due to the corrupting influence of the magic that made them,” Jynx explained, guessing where my mind was. “Yeah, Ah’m gettin’ ill just lookin’ at it,” I said. “Yeah, magic sensitive beings are especially susceptible to its effects. That’s why there aren’t many ponies working to remove it,” Jynx explained. “The few that are have to be licenced to work with it. Minotaurs are resistant to it, which is why there are so many. Hundreds have been hired just for this.” Soon enough, we made it to the base of the Crystal Spire, where Shining Armor and a few other ponies were waiting. Among them was one pretty purple princess that immediately stepped forward to give us both a hug. “Hello, Shiro,” Twilight greeted. “How do you like the Crystal Kingdom?” “It’s nice,” I said. “Wonderful people, beautiful city, ancient extinct ponies interrupting dates...” “Shiny told me about that,” Twilight said, adopting a thoughtful expression. “As much as I would love to learn about him, I share your and Shiny’s concerns that this might mean something.” “Ah’ve already invited him to stay with me,” I said. “For now, Ah think that’s all we can do until we know more.” Twilight nodded. “Agreed. For now, let’s focus on what we can do. Jynx.” Jyn stepped up and cleared her throat. “Alright, we’re heading in. If Shiro is able to open the doors, we will be exploring an area that is almost certainly trapped. Stay within the prince’s  barrier and don’t stray. Everyone knows their role. Stick to it and do things by the book. I don’t want to send anyone home in a jar.” With that, Jynx led us into the Spire. I’ll admit, I was nervous on top of being excited. If things went as we hoped, I would be one of the first people to see things that hadn’t been seen in over a thousand years. The halls we went through were already stripped of anything that wasn’t nailed down. If the damage to the floor and walls were any indication, even some things that were nailed down had been taken. We went up several flights of stairs to a mid level hallway. It was down this hallway that we found our destination. “Alright. Here it is,” Jynx said. “Twilight, Shining get ready to counter and spells that might trigger. Shiro, are you ready?” “As ready as Ah’ll ever be,” I said. “You know the risks, yes?” Asked one of the other ponies whose name I didn’t get. “Ah do,” I replied. “Ah trust Twilight and Shinin’.” I stepped up to the door as the two alicorns lit up their horns. I took a deep breath and reached out to the door and placed my paw on it. The door reacted immediately. The second my paw touched it, it lit up and  slid open.  Inside was what I can only describe as the lab of a mad scientist. Machines, weapons, tables full of disassembled experiments. One thing drew my attention, though. It was a box with a note attached. I took a look at the note. ‘Sombra, the first of the bracers are complete. I expect at least one pair for each of my brothers and sisters by the time we free them. Have your best enchanters duplicate them exactly.’ I opened the box and looked inside. Four bronze bracers, adorned with three rubies in a triangle on one side were inside. “For his brother’s and sisters?” I mumbled to myself. The way the note was addressed as if the writer saw Sombra as an equal told me that it must have been the tigerian that wrote it. That would mean these were made for tigerians. Like me. I took one of them out to get a closer look. As soon as I pulled it out, it started to glow and shot onto my wrist. “Holy shit! Help!” I yelped. Twilight ran to my aid. “What happened?” she asked as her magic glow surrounded my arm “Ah swear, Ah just took it out of the box! It just teleported onto me!” I said. She continued her magic work for a bit before saying, “I’m not detecting any malicious spells. Try taking it off.” I grabbed the thing and pulled. Sure enough, it lit up again and zipped right off. “Woah.” I put the bracer back up to my wrist and just like before, it teleported back on. “Awesome.” “Must be a safety mechanism to ensure it doesn’t come off by accident.” Jynx observed. “But, what are they?” I asked. “That’s a good question,” Jynx said, taking the note. “Hmm, I’d bet my tail this was written by the Surat. That would mean these, whatever they are, are made for tigerians.” “Ah don’t suppose Ah could keep one, could Ah?” I asked, giving Shining Armor a huge grin. “Come on, split the loot.” Shining armor laughed, shaking his head. “I’ll tell you what. Let our scholars take a look at them and figure out what they are, first. So long as they aren’t dangerous, you can have a pair, so long as they survive. But that’ll be your fee for getting the door open.” “Sweet!” I pumped a fist. “Epic loot!” “Don’t get too excited yet,” Jynx said. “We’re going to have to run tests and that’ll leave at least one of them damaged. Besides, we still have one door you need to open.” “Alright, where is it?” I asked. “Dusty Tome, Moon Dancer, you two stay here,” Jynx said. “Everyone else, let’s move to the other door.” “I’m going to stay here, too,” Twilight said. We went up even more stairs to the top floor. There were two doors up here. One of them big, ornate and decorated with Sombra’s crest. The other was smaller, less gaudy, and had the symbol of Kronos. “This was Surat’s quarters, so be ready for traps,” Jynx warned. Shining put up a shield between us and the door. I pushed my paw through the shield, the barrier conforming around my wrist. Like the previous door, as soon as I touched it, lines of runes on the door lit up and the door swung open. When nothing exploded, Shining armor sent a pulse of magic into the room. Two traps were still intact, but Jynx made short work of them and we all went in. She turned to us and started, “Alright, everyone spread-” A flash of light cut her off as I felt my body lock up. I struggle to move, but it was like I was petrified. I glanced around as much as I could, only able to move my eyes, and it seemed everyone else was in the same boat. All we could do was stand there. All except one. A pale grey mare with a black mane strolled past everyone, stopping beside me and giving me a friendly smile before continuing on. She walked inside the room, where I could hear her rummaging through things. She came back out with several books and an ornate obsidian dagger floating in her magic. She shot me a cocky smile as she passed. And then she just left without a single word, as if she was out for a stroll.