//------------------------------// // The Wizard // Story: Up to Fate // by Onomonopia //------------------------------// With nothing but Nabu to guide them, the Pie family walked through the streets of Stalliongrad. Pinkie didn't like this city. Satyr guards stood at every corner, keeping an eye on the ponies that walked by. Some sort of strange, mechanical birds flew through the sky and Pinkie could feel their eyes on her back. She made sure that Lil' Cheese stayed close to her as they walked. Nabu had assured her that they would never see him, but Pinkie gripped the bag a little tighter. "So where are we going again?" Cheese asked his wife. "We're heading to an acquaintance-" 'Wrong.' "An ally-" 'Not entirely.' "We're heading to meet somepony Nabu knows who can help me learn about magic," Pinkie sighed. "Though to be honest, I'm surprised that you aren't going to teach me yourself, Nabu." 'I can teach you the ways of a Lord of Order. But something tells me that my method of teaching would be ineffective on you.' "Oh come on, I'm not that bad," Pinkie giggled. A nudge at her side caused Pinkie to look down at her son, who was motioning to something. Pinkie looked where he was indicating and saw something that made her heart sink. There were a large group of ponies being led into carts while chained. Stallions, mares...foals. 'Do not do it.' 'We could free them. It would be easy. And then you could use your power to erase their memories so that nopony ever remembered.' 'Yes, but to what end? We free these ponies. We erase everyponies memories of the events and continue on our way. It would happen again. That is the way this world works. That is why we must restore order. To make sure it does not happen.' 'You were sure willing to use your power to revive those ponies that Jack killed,' Pinkie pointed out. 'A train crash with dozens dead draws more attention. I had to fix it to make sure we didn't draw attention. Jack also needed to be dealt with. We need to keep moving and-' "I'm doing it," Pinkie muttered. 'I will stop you.' "Going to go against your promise already?" Pinkie asked. Nabu didn't reply. Pinkie reached into the bag and pulled out the helmet. Cheese moved his body to kind of shield her from others view as Pinkie slipped on the helmet. Power flooded through her and she focused her gaze on the ponies. The thought to free them had barely entered her head before the chains snapped and the carts all flung open. "Hey, what's going on?!" She held out a hoof and all of the Satyr's fell over, eyes blank and thoughtless. The ponies that had been imprisoned began to race into the streets, while the robotic birds began to dive down. Another wave of Pinkie's hoof sent the birds crashing to the streets in a pile of parts, giving the freed ponies a clean getaway. "See? Nothing to it," Pinkie said with a smile. She pulled off the helmet and slipped it back into her bag. "Now come on, let's go see that friend of yours." "I'm proud of you, honey," Cheese said as he pulled his wife into a hug. "That was so cool, mommy! You freed them all with your mind!" Lil' Cheese said, before trying to mimic what his mother had been doing. Yet as they walked, Nabu kept his sense on alert. His magical senses, at least. Pinkie was too new to magic. She wouldn't understand the rules, or at least the rules that he lived by. Magic always came at a cost. And while she may believe that what she did was a good thing, the scales would tip the other way. Mastering magic was all about balance. He hoped that this event would be too small to really cause an effect, to draw attention. But he had never gotten anywhere by hoping. And for a brief moment, he was certain that something had been watching them. † "This is the place?" Cheese Sandwich asked. "This has to be the place," Pinkie said. "What other building would look like that except for one where a wizard lives?" The building in question was a building in a run down part of Stalliongrad, far from the pry eyes of the guards, the birds and even the other ponies. It was a bright purple, had vines, bugs and all sorts of creatures hanging off of the walls. And there was the fact that there was a massive tower of vines growing out of it. Not built on top of it. Growing out of it. "This looks like one of those places you warned me to never enter," Lil' Cheese pointed out. Both parents found themselves secretly agreeing. "Nabu?" 'This is the place. Hold me up to the door. Then you shall be given entry.' Pinkie did as Nabu asked, walking over to the door and holding up the helmet of fate to it. The helmet glowed, the door glowed, and then the door was flung open to reveal the wizard the resided within the building. He had a gray coat, a white mane and beard, and a blue wizard hat with stars on it. As well as a spider that dangled from the tip. And he also looked like a complete lunatic. "The golden helm! Here at last!" the wizard exclaimed. His less than focused eyes then turned towards Pinkie, who had already stepped between the wizard and her son. "That must mean that you are the chosen one! The one who will bring order to the world and save us all!" "Um, sure?" Pinkie said. Faster than the three could register, the wizard grabbed hold of them and whisked them all inside. He slammed the door shut, activated over ten different tumblers and locks, and clapped his hooves, bringing over a hundred candles that were strewn about the place to life. The main living room was a mess. Books were strewn everywhere and covered every surface. Scrolls and quills stained furniture and carpets. Crystal balls were on every self, though some of them had fake snow and snowponies inside. There was a hat rack with seven different versions of the wizard hat that the wizard was currently wearing. And of course, there were spiders dangling from the tip of every hat. "Welcome to my abode, chosen champion," the old wizard wheezed. "I am the great wizard, Star-Swirl the Weirded!" "Star-Swirl the...Weirded?" Pinkie asked. "Yes! I believe that once upon a time I was named something else, but I cannot remember. Or maybe it was in the other world I was called something else," Star-Swirl murmured. Pinkie and Cheese shared a look at that. "You...you know of the other world?" Pinkie asked. 'Star-Swirl is one of the only ponies in this reality to remember the old one reality. The one that is supposed to be,' Nabu said. "Mommy, I hear a voice in my head," Lil' Cheese said. "Just one? Lucky," Star-Swirl muttered. "That's Nabu, sweetie. He's...in the helmet." "Like a genie?" 'Genie's wish they were as powerful as me.' "Nabu. You were saying?" 'Star-Swirl remembers the old world. I do not know how. Perhaps he tried to protect his mind when the entity altered reality? I do not know. But this is the result.' The Pie family looked at the old wizard again, who had started having a conversation into a fish bowl. 'A fractured mind that remembers the old world while trying to make sense of this one. But he serves my purposes. He is broken to the point the guards pay him no heed. Yet his magical prowess is still incredible strong.' "That's so sad," Pinkie muttered. 'If we fix this reality, then he will be fixed. Your focus should be to learn how to use my power as quickly as possible,' Nabu said. "Why don't you just put all the magic you know into mommy's head?" Lil' Cheese asked. 'How can you hear me?' "It's easy now that I know what to listen for." "Aw, that's my little guy," Pinkie said. She pulled her son into a hug and rubbed his mane, getting him to giggle. '...your mothers mind is mortal. If I were to show her a fraction of my mind, it would break her. Accessing my full power...she could never handle it. You must be taught. You must learn.' "Yes, you are here to learn the ways of magic. Of the mystic arts. Of course, only unicorns and alicorns can learn these, but you posses a source of power greater than all of those combined," Star-Swirl said. For a moment as he gazed upon the helmet his eyes seemed to focus. "Yes, teaching the ways of magic. This feels...right. This feels like what I was meant to do. When I look upon you, I feel as if the world of friendship and kindness still exist. It exists in you." "So you'll teach me?" Pinkie asked. "To use...this?" "You hesitate," Star-Swirl noticed. Pinkie nodded and swallowed hard. "The last time I used this power, truly...used this power, I nearly destroyed the world. I nearly destroyed everypony I cared about. All because I lost control for a moment. How can I trust myself with this power?" "The same way a foal learns to trust their legs. The same way a bird learns to trust their wings. They learn. They are taught. And that is what I shall do," Star-Swirl said, a kind smile crossing his face. "My mind is fractured. I barely remember anything or my memories are smashed together. But I remember you, Pinkie. Your kindness...and your strength. If there is ever a pony that can wield this power, it is you." "Are you sure?" "You will is tempered with kindness. You strive to make others smile. Even now...you are doing this to bring happiness to the world. To bring back the smiles that they have lost. If there was ever a pony I would trust with absolute power...it is you." Pinkie smiled slightly before she looked down at the helmet of fate she held. Her fate. The fate of everypony. Then she looked up again with a smile on her face. "Oki doki loki. When do we begin?" "We begin...NOW!" Star-Swirl slammed his hooves into the ground and the entire house fell apart, revealing that his house was apparently in the middle of the universe. Stars burned, planets spun and rocks shot past with trails burning behind them. The Pie's looked around with amazement before looking at Star-Swirl, whose eyes were focused and shone with purpose. "Here is your first rule. Magic does not follow the rules of reality. Magic follows the rules that you put in place. Unicorns are limited. Their magic is limited. Alicorns have more freedom, but even they too are limited. But the magic that you wield? The magic in that helmet? The only rules that you have...are the ones you placed upon yourself. So are you ready to learn, Pinkie? Ready to learn how to bend the multiverse to your will?" Pinkie's response was to slid the helmet over her head, her eyes blazing with a blue light as she summoned her suit. Power flowed through her body as she rose into the air, but there was one difference that only her family caught. The helmet of fate...now had a smile upon it. "I am. Let's begin." † Tirek let out a sigh as he stared up at the black tower that loomed before him. Located in the middle of an abyss that never saw the light of day or night, this tower had been created for one purpose and one purpose only. To house within it the most dangerous being that he knew of. A pony that had stopped him on numerous occasion on the old world. The pony who rallied those to her when all else failed. In here was Twilight Sparkle. He walked up to the guards, two centaurs that were larger than even him and decked out head to hoof in armor, and nodded to them. They nodded back and moved to the side, pulling apart a pair of massive doors to allow him entrance. Tirek entered, trying not to be nervous as the doors were shut behind him. He was not afraid of Sparkle. She held no power in this world. What he was afraid of was failing. Was failing to convince her to convince the princesses. Failing to stop that magical threat. Failing to save the world. So he would not fail. He would find a way to convince her. He had to. He walked into the chamber where Twilight was kept. In the middle of an empty room sat Twilight Sparkle. Her mane was cut short, her eyes were dark and she had dozens of chains keeping her held down, including one around her horn that prevented her from accessing her magic. Tirek had been sure to go for her first when he took control of this new world. And now he had to rely on her. "Tirek," Twilight spat as he approached. "Finally come to see me after all the years you've kept me locked up? Or have you come to brag? Come to brag about not only how you've conquered this world...but how you managed to bring down the old one?" "So you finally remember. I knew that with your incredible magical skill it would not take you long to remember what once was. But no, I am not here to brag. I come here under the most dire of circumstances," Tirek replied. He sat down infront of the mare and looked at her, but she refused to meet his eyes. "I come to offer you a chance, Twilight. A chance to leave this place." "Really? And what could be so important that you would risk freeing me?" "Simple Twilight. I am here to save the world."