//------------------------------// // A Race Between the Worlds // Story: Worlds Apart: The Chosen of the Prognosticus // by GMBlackjack //------------------------------// “...Wak...p…” The feeling was slowly returning to Twilight’s muscles, and she wasn’t enjoying the sensation. It was like she had just spent an entire day rushing around at full gallop, except her wings were also tingling from overexertion. She was utterly sapped of energy. “...ake u…” She needed to wake up. She wanted to wake up. She needed to go somewhere, do something, but her body wasn’t listening. It wanted to rest, where it was, safe and comfortable in bed. If only it could, because now it had enough sensation to know Twilight was lying on a hard crystal street, and that simply wasn’t comfortable or safe. Twilight let out a coughing, sputtering groan and began to stretch her wings. “Are you awake?” “Ergh… kinda?” Twilight muttered, opening and closing her eyes in an attempt to focus. The rainbow shimmer of light in front of her was making that difficult. “We must hurry...” The voice was quiet and tentative but carried with it a sense of urgency that Twilight trusted implicitly even in her groggy state. The words had a partially digitized quality to them, as if they were coming from a machine or some kind of voice synthesizer spell. “Hurry where? I…” Twilight remembered Count Bleck and the vortex, and that was enough to jumpstart her to her hooves, though she swayed slightly from the physical exertion. “W-where are they?” “No time…” the voice said. It was coming from a rainbow butterfly made out of what Twilight guessed was a form of magical crystal encoded with a series of complex spells. “The limiter will activate soon. We must go…” Twilight nodded. Without a word, she summoned a piece of paper and wrote down a quick message with her magic. She enchanted it with a protection spell and teleported it back to her castle chambers, where she knew a small dragon was waiting. “Ready.” The butterfly had already been gathering her energy, powering a spell Twilight couldn’t fathom. A yellow aura surrounded the magic insect and quickly grew to encompass Twilight as well. There was no flash of exhilaration that came with a teleport spell—one moment they were standing in an empty crystal courtyard, the next they were underwater. It wouldn’t have been so bad if the water wasn’t absolutely frigid. While wings weren’t exactly made for swimming, they were definitely better at it than plain hooves. Twilight pushed her wingtips forward before flaring the rest of her feathers out. Pushing back, she caught multiple gallons of water in her cupped wings, pulling herself out of the water with two flaps, blearily throwing herself onto dry land. She spat out some water that had gotten down her nose and shook herself off. “Where are we?” “No time…” the butterfly said, moving ahead. Twilight trotted after it—or her, if the voice’s range was to be believed. As they moved, Twilight noted that they were in a well-lit forest with tall trees that went off in every direction and numerous pools of serene water spread out between their trunks. Looking up, Twilight couldn’t see the sun or sky, just a sense of light pouring through the leafy canopy. There were no bird calls or insect buzzing; not even a soft breeze. It was so peaceful. Twilight wanted to stare at the trees forever, and some part of her suspected she would if the butterfly had not been continually grabbing her attention with rainbow sparks and other kinds of magic. Wait… magic. She felt magic here, but it wasn't quite right. Her horn felt like it was buzzing slightly, and she swore something was calling to her in the distance. Something was asking her to… something. The words weren’t discernable, or even audible in the traditional sense. “Hurry, it’s freezing already…” Glancing back, Twilight realized with horror that the pool they’d come out of was frozen over, a solid sheet of ice now. Other pools behind them were the same, and several others were starting to freeze as well. Ahead of them, the butterfly was starting to glow green as she approached an as-of-yet unfrozen pool. The green glow grew to encompass both of them. Twilight saw the start of ice crystals forming on the back edge of the pool they were approaching. “Hold on!” Twilight jumped into the air, grabbing the startled butterfly in her hooves. She wrenched her already sore wings back and entered a dive, speeding toward the pool much faster than the butterfly could have managed on her own. They hit the water just as it was crystalizing. Small sleet-like shards of ice whipped past Twilight’s skin as she sunk, but they soon felt distant, like part of a dream. The dream ended rudely when she slammed face-first into hard, white ground. “Ow…” The butterfly fluttered out of Twilight’s grasp. “You… certainly have the countenance of a legendary hero.” Twilight pried her face off the floor, shaking her head. “Is that what they’re calling me these days?” She checked herself over, finding that her wings and hooves felt fine, though still sore. Her horn was no longer buzzing, which was just icing on the cake. Had she not been smashed into the ground by Bleck’s vortex a short while ago she would have been in perfect shape. “So… who are you, where are we, and why am I here?” “My name is Tippi… I’m what is known as a Pixl...” she said, taking long pauses between her words that made Twilight wonder if the butterfly had some kind of speech impediment. “We are in Flipside, the city between dimensions…” Twilight took a look around. The sky was a bright, but soothing creamy color not unlike that of sand on a beach, except smooth rather than rough. There was no sun, moon, or stars, and yet Twilight could see perfectly fine. Investigating the ground, she found she was standing upon an eight-sided platform carved out of smooth white stone, with carvings of hearts and geometric shapes spiraling around the center. She also had no shadow, which was mildly concerning. A single red double-door with a curved top stood at the edge of the platform, seemingly leading to nowhere, while the center was occupied by what appeared to be a cylindrical elevator made of smooth glass. “As for why…” Tippi paused, fluttering her wings a bit faster. “I believe Merlon would be better help with that.” Twilight was beyond eager to ask Tippi more questions—among which was more details on how she worked, since clearly she was some kind of arcane machine—but Twilight sensed the poor Pixl was uncomfortable being asked so much. Twilight simply nodded and said, “Lead the way.” Tippi led Twilight to the elevator. The doors opened automatically to let them in. The interior was large enough to hold over a dozen ponies, and the floor was a comfortably smooth linoleum tile surface. After the glass doors shut, the elevator descended into the platform. Even surrounded on all sides by walls Twilight could still see as if it were daylight. She did not get long to ponder this, however, because as the Elevator left the bottom of the platform, she beheld the full majesty of Flipside below. It truly was a city—a city built on nothing. Buildings made of alabaster stone sat, suspended above the endless void of creamy sky. The only connections appeared to be to other buildings with more graceful stone edifices. Bridges sloped from tower to tower in complex patterns that extended beyond the reach of Twilight’s eyes, and there were so many levels of buildings below that Twilight wasn’t sure if they had an end. She was sure she could see dozens of miles in every direction, making this Flipside larger than Canterlot mountain. And yet, for a city, as far as Twilight could tell she and Tippi were the only living things here. There were certainly places for people to live, considering all the homely little towers that could easily serve as apartments, but there was no sign of habitation. No sign that there had ever been habitation. The stones weren’t even worn. “Where is everyone?” Tippi didn’t answer. The elevator eventually descended into a tall tower directly beneath the platform they had just been standing on. It came to a rest shortly afterward, in a large cylindrical room with windows circling it, but no doors. The floor was made out of a strange white metal, and just in front of them a book sat on a pedestal. It was a light gray book with a simple, titleless cover. It was also larger than Twilight’s head. “Is this book Merlon?” Twilight asked. “Ah, no… Merlon is behind the book.” Behind the book was only a wall with a black glassy rectangle on it. “...Uh…” With a beep, blue text appeared on the glassy rectangle. >> I am Merlon << Twilight blinked. “You’re… in the walls?” >> Oh ho ho ho! << Twilight knew it was trying to communicate laughter, but reading it didn’t exactly have the same effect on her that actual laughter did. >> I am in the walls, yes. I am what is known as an AI, an Artificial Intelligence… a computer, if you know what that is. << “Oh!” Twilight’s smile widened. “I had heard about things like you from Sunset! You’re, like, a pony—er, a person—but made entirely out of rocks and electricity?” >> Essentially, yes, but I have a bit of magic in me as well. << “She wants to know why I brought her here,” Tippi said. >> Yes, yes, I suppose that is a pertinent question… how to put it… << There was a soft rumbling that ran through Flipside. Glancing outside, Twilight discovered what was causing it. In the distance, against the sky, a single spark of purple popped into existence. A tiny, insignificant swirl of dark power so far away it made her think the stars back home were extremely close. >> That is why. << “What… is that?” Twilight asked, remembering the strange magic Bleck had used. It looked similar, so it was probably related, but she didn’t want to jump to conclusions. >> An evil vagabond by the name of Count Bleck has begun the end of all worlds by awakening the Chaos Heart according to the prophecies of the Dark Prognosticus. << “He stole my friends…” An unpleasant frown appeared on Twilight’s features. >> If my interpretations of the Light Prognosticus—the book you see before you—are true, then he took them to complete the very ritual that awakened the Chaos Heart. << Twilight didn’t like the sound of the word ritual. “Are they… okay?” >> The ritual is not lethal, though I am unsure what Count Bleck himself will do once he has no more use for them. We know little of the man himself, unfortunately, and I cannot judge his character beyond a desire to end all worlds, and anyone who wants that cannot be a pleasant man. << “He was serious…” Twilight said, glancing at the vortex. “That’ll eat everything?” >> The Void will consume the Eight Worlds and all that lies between them. << “Then we have to go stop him. How do we get to him?” >> He resides within the center of the Void, the eye of the storm, protected from the destruction he is causing. But… there is a problem with getting there. << “You saw the pools freezing over... right?” Tippi asked. Twilight nodded. “What did that mean?” “Normal travel between dimensions has been suspended… the Chaos Heart has already cursed reality itself…” >> The method you used to travel here is no longer possible. << Merlon said. >> The Ancients who built Flipside knew this would happen the moment the Chaos Heart manifested. All Worlds would be locked off from one another as the lakes in the Wood Between Worlds froze over. It is why, the moment we detected the Chaos Heart, Tippi was sent to find you. There was only a small window to get you here. << “So I can’t get home…” >> Not presently, no. << “Why me, though?” “The prophecy…” Tippi said, fluttering over to the Light Prognosticus. “It mentions a hero of magic brought low by the man of darkness…” >> You are the hero of prophecy. << Merlon said simply. >> We ask for your assistance in saving all worlds. Will you aid us? << “Of course I will!” Twilight declared, beaming. “This may be the first time multiple worlds have been on the line, but me and my friends have saved my world a few times.” She extended a hoof. “I, Princess Twilight Sparkle, vow to end the destruction of everything ordained by Count Bleck!” She realized with some embarrassment that she was holding out to shake hooves with a computer that had no limbs. “Uh…” >> I accept your gesture, Twilight. What a fitting name. In the perceived Twilight of the Worlds, Twilight herself comes to save us. << Twilight rubbed the back of her head. “I… I never thought about it that way, but I suppose it works. Now, we need a game plan. We can’t get to his castle in the Void, and we can’t travel between worlds using those pools. I take it you have another method?” >> Yes. Do you remember the door you saw when you first arrived? << “The red one, on top of the platform?” >> Yes, that one. It leads to one of the worlds. It is open due to our… alternative method. Come, we must descend to the lower level. << Twilight and Tippi climbed back down into the elevator. A short ride later, they appeared on the edge of an octagonal room. In the center was a large crystal pillar, inside of which floated one of the most beautiful things Twilight had ever seen. Physically, it was a floating heart made of red glass that glowed with a bright, fiery glare, but she could feel that it was more than that. Its crimson light shone into her very soul, moving her in a way far beyond any simple work of art. Simply looking upon it filled her with determination, though she could not trace the source of the feeling. “What… what is that?” Tippi pointed at a screen next to the elevator, where Merlon was talking. >> That is a Pure Heart. There are eight of them, one for every world. They each glow with a powerful, fundamental energy that resonates with dimensional reality itself. This particular Heart was taken from the world known as Earth when Flipside was built, to power the city. << “Hey, I’ve been to Earth…” Twilight noted. “The mirror portal probably doesn’t work anymore, though…” >> With each Pure Heart, Flipside will be able to force a door to open to every one of the worlds. With the power of all eight, the curse of the Chaos Heart would become a trivial matter to overcome. Then we will meet Count Bleck in his territory and end his reign. << “And save my friends…” Twilight took in a deep breath and set her jaw. “All right, we need seven more. One from each of the worlds. We should start immediately. How long do we have?” >> I do not know. The Light Prognosticus implies we have at least a month, at most a year. << “Of course it’s nonspecific.” Twilight huffed, jumping back into the elevator. “To the door!” Twilight leaped back into the elevator, pacing around its outer wall as it crawled upwards. Upon returning to the platform, Twilight took a moment to stare at the distant vortex. It looked pathetically tiny, almost insignificant; if the sky hadn’t been so featureless, she wasn’t sure she’d even be able to notice it. “I’m coming for you, girls,” Twilight said, smiling in the direction of the Void. Maybe they could sense her encouragement. Maybe not. She liked to think they could. “Twilight…” Tippi called, weakly. “The door’s over here…” “I’m coming!” Twilight bounded away from the portal and toward the red door. It didn’t look all that impressive, all things considered, aside from the fact that it was sitting at the edge of the platform and seemed to lead nowhere. Taking a deep breath, she placed a hoof on the doors and pushed. Nothing happened. “Tippi?” “They’re pull doors.” “Oh. Right.” Sheepishly, Twilight pulled the doors open with her magic and walked through to a new world. ~~~ The woman lifted the pen from the paper, bringing a halt to her writing, for a moment. A smile crossed her face. Even this early in the journey, she could see it in the words before her. The heroic spirit, the determination… But also the naivete. How little Twilight understood. How little she could understand. But all that would come with time. For now… She brought her utensil down once more, adding more to the tale. The first of many realms lay before the intrepid alicorn...