//------------------------------// // Chapter Twenty - En Route // Story: Retcon // by Beige //------------------------------// EhrvoksclgayeipdMhwsrxxyppxcsgwvrrwmquguczegpkntl V\x69\x6e\x76\x61\x73\x69\x6f\x6e “Urgh-! Haahhh…” The world was spinning, blindingly bright, even when her eyes were closed. There was an almighty buzzing in her ear. She felt herself slouched on the ground. “Hey there, take it easy champ.” Shower. The voice was kind of close. Her headache subsiding to allow thought to resume, Retcon struggled to her hooves. Her stomach churned. “Yuurgh, that was unpleasant.” She blinked rapidly to shake the stars from her vision. “Your first-time warping is always the worst. Take a moment, it’ll pass.” Glancing hazily around, she saw that the room she, Shower and Lemony had been standing in had changed. The three were standing in the middle of a large metal dish, at the edge of which was a post with a panel of buttons and a big switch. A metal spear protruded from the middle of the ceiling directly above them, tipped with a huge, roughly-cut purple gem. Despite the similarities to the room she had stood in only a moment before, Retcon noted the different cut of the gem and a change in the uneven colour of the dish, not to mention the floor around the dish was suddenly made of wood, rather than that unnaturally flat, seamless rock that was so common in the Institute. The walls were stone, though constructed of large, irregularly-hewn bricks. A Warp Room indeed. She felt a pat on her shoulder as Shower walked past to the door. Lemony shot her a look of concern before following. Shaking her head briefly, Retcon hurried after, her scalp prickling from the distant murmur of emotion. The room on the other side of the door was filled with papers of all different colours, decorated with large, friendly letters, stored vertically on the wall. As the door closed behind her, it fit flush with the wall around it as if it had never been a door, also holding more of the leaflets on the wall-side. A desk was in one corner, more leaflets on top and a collection of knick-knacks behind it. On the other end of the room... A door, with a window at eye-level. The glass was heavily distorted, but light from the afternoon sun was pouring in. Placing a hoof on the door handle, Shower paused and turned to Retcon. “Alright, stick close to us, yeah?” Retcon nodded numbly. The door opened. She had to shield her eyes from the sunlight as the other two passed in front of it. She followed outside, squinting as her eyes adjusted... ...She was met with the most beautiful view she had ever seen. The door she had just stepped through was set into the bare rock of the mountain. They stood on a wide platform, like a pier. Which followed the side of the mountain around to a series of steps, leading further up to some nearby buildings. She knew it was a mountain because, as she gingerly stepped up to the thick railing around the edge of the platform, a gust of wind blowing her mane out of her eyes, she could see the whole world. She bore witness to a grand vista, of fields and hills and forests, with the frozen tops of mountains lining the horizon. Dotted around were splotches of what could only be villages and towns, with oddly-coloured shapes in the land nearby suggesting agriculture. The world had a blue tint to it the further away it was, eventually giving way to the majestic deep blue of the near-cloudless afternoon sky. Retcon stared until she felt someone nudging her in the shoulder. “Time enough for sightseeing later, I promise,” Shower said earnestly. “…Right…” Turning from the view, she followed the two ponies up the steps between two buildings, through an alley, out into a wide-open street filled with more ponies of all tribes, sizes and colours than she had ever seen. All around them were resplendent buildings in a stately, curved style, commonly built out of a white stone with pink and purple slate roofs, and gold-hued highlights. She shirked for a moment, though no one seemed to pay any of them any mind. No one turned to look at them. No one called out to her. A stallion strode right past the alley entrance where she stood without so much as a sideways glance. Even among so many eyes, she was invisible. Emboldened, she caught up with Lemony, wincing at the gnawing pain in her stomach. Even so, she instinctively kept her head low, not just to avoid attention, but because of the sheer mass of feelings that were washing over her senses. Thankfully nothing too strong, but the background muddle most ponies seemed to produce had become somewhat more noticeable, tinged with several peaks of various sweet and bitter notes, all too cacophonous for her to judge direction or distance. It was much like the noise of so many living things all walking and talking in the same place, though it made her feel rather uncomfortable. Just about able to walk side-by-side with Lemony, she indicated toward a building across the street with an open door and what looked like food lining the window. “Is that a shop?” “Huh? Oh, yeah.” When Lemony didn’t elaborate, Retcon fell back in step a bit, concentrating on staying close in the crowds. The street they were on lead perpendicularly into a street that was even wider, a decorative statue in the centre surrounded by shallow water. There were still more ponies up and down the street than Retcon was comfortable with, though there was more space between them. Shower and Lemony pressed on, heading to another road on the other end, but Retcon almost stumbled to a halt when she glanced to her right and saw an unspeakably-grand building looming over the city, with magnificent towers stretching up into the sky. She blinked and shook it from her mind, making sure she didn’t get left behind. Probably where the Princesses live. After a few more turns into smaller, less busy streets, Retcon felt an increase in the background emotions. Up ahead, a crowd had gathered between the houses, all milling around and chatting, or straining to see what was in front of them. As Shower started making her way through to the front, Lemony, shot Retcon a quick glance. “Stay with me, okay,” she said, before heading into the crowd. Retcon felt utterly overwhelmed by the noise, the feelings, and the sheer stress of proximity. The crowd thankfully didn’t close in after Lemony had gotten past, allowing Retcon to keep up. While crowded the street wasn’t rammed, and most ponies shuffled out of the way as they saw them coming through, but Retcon was on edge the entire time, hoping the crowd would end soon. Suddenly the street in front of her was all-but deserted as she stepped out from the large gathering and into the open. Confused momentarily by the sudden change, she quickly clocked Lemony just ahead and- “I need you to get back if you could ma’am,” announced a commanding voice. A foreleg out of nowhere halted her abruptly. “Road ahead’s closed.” “Wha-?” Retcon blinked, alarmed by the sudden talking. Restraining her was a worryingly-big grey stallion in golden armour. There appeared to be two of them, the other with a white coat, preventing the crowd from advancing. “You can’t go this way, please step back.” The tone was uncompromising. “No wait, I need-” She pointed at Shower and Lemony. “I’m with them!” The nearest Guard frowned, shooting a glance at his partner. “You don’t look Special Ops to me.” Beginning to panic, Retcon was scrambling for a response when Lemony turned to look back. “Well then?” prompted the Guard, “who are you?” Retcon clammed up, no idea how much she should say. “It’s alright,” piped up Lemony as she drew close, her voice almost lost among the street sounds. “She’s with me.” That increase in suspicion surfacing amongst the buzz must have been from the Guard, although there were a few loud whispers coming from the crowd behind her. The Guard turned to Lemony. “Ma’am?” “Meringue, CF06 FDU. Let her through please.” The change was instantaneous as both Guards seemed taken aback. The nearest Guard lowered his foreleg. Gingerly, Retcon stepped past him, catching up with Lemony. She didn’t look back, the Guards saying nothing as they left. “Thanks,” she whispered, her insides feeling painfully tightly-wound. “Sorry about that,” Lemony responded, the sternness once more absent from her voice. “I thought they let you through with us.” “What was that thing you told him?” “Hmm?” She glanced sideways at Retcon. “Oh, I just had to pull rank.” The street was now completely empty bar the three of them. The sounds and sensations of the city gradually began to fade into the distance. As they passed roads and alleys, she would sometimes see more Guards keeping ponies out, and occasionally a pegasus in golden armour hovering way above the houses, but they crossed no one on the ground. Some of the houses they passed had wide open windows and one or two front doors, with tools and all sorts of objects sometimes just left lying around on the ground outside. Turning one last corner, they came to a street with a gazebo on the middle of the road that clearly didn’t belong, with fabric covering all four sides. “Okay this is very important Retcon, you listening?” asked Shower seriously, turning back to look her in the eye. “Do not wander off. Stay with us, and walk where we walk, okay?” Gulping, Retcon nodded. “Alright. You see that house there?” She pointed to a building further down the street, beyond the gazebo, with an unpainted wooden door, hanging wide open. “Don’t go near that house. Imagine there’s a big ball that’s centred in the middle, stretching out to the out to the other side of the street. Don’t go in that ball. Got it?” Retcon stared at the house in question. “Is the range really that far?” Do the flying Guards stop pegasi getting too close? “Not usually,” added Lemony. “To begin with the range is maybe 5 or 6 meters. Over time as it uses up magic, it loses effectiveness, still usually enough to kill but just not as quickly, but in turn its range expands. Better to play it safe.” The air smelled different… Trotting up to the gazebo, Shower lifted a flap on one side, holding it open for Lemony and Retcon to enter. Sky and Sparkler were already inside. On top of a flimsy-looking table with thin metal legs sat a padded box with a handle at the top. There was a momentary sensation of warmth as Sparkler turned to face them. “Oh, you’re here!” Sky’s light resting scowl lessened slightly as she glanced in their direction. “Hey,” greeted Shower shortly. “Does this mean you’re on board?” Sparkler asked pointedly at Retcon. “Umm… yeah,” she said numbly. Sparkler nodded. “Greatly appreciated.” She glanced at Sky. “Let’s get started, shall we?” “Mmh,” Sky affirmed, and gestured with a hoof toward Shower. “Bring in Misty, if you could.” “On it.” The pegasus shot Retcon one last glance before turning and leaving the gazebo, followed shortly after by a flapping of wings. “Alright… Retcon, was it?” Retcon nodded at Sparkler’s question. “Do you know what a lavastone is?” “Um, rock that sets ponies on fire.” “Pretty much. I need you to pay attention right now; this needs to be handled exactly right, or you could get us all killed. Do you understand?” Retcon nodded, her mouth dry. “Good.” Sparkler turned and, using her magic to unclip the top of the box, opened it. Nestled in the padding was a cylinder, of similar diameter to her foreleg. It was made out of thick, dark reddish-brown material. It might not have been entirely opaque, though it was hard to tell, it may have been the light glancing off of its rough, somewhat shiny surface. “This tube is made of nullite,” explained Sparkler as she lifted it out of the box in her hooves. “Kind of a rare material, but it’s the only thing we’ve found that can safely contain a lavastone. It has the unusual property of nullifying magic. Dunno what dingus gave it that name, it’s not really very creative. Anyway, watch and listen closely.” Holding the cylinder with one foreleg, Sparkler twisted the flat end, loosening a lid at the top and revealing a seam a short way down. Removing the lid showed the cylinder to be hollow. “When the lavastone is sealed inside this, the nullite blocks its effect range, thus containing it.” She put the lid back on and twisted it in the opposite direction until the seam on the side disappeared. “You hear that click? That says it’s sealed. Make sure the lid is properly sealed, or you might as well be carrying the stone out in your mouth.” “O-Okay.” Retcon was doing her best to concentrate, though she was getting the feeling she was in way over her head. “Here, take it.” Retcon took the cylinder, tucking it under a forelimb. The touch of it seemed to tingle. “Alright, here’s what you’ve got to do; get in that house, find the active lavastone, and seal it in that. Do not move the stone any further. Once it’s sealed, stay where you are and shout. Got it?” “Yep.” Her voice hitched, but if she cleared her throat now it would be more obvious. “You remember I showed you the rock with the glowing runes?” asked Lemony gently. “The lavastone is going to look a lot like that. Different runes of course, but it’ll have the same sort of carvings glowing blue. It’s unlikely more than one will be active, but do check that there aren’t multiple lavastones.” Retcon nodded absently. This is it, isn’t it… “So, how do I… you know…” She gestured half-heartedly at herself. Thought I’d have time to prepare, but… let’s get it over with. The severity of the situation gave her somewhat more urgency than she had anticipated. She was going through the motions rather than thinking about what was happening. She could worry later. “Sky said you don’t know how to transform, right?” asked Sparkler. “Yeah, it’ll take too long to teach you, but I can use the nullite to undo it, it dispels changeling magic too. You’ll just snap back to your natural form.” The tingling from the nullite made her fur stand on end. Sparkler glanced at Sky. “I think that’s it. So yeah, whenever you’re ready.” The weight of the situation was settling on her back. She looked to Lemony, but the unicorn was looking the other way. “I, uh… don’t think I ever will be, so let’s just go.” Sparkler hesitated. “Is that a yes?” No. She clenched her teeth. Don’t make me think about it… “You’ll be alright,” Lemony said quietly. She offered Retcon a weak smile through her rising anxiety. Bowing her head, she took one last look at the shade of olive of her coat, and closed her eyes. I hope I can undo this. Hope I’m still me. “Do it.” She heard the chime of a magic aura nearby, centred on the nullite she held. The chiming increased for a moment, before a great burst of noise erupted from it. A crimson light washed over her, bright enough that she saw it even with her eyes closed. The change was immediate. She was gripped momentarily by an intense fizzing sensation that started from where she held the nullite, leaving her feeling dizzy and queasy, all within a fraction of a second. As the fizzing reached her head, she felt a sudden jolting, as if she had been pulled back by her skull. The red light behind her eyelids shifted to green. Starting from her forehead, a wave of writhing heat passed through her. Even as she stood, she felt her body rapidly reform. She felt her face suddenly reshape itself, the shifting in her jaw forcing her to open her mouth. From the momentary feeling of unbalance as each leg changed one at a time, she felt her legs shorten as they were reshaped. The comforting warmth of her wings, a blanket against her back, suddenly vanished, replaced by something very alien. And within only a few seconds, it was over.