//------------------------------// // A Wisp of Nothing // Story: Worlds Apart: The Chosen of the Prognosticus // by GMBlackjack //------------------------------// Rarity stared at the can of mushrooms sitting on top of the pile of supplies. It was one among many, many cans of far more palatable foodstuffs, and yet she couldn’t take her eyes off of it. The longer she looked at it, the less hungry she felt, though it did nothing to ease the pain in her stomach. “Rarity?” Rarity looked up to see Fluttershy walking toward her. “Ah, I suppose it is time for a visit…” Rarity tapped her hoof on the ground nervously. “How is your cell coming along?” “I’ve managed to divide us into two cohesive groups. I’m taking the secondary, while Shining’s taking the primary.” “How’s Shining doing?” “He’s… not himself.” Fluttershy shook his head. “It’s worse than you and I. He still remembers Cadence…” “Surely he doesn’t think…?” “Oh, he knows, he knows she couldn’t stop it. That just makes it worse. He’s so much angrier and I can’t help him.” Fluttershy shook her head, grimacing. “He’s a strong stallion. He’ll pull through.” Her eyes kept darting back to the can of mushrooms. Rarity, stop it! “He will, but I’m not so sure about everypony else. They… weren’t meant to live like this. A few have started just… throwing themselves in Nastasia’s path so they can get it over with.” “Yes…” Stop looking stop looking. “Rarity… you can’t keep doing this.” “I lost him!” Rarity spat. “He was mine, I kept him, I watched over him, and I sent him out and he was there and I couldn’t protect him!” She didn’t even try to stop the tears at this point. “I could only protect myself. How is that generous?!” Fluttershy put a wing around Rarity. “I don’t think you had a choice…” “He was more lost than we were… He was completely alone. I thought… I was sure…” She bit her lip and threw her mane back. “Choice or not, I made it out of there and he didn’t. I make it out and other ponies don’t. Why are you and I protected…?” “You told me yourself, back when we first got here. They need leaders to hold them together. Leaders like you, me, Shining, and Starlight.” “Yes… yes, that’s right, that’s right…” Rarity pressed a hoof against the wall to steady herself. “You’re right as always, Fluttershy.” “I’m just telling you what you told me.” Fluttershy smiled warmly. “We still have hope, Rarity. We’ll eventually break free from this, make a move on them, and end all this… evil.” “How, though?” Rarity asked. “With Starlight we’ve started attacking, but none of our attacks seem to do anything. We take out a ship or a monster and they have more. We take on one of the main minions, they escape after they’re defeated. We don’t know how to actually hurt them without…” She thought about her sword. “...Even with that, we’ve never even seen the Count.” “Then we need to keep working until we do find him. Then we can stop him.” “But how?” There was a knock at the door. “Yes, yes, come in,” Rarity said, wiping her eyes. Whoever it was would likely understand the stress she was under, but it never hurt to keep up appearances. “Surprise!” A pink earth pony jumped through the door, coming to a sliding stop between Fluttershy and Rarity. “Did you miss me?!” Rarity gasped. “P-pinkie Pie!?” She pulled the pink pony into a tight hug. “Where have you been?” “I got captured by those nasty minions then I escaped and then I got captured again but you know me, I’m never gonna stay stuck in a cage for long!” Pinkie giggled, winking at seemingly nobody. “But I didn’t know you were still out here until some orange guy told me!” “The warrior…” Rarity leaned in. “Listen, Pinkie, this is important. Did he tell you anything about himself?” “Nope! I don’t even know his name! But I do know he’s really fast and strong and knows something we need to do!” “What?” Fluttershy asked. “We need to find the statue of Cadence and Discord!” Pinkie declared, pulling a party cannon out of nowhere and letting out a burst of confetti. Rarity blinked. “...Pinkie, we have no idea where that is. Do you know?” “Nope!” “And do you know why it will help us to find it?” “Not at all!” “Joy,” Rarity deadpanned. “Well, I suppose we don’t have anything else to focus on. Fluttershy, carry the message to Shining. I’ll get it to Starlight’s cell. Our current mission is to find that statue.” Fluttershy nodded. “Yes. And Rarity?” “Mmm?” “If I find him, I’ll tell you as soon as I can.” “Th-thank you, Fluttershy.” ~~~ “Hey, lady.” Lulu looked up from her chair in the middle of an empty hallway. There was a man in a lion’s mask right in front of her face. With a shriek, she cast “Fira!” and burned away the mask with a torrent of fire. Behind it stood a four-armed man in orange armor who was absolutely armed to the teeth. “Who in the bloody blazes are you!?” Lulu shrieked “Just a local weapons dealer.” He pulled out a halberd. “That wants to take you on. You seem like a good first target.” “I’m not dealing with this right now.” She Void-portaled to another area of the castle, sitting down on a carpeted floor. A Void portal appeared behind her. Lulu groaned. “Whoever it is, I don’t care.” “It’s me,” the warrior said. Lulu jumped out of the way just in time to avoid being cut in half. “Wh-how!? Only Count Bleck’s chosen can use the Void!” “You don’t understand the Void at all, do you?” the warrior asked, snickering. “It’s far, far older than you, Count Bleck, or even this Castle.” Lulu spoke an alien enchantment that should have put him to sleep, but it did nothing to him. She wasn’t all that surprised. She was surprised when he took out a tommy gun studded with rubies and unleashed a hail of bullets on her. Her shield was barely fast enough to deflect them. “What’s your problem?” “My problem? I’m bored.” He threw the gun away in exchange for four magic swords, each glowing a different color. Fire, ice, lightning, and some strange green vibrating energy blasted at Lulu. She retaliated with her own attack. “Ruinaja!” The spell generated a silvery liquid and tossed it at the warrior. “Reflect!” the warrior cackled, using the spell to bounce the attack back to Lulu. She took several hits and was plastered against the far wall. Weak, she activated the Void again, but with a wave of his hand, the warrior removed the portal before she could jump through. “You do not understand the Void. I do. I work its mysteries through my fingers. And I’m tired of the way you use it. So you won’t be using it anymore.” He threw several knives at her. Lulu cast her invisibility spell, fleeing the old-fashioned way. “Clear!” the warrior chanted, removing all magical status from Lulu, restoring her visibility. “That’s it, run little red riding hood, run.” A void portal opened behind the warrior, depositing Dark Oak onto the ground. Lulu laughed. “You bore, I didn’t need to escape! I just needed Dark Oak to know something was wrong! Portals that nothing comes out of are very suspicious.” “Annoying,” the warrior muttered, swinging the halberd at Dark Oak. The Metarex snapped it in half with a punch. Now that the warrior was occupied, Lulu started preparing a much longer, more complex spell. “Well, that’s my cue to bail! See you around, losers!” the warrior jumped into the Void portal, vanishing into nothing. Dark Oak let out a deep, guttural growl. “That was the warrior…” “I… believe so.” Lulu shook her head. “He…” How did he know? “The Count has some questions to answer.” Dark Oak left in a Void portal, leaving Lulu alone. The girl decided running in a random direction while trying not to cry was the best course of action. ~~~ “What… What are you thinking? There’s no possible way… no one would allow it!” “If we can’t be happy here, we must leave for a place that will accept our love.” “But, Blumiere, is there such a place? Think… I can’t bear to see you hurt again.” “If our love has no home… let us spend our lives searching together! So I beg of you again… Timpani, marry me! I promise I will make you happy.” “You… just won’t give up, will you? Of all the crazy… stubborn… foolish men…” “Timpani, answer me, please!” “Blumiere, I love you. Take me away. Take me to a world where we can be happy.”