//------------------------------// // The Next Step // Story: Artemis Fowl: The Equine Dominion // by _No_One_Remains_ //------------------------------// Artemis stared at the small creature as he pondered his twist of fate. It was painfully obvious that he had succeeded in creating his inter-dimensional portal to this world that was assumedly brimming with magical energy he could harvest and use to reclaim his family’s lost fortune. However, beyond getting into the magical realm, he had not quite planned anything out for how he would go about gathering the energy. The small rabbit tapped its foot angrily at the intruder in his home, and the pony from before was curled up in the corner of the main room of her small domicile, afraid of what the boy might do now that there were no kind humans to stop his advances. Artemis simply grinned victoriously at the equine creature as he let his mind roam to many different plans of action. Before he could savor the victory he had claimed over the laws of time and space, a moderately disturbing fact probed the back of his mind. He had never reset the minute-long timer on the device. His stay in this new world would be certainly short lived as the clock ticked on his Rolex. Another thought immediately prevailed after his time-constrained ultimatum became obvious: the last thing he needed was to bring another foreigner into his world under the current circumstances. Given how troublesome the pony had been originally, Artemis didn’t think it wise to risk bringing another through the portal. Not wanting to risk the timer ticking out and carrying several other creatures through the void, he decided it best to distance himself from the residence of the critters and pony. Without hesitation, he took off at a jogging pace out the open door and into the nearby tree-line. He stopped for nearly a second to catch his breath when the device activated once more. Again he was swallowed by a golden light that quickly faded into blackness, which in turn shifted back into the stony décor of his laboratory. Waiting for him on his side of the dimensional barrier were his two loyal employees. The larger of the two took a small bow to his employer. The younger stared on in disbelief at what she had just witnessed. Fitting really, considering it’s not often one sees a black hole open right in front of them and drop a person out. Artemis let a wide grin grace his features as he silently passed between the two Butler siblings. Juliet stammered, “W-well, are you gonna explain what crazy crud you’ve been up to this time?” She looked back and forth between the boy and his entry point. “I too am quite curious, Artemis. Did you manage to reach the other side unharmed?” Butler had seen firsthand that the device could reach its destination, but he was unaware of any possible side-effects that the travel may have had. Artemis lifted his cucumber-smothered hand high in the air, the transport device held firmly in his grip. He let out a light chuckle, “Indeed I did, Butler. The world on the other side is quite colorful, for a lack of better terms. I believe it may just have everything I need to make up for Father’s idiotic mistake.” The grin on his face sent a shiver down Juliet’s spine. Her older brother popped the joints in his neck and asked, “How are we going to go about doing that?” The gaunt genius placed his off hand to his chin and stroked it gently. After a moment of silence he sighed, “I haven’t exactly planned that far ahead. I’ve been too occupied trying to build the way into the world that I haven’t really had time to figure that out.” A glint of annoyance replaced the boy’s grin. Juliet shook her head disappointedly and started walking toward the open elevator. She sighed, “It’s a sad day when even the great Artemis Fowl is caught unprepared.” The trio entered the elevator and began their ascent. To Artemis Fowl II, the ride in the elevator felt like an eternity. His mind swirled with all the possible outcomes of his debut into the mysterious world beyond the wormhole. There were too many variables for his liking, and he conjured up every bit of mental power he had in an attempt to find a logical course of action for obtaining his goal. He was so lost in thought that when Juliet gave him a gentle shove out of the elevator he nearly let out a shriek of fear. Both Butler and she found his expression hilarious, but neither had the gall to express it directly. Instead, Juliet decided to play out one of the oldest clichés in the book, “What’s the matter, Arty? You look like you’ve seen a ghost!” The last word was filled with open amusement. The boy didn’t respond immediately. Instead, an idea quickly filled his head and allowed him to be lost in its images. For a few moments, the two siblings stared on in confusion as their employer remained dead to the world. Artemis jolted out of his thoughts and gasped, “Eureka! The answer is so simple!” He darted back into the elevator before either sibling could question his ‘answer.’ The boy had several problems to work out with his device and wealth-claiming plans. The most obvious and easily corrected of these problems was the fact that in order to safely use the device, an anti-bonding agent was required. The problem arose when the device’s unstable field of gravity supercharged the electrons within the particles in the air and device, causing them to bond to the user’s flesh as a means of reducing the energy they held. However, certain insulating materials halted or limited the transfer of electrons. In order to safely use the device without an anti-bonding agent, the user would have to wear one of those insulating materials. In Artemis’s case, he chose a pair of rubber gloves, as rubber hardly conducts electricity or electrons. While the device-fusion problem was simple to handle with a little thought, the other was not so simply solved. It would require much consideration and planning. Artemis still needed a course of action to follow that would eventually lead him back to his reclamation of the Fowl Family Fortune. Artemis contemplated simply trusting his calculations and using his new solution to safely travel back to the other world. However, it quickly became obvious to the genius that there were too many variables floating around in the equation, and decided it best to avoid any careless—and potentially fatal—mistakes. He turned to the corner of the dull room and locked his gaze on a large lab rat sitting clueless in a cage. A slight grin graced his features. Though one could hardly tell by looking at him directly, Artemis’s mind swirled with thoughts of grandeur on the other side of the portal. From what he had seen, it had appeared to be a medieval village, which only gave him hope for his ability to claim riches. With Butler’s help, it shouldn’t be too difficult to convince the residents of the new world to do what he wanted. Not to mention that he would also be able to study the physiology and genetic structure of the abnormal creatures on the other side. … “I’m telling you they were walking on two legs! Two legs! And…and one was huge and threw a knife right at me!” The yellow Pegasus waved her hooves frantically in the air as she recounted the tale of her experience earlier that morning. Five other ponies were gathered around her in a small outdoor café at the center of their hometown. Another Pegasus, cyan in color with a prismatic mane, rolled her eyes and scoffed, “You probably just had a bad dream. You gotta stop listening to Lyra’s stories, Fluttershy.” She took a sip of the drink in front of her and placed a somewhat-comforting hoof on her friend’s back. “Yeah, Rainbow Dash is right. Everypony knows that humans aren’t real.” A violet unicorn with an equally-violet mane tapped her hoof on the table, trying to stress how absurd the idea was. Fluttershy shook her head and groaned, “But I’m telling you I saw them with my own two eyes Twilight! One of them tried to tackle me! I’m not making this up, girls…” She slumped down in her chair, realizing that she was probably wasting her breath. “But how’d ya even get there? An’ how’d ya get back here?” An orange pony wearing a Stetson scratched her blond mane in confusion, wanting to believe her friend’s tale. The white unicorn at the table giggled, “Applejack has a good point, darling. How would you even get to that ‘other world’?” She took a small bite from her sandwich and wiped her muzzle elegantly with a napkin. Fluttershy placed a hoof to her muzzle and pondered the question for a second. She stammered, “W-well…I don’t know. B-but I know it was real! You believe me, don’t you Pinkie Pie?” She locked her eyes on the pink pony of the group, who was pigging out on a plate of pastries. The pony lifted her head from the plate and giggled, “Silly-willy-filly, humans aren’t real! Maybe you just ate too much before bedtime?” As soon as the words left her mouth, she buried her face back in the destroyed sweets. The yellow Pegasus took a deep breath and sighed, “Maybe you’re all right. I should control my imagination…” She got up from her chair and turned in the direction of her house. She mumbled, “I think I’ll go take a nap…” “Try and take it easy, okay?” Twilight called after her friend as she began to trot back home. Fluttershy didn’t make it very far from the café, however. A large flash of golden light burst from the center of the town square, engulfing the unsuspecting pony and blinding all of the residents within range. The light quickly faded into a black ball, which then gave way to reveal two taller figures, both wearing suits, the tallest holding a suitcase in one hand. Fluttershy was nowhere to be seen, which sent Rainbow Dash into a sort-of panic. She didn’t hesitate to spread her wings and launch toward the foreigners at full speed. … Butler and Juliet stood stock still as their employer suddenly rushed back the way they had come. For several minutes the two Butler siblings stood in silence, dumbfounded by their employer’s sudden burst of speed. “I hate it when he does that…” Juliet looked up to her brother, who looked just as confused as she did. The larger sibling leaned back against the wall and groaned, “You know how the young master is, Juliet. He can be quite eccentric at times.” He pulled a throwing knife from his boot and began twirling it in his hand nonchalantly. Juliet plopped down on the ground against the opposite wall. She whistled a short tune before a thought etched its way into her head. She asked, “Did that thing really send him to another world?” Her brother raised a quizzical eyebrow and scoffed, “I believe it did. That horse was definitely not from Earth.” He flashed-back to how easily the creature evaded his knife with its ability to fly. “What does Artemis plan on doing to the people in that world?” “I can’t say for certain. Knowing the young master and his father, it could be any range of criminal acts. He said something about ‘harnessing their magic’ to make back his family’s fortune, but there’s no telling what he meant.” Butler shoved the throwing knife back into his boot and replaced it with a small book he held in the pocket of his coat. Juliet watched as he eagerly flipped from page to page, apparently looking for a specific passage. She opened her mouth to question him when he lowered the book down to her. She immediately began reading the unusual writing on the pages. Butler sighed, “Artemis found an old Nordic book in the local museum. The curator explained that the book had never been translated. Artemis offered to translate it. This is the translation.” Juliet cocked an eyebrow and scoffed, “It’s talking about a bunch of talking ponies. Did he really think this place existed?” She slammed the book shut and placed it on the floor beside her. “I would assume so. He’s spent the last month trying to find a way to get there. Based on that animal from earlier, I would say he was right in his beliefs.” The older sibling stuffed the book back in his coat and turned toward the elevator. “I only hope he doesn’t decide to travel there alone again. There’s no telling what’s waiting.” The younger sibling hopped to her feet and cheered, “You know Artemis! He’d never go anywhere without you by his side! You’re the one who does all the dirty work, after all.” She started walking to the elevator. “You coming?” With a silent nod, the pair called the elevator and began their descent into the laboratory. … Artemis smiled widely as the golden light once again filled his eyes. Once it faded, the boy was happy to see the large rat scurrying frantically on the ground, trying to squirm its way out of the device’s grip. The glove used as a buffer between it and the device was completely intact with no sign of distortion. Artemis approached the horrified rodent with the intention of freeing it from its bondage, but the opening of the elevator doors drew his attention away immediately. He was greeted by his bodyguard and maid, both of whom carrying concerned looks. “I’m glad to see you haven’t gone back yet.” Butler said with a tone of indifference, pulling the Nordic book from his coat again. He handed it to the boy and asked, “Are you sure the world you found was the same as the one in the book, Artemis?” Artemis chuckled, “I’m positive. I’ve even found a way to safely use the device without worry.” He waved a hand at the new lab rat, wrapped in a rubber glove with the device used as a type of belt. “All we have to do is research the nature of the other side.” “I’m guessing you want me to do reconnaissance.” Butler stood stock-still, his expression serious. Juliet giggled, “Oh yeah, because you’ll definitely fit in with a bunch of ponies!” “Perhaps we won’t, but there’s no guarantee that the other side is controlled by ponies. All the book tells us is that the ponies are magical; it doesn’t say anything about them being the only creatures there.” Artemis grinned slyly as he removed the device from the mouse. He immediately placed gloves on both of his hands, worried that the device might accidentally activate while he was holding it. The mouse scurried into its cage in the far corner of the lab, knowing it was at least safe in there. The Butler siblings shared uncertain looks. Juliet asked, “When do you plan on sending him over there?” The concern was obvious in her voice. “We’re going over as soon as all necessary preparations have been made.” Artemis closed the gate on the cage and locked it. He fiddled with the device for a moment, pressing a series of buttons. He sighed, “We’ll be able to return at any moment with the push of a button. There’s virtually no risk so long as we keep the device in our possession.” Butler rubbed his chin thoughtfully before scoffing, “I can’t allow you to put yourself in danger like this, sir. No matter how safe you believe it to be, we can’t be sure of what the residents on the other side are capable of.” He approached his charge with a look of concern on his features. The genius chuckled, “I assure you, there’s no risk. If things get serious, all I have to do is push a button. That’s not to say we should go through completely unprepared, however. We should pack a few essentials; I don’t want to senselessly travel back and forth.” Artemis wrapped the watch-device around his wrist and headed toward the elevator. He turned back to his two employees with a wide grin on his face. Juliet objected, “But what if those ponies have more ‘magic’ than you think they do? Or what if the device breaks while you’re over there?” She followed him into the elevator, trying to convince him to do a bit more planning before going across. Butler joined the two as they ascended to the main floor of the Fowl mansion. The bodyguard asked, “Do you have any backup plans, Artemis? Juliet makes a valid argument.” The boy simply replied, “The device will not break. It’s crafted from sturdy-enough metal that not even a drop from the Empire State Building would leave a dent in it. We have nothing to fear in that case.” As soon as the elevator doors opened, the boy stormed up the stairs to his bedroom, leaving the Butler siblings to question his confidence. The younger sibling ran a hand through her slightly-frizzy blond hair and sighed, “I worry about him sometimes. Ever think he’s too ambitious?” Butler chuckled, “When have you known the young master to act without first over-thinking the situation? If he believes it’s a safe journey, we have no reason to doubt him.” He started climbing the stairs with an air of confidence. “I bet he wouldn’t be so confident if you weren’t there to back him up…” Juliet mumbled under her breath, rolling her eyes at her brother. The large brute proceeded up the stairs to his own bedroom, while his sister returned to the master bedroom to tend to Angeline. He quickly packed what few possessions he deemed necessary into a small suitcase and returned downstairs, ready to leave whenever his charge decided it was time. Once Artemis arrived back in the foyer of the mansion, he took the book back and tucked it safely in his coat, following his charge back into the elevator once more. Artemis was silent during the short descent into the lab. His mind was flooded with all the possible twists of fate that the other side would bring. He checked the device on one wrist and the Rolex on the other every few seconds, impatience racking every nerve in his body. As soon as he could, he stomped from the elevator into the stone chamber of the test center, where he and Butler would make their inter-dimensional leap. “Are you ready, old friend?” Artemis looked up to his bodyguard, who held their small suitcases in one hand and had the other resting on the holster of a concealed pistol. Butler chuckled, “I don’t have much of a choice, do I? You can’t go alone, after all.” The brute grinned, which Artemis took as a ‘yes.’ Artemis raised his device-locked hand high in the air, a wide smile plastered on his face. He counted down from three and pushed the button. The pair was engulfed by the golden light that symbolized the appearance of the black-hole, which then dissipated into a pastel-like background of multiple colors. It took several seconds for the area to fully reveal itself to the humans, but their eyes quickly adjusted to the brightness of the world. Upon surveying their immediate surroundings, Artemis found that several of the pastel colors were charging right at them.