"Uhh... what happened?" Somepony groaned. He was answered by darkness and the sound of the wind howling.
He felt numb, but not enough to not notice that he was lying down on flat rocks.
Too flat, actually, which meant a floor of some kind, which meant the howling of the wind was caused by holes in the walls. But why did it feel like he had a couple of spikes stabbing him on the middle of his back?
"Leonard, is that you?" He knew that voice! The new voice didn't sound much healthier than his, though.
"Russell?" He groggily opened his eyes and saw a decayed ceiling; his body felt twisted, though strangely unbroken.
"What happened?" 'Russell' asked, still groaning like straining metal.
"The last thing that I remember was fighting besides you when the monsters went berserk, then the mana started to fade away."
'Russell' coughed from somewhere in the dark, overgrowth-covered chamber. "That can't be; I was alone, binding a portal close with my body, even though the injuries I sustained made me feel lightheaded... I knew my time was up."
'Leonard' shifted a little, making the spikes on his back flare up in hot pain and needles prickle all over his skin, which still felt odd. He grimaced, but bit down his complaints. "You looked fine to me. Beat up, but you would survive. Probably."
"You know, when I said my son's decisions would change the course of history, I didn't think they would affect time and space themselves."
"At least we know he succeeded - in both timelines." Leonard tried to wipe his brow, only to be shocked when a stubby periwinkle appendage entered his field of vision. He yelped in surprise, then in pain as his movement caused another explosion of feeling on his back.
"Leonard! What- gah!" Russell had a similar revelation.
Both of them rolled onto their stomachs, though Leonard had a harder time of it due to whatever made his back ache like so.
"Leonard?" A pale yellow stallion with golden hair spoke his name. Those green eyes of his were huge! The voice was the same, and he was wearing the same white robe, white wizard hat, so it could only be...
"Russell?" He asked, before looking himself over. Periwinkle coat -almost gray- with his same pale lavender hair. He was shorter than his companion, but since he was younger it was no surprise. His deep purple robes and grey coat and hat also made it over to... wherever they were. He could only assume he still had his red eyes.
They examined their new bodies. They had four legs now, which ended on some stubby... thing; they were soft and sensitive when pressed delicately against the ground, but acted pretty solidly when hit with force, making a sound not unlike hooves.
They each also had a horn on their heads, Russell's was conical with a spiral flute and tapered to a sharp point, while Leonard's, though similarly fluted, curved backwards slightly.
Their clothes seemed to fit these... new shapes, though their bags now hung awkwardly from their necks. Well, at least their contents were still there.
Leonard wanted to find out just why did his back feel like it was being stabbed, but a low rumble interrupted that thought.
"Leonard... are you there?" A low, deep -though still distinctly female- voice called before being overcome by a severe and painful-sounding coughing fit. The colt's blood ran cold.
"Who is-?"
"Mother!" Leonard called out, tripping over his hooves, ultimately crawling over to the other side of the ruined hall to where a throne once stood. His eyes fell upon the figure at the bottom of the stairs. The yellow unicorn managed to catch up to him and let out a surprised gasp.
At the bottom of the stairs laid a dragon at least thrice as large as he was -counting the tail-, her red scales gleaming softly under the light entering from a hole in the wall, her white underside scales almost hidden from view.
"Mother!" Leonard almost entered a panic when he saw her wings, which definitely weren't in the same position they once had been, but crawling over to her side made him see that they were merely changed. They were limbs on their own, strangely enough, but hey, if he was a miniature horned horse now he certainly wouldn't question the possibility of the travel having affected her.
Managing to still his beating heart, he noticed that she seemed... healthier, youthful even. Well, compared to how once she had been she now resembled the dragons his friend- no, his companion- Issac had found. Her blue horns still clashed with her scales, and were still longer than his new forelegs, though.
She grumbled once more, and opened her eyes. Green orbs dulled by exhaustion fixed on him.
"Mother, it's me, Leonard." He said, immensely relieved to see her well.
"You look like a unicorn of myth." She said, speaking softly and slowly as to avoid another coughing fit. Sniffing the air, she added. "You even smell like a horse... but that presence can only be yours."
"I knew you told me your mother was..." Russell spoke, but his surprise robbed him of words. "You didn't tell me she was a- a-..."
"An elder dragon, from before even the Great War." He said, managing to stand properly now. He carefully approached, one step at a time, and gave her a gentle nuzzle - it felt appropriate. "The last one alive."
"I thought I wouldn't see you again." She reached a claw under his chin, making their eyes meet. "I feel... oddly at peace now."
"He succeeded, mother. Hate won't plague you, or anyone else, again." He felt incredibly silly, being scratched by his mother like that. He still wouldn't change the sensations for anything in the world, though.
Russell sighed, knowing that he might not see his own family again.
"You must be Russell Lightbrad." He heard her say, and bowed his head. "I can tell from your outfit."
Leonard began fidgeting and trying to get his coat off; the sensations were getting unbearable! With some assistance he managed to get rid of the clothes covering his front half.
He had a pair of black, leathery wings on his back. Now it all made sense! Being on his back, he had pressed them against the hard stone floor, which was what produced the painful bursts whenever he moved. He had to endure a few pokes and prods before the pain faded, likely from proper circulation being restored.
"Look at that." Russell said as his darker companion got a gentle wing massage. "Do you think it's yet another strange effect from this new mana?"
"Most likely." Leonard's mother said. "I feel... much different now."
"What kind of effect would it have on the monsters?"
That was a sobering thought. If not only Leonard and his mother were here, but also a Russell who remembered a different past from him... how many monsters had made it over?
"Well, as much as I'd like to rest, we need to find a way to warn any residents." Leonard began the arduous and complex process of dressing himself. "Why am I bothering to do it like this?"
He closed his eyes and began to concentrate. A black aura enveloped his horn and discarded clothes, which began wiggling about and, slowly but surely, he put his clothes back on.
"Oh, right, if there is mana, we can still use magic." Russell scratched his head, only to stop and contemplate his action.
He was scratching. With a hoof.
"Well, I felt like I was ground up between two stones and then put back together, and I wasn't at death's door when this happened." He turned towards his mother. "I can only imagine how tired you must still feel, are you alright?"
"Yes, mana is abundant here, so I won't have any problems." She inhaled deeply, savoring the immaterial energies that permeated the place. "Darkness, curiously enough. There is a forest outside, teeming with life... it might be dangerous."
"We need to prepare." They needed to find out just how much could they still do, what had happened to their magic, if the local wildlife would react with hostility, where was the closest settlement, and whenever or not monsters roamed this place.
They needed a plan.