//------------------------------// // Descension // Story: Tom walks // by Mr Stargazer //------------------------------// I am tom, Eternal and Absolute, With enough power to end the world. I have been here sense the beginning... Yet I feel alone…so very alone. To be honest with myself I have always been this way. One must first have something in order to miss it however. If she had never come then I would still be content, I would still be staring unblinking While calmly stirring the pool that is the world. She had come however. Digging me out of my resting place. Carrying me on her back. I had given her my name. Then she abandoned me. Oh yes, I know she did not realize that I was living. I should forget her. But...this feeling is like a poison. Love, I had not known I could love. Oh never has any word meant so much. Tis a cruel twist fate has cast upon me. How is it that my heart would be cut in twain by the words and actions of a mortal? Can such a thing be? I am tom Absolute. Eternal. Yet I have changed in the briefest of moments. My thoughts begin to turn quickly and for the first time I do not have enough time. How can I go on with this pain in my soul. I, an Eternal, have been struck down and laid low. For I now love a mortal. But dare I?... Dare I!? I am tom! The mountains crumble when I speak! The oceans run dry! Dare I? Of course I dare! I will go to her. I will go to Rarity. Wait no... I cannot. If I were to go to her and speak then she would no longer be the one I love. But without her will I not suffer in agony for all time? Oh what a cruel fate to look on as she lives for one brief life and mourn her for eternity. Knowing she never loved me. It is my form that curses me. I cannot be with her as I am. But perhaps another…? Am I willing to make the sacrifice? Nothing of value is gained with ease. Everything requires a sacrifice. But, am I willing to take on flesh? To risk an imbalance in this world? Would I lay down all that I am for the chance of love freely given? Yes. Though the world may break, She may love me. That is enough I am tom, And I am not absolute anymore. *************************** The moon hung high in the sky above the forest known in this time as the Everfree. The tree branches hung low and blocked out most of the little light that came down from the night sky. This light shined dimly on a simple-looking stone plugging a hole in the ground. Beneath it was a cavern wherein resided a magic pool, but that is not what this tale is about. This object, despite its appearance, was no stone. No, it was a living thing. This creature had watched as the stars flared to life; as the seas first began to sway. He was there at the rising of the first nations...he saw their fall. It was his will that brought the Alicorn back into the world and his nature manifested that had sent Discord into stone. He is tom. The stone began to glow. It had reached a decision. The spirit called out into the forest. Stones did not move so he called the animals in the forest. The smaller animals arrived first and tried to move him, failing miserably. It took two manticores to finally lift him up and carry him over to a flat piece of ground. Then he commanded them to leave. There he sat, to a casual observer doing nothing but in truth so much more. He preferred to work slowly as to avoid detection from those that may work against him. He only did what was necessary but because of his nature, beings would fear him and in many cases try to resist his actions. Tom was, in reality, pulling together the needed resources. He first made his stone body hollow, and then began to make the body. It took three weeks before the flesh was done. On the rise of the last day the stone cracked. Sitting in the hollowed-out center was a pony. His mane and hooves were black; the coat an earthy brown. The eyes opened, looking out at the world through stone gray. You cannot understand what it was like for him. The sensory input was so limited in comparison to his other senses, yet it did have a certain charm. Trying to move proved pointless. His muscles were too small so he made them grow. While waiting he laid there, feeling his heartbeat pushing blood throughout his limbs. He could feel the cells divide and the brain begin to produce chemicals in order to take control of running the body. This brain was so small. He had to improve it in order to contain his consciousness. Then his stomach growled. He was…hungry. It was a simple thing to reach out and command the small creatures to bring food. It would take a moment so he sat there, thinking in order to collect himself. I am tom. I am older than the earth beneath me. I will outlive this world. Yet...I am flesh as well. I could burn this body in the sun and still survive. I have never even spoken with anyone before…I speak and they obey. That was the natural order of things, but if I am to woo her then I must learn the most basic of things. The first must be learning to walk. Wait…no I must breathe. Tom gasped and sat there shaking. IN and OUT IN and OUT IN and OUT Now he was growing light headed. Confound it he thought. I cannot even breathe without killing myself. This body cannot stay still! If I ddi not need to blend in then I would do away with the whole thing Power is one thing knowledge is another. Creating a body is easy for him. However running It correctly and normally. That will take knowledge. All of his was of an outsider looking in. Tom looked at the creatures and focused on moving the lips appropriately. "Thank you," he said. Three of the rabbits died right away as their hearts gave out from internal stress. He had spoken to them. His voice carried power. He restarted their hearts with a simple spell and sent all but the mentally strongest away. Then he ate, tasting the sweet juices of the fruit as it went down his throat, reminding him of plasma. Thinking on the issue he made a decision. If he was to function in pony society he must be able to do the simple things they all could do. Walking, talking, eating. With all his power the ponies would break. Reaching inward he…folded himself. He became less without becoming less? That is the best way it can be described. His power was suppressed, but still there. Opening his mouth he spoke normally for the first time. "Let us try this again." Tom went to work in the clearing, using the animals when needed. Every task took effort to learn. He had to remember to maintain his organs until the brain started working properly. Just keeping the body running was taking up a large amount of thought power. Later that evening Tom lay down to let the body rest. He worked all night to flesh out the muscles and make the brain more comfortable. There he rested until his flesh felt the warmth of the sun. Glancing once more around the clearing, he then turned and headed for Ponyville. Tom was walking when he saw a pool of water and took a moment to look at his reflection. It did not show on his face but he was rather pleased with the results. Molding flesh was so much more difficult than the fundamentals. It was hit or miss if he would look good by pony standards. As he stood there looking at himself three timber wolves jumped out of the brush. He did not bat an eye as the beings ran toward him, not even bothering to turn. It was only about a half a second before they struck that he realized he was under attack. After all, he had never faced a physical assault before. The three animals suddenly froze. Their minds filled with fear so strong all hope of escape was lost. Then he spoke. REALLY spoke. "Hear my voice and obey." He turned to look at them, his will upon them. The mountain behind looked so weak. "I will not punish a being who does not know its folly. I command you to SPEAK." The first wolf’s eyes widened and it understood. For the first time it truly saw its place. The old one had given him understanding. Turning his head to look at the other wolves he felt excitement as they looked back. He could see understanding in their eyes, real understanding. Then he looked back at the being before him, and spoke for the first time. "I beg your forgiveness O great one," he said, his eyes full of fear. “But if I may ask, how is giving us the ability to reason punishment?" "I give you the ability not for your own benefit, but so that you may succeed in the task I set before you." What can one do against such a being as this? The wolves bowed their heads and waited, hoping to not only gain understanding to see the end of his new kind. "Speak, and we will obey." Seven other wolves came out of the forest, their eyes open like the three. "Yes you shall. For attacking me I sentence you to guard those lesser than yourself. You will no longer need flesh but will gain your strength from the sun. Each night you will set root in the earth and each morning those roots will return to you. It is your responsibility to guard ALL sentient life in the forest and to take no life at all unless needed." Then his eyes grew dark. "If you should fail through negligence of this task then the gift I gave today will be taken back. The transition will be painful but it will only last through tonight." The ten wolves bowed and left the powerful being, and thus a new race was born. A certain rainbow-colored Pegasus was flying casually through the air. Her blue coat was swaying softly as she broke through turbulence and hit updrafts only to twist into nose dives. She was doing such a simple trick when she saw the black-haired pony walking out of the Everfree forest. Wow she thought. He must be brave. No one went into the forest without good reason and even then never alone. That would be crazy. The mare flipped about and glided until she was flying right beside him. He never even broke pace. "Hey buddy," she said, incorrectly thinking she was just catching his attention. "Haven't seen you around here before. Where are you from?” "I am from…" Well, he could not be exact. "The forest." "What? Yeah, I saw you come out of there. What were you doing in there?" "I was taken there." "Really? By who?" she asked, startled. "…" Tom did not know how to respond. Mortal beings could not interact with him if they understood. So what was he to do? Rainbow Dash felt her heart sink for the strange earth pony beside her. He was obviously traumatized and in shock. His coat was ruffled and he seemed completely out of it. "Hey buddy, cheer up! I'll take you over to a friend of mine’s house and she can help you." Tom heard a strange tone in the flying pony's voice. He was not sure what it meant. "Very well, loyalty." The wings on the Pegasus froze mid-flight for a second before she caught up to Tom and landed to trot beside him. "What did you call me?" "You are loyalty, so I called you what you are." Rainbow did not know what to think of him calling her loyalty. After a while she just decided he must have heard of the Elements of Harmony and recognized her. Maybe he just forgot her name. "By the way, I’m Rainbow Dash." "Very well. I shall call you by that name." "…Right. Well, what is your name?" "I am tom." "Tom," she said unimpressed. "Yes, what do you need?" "Uh…nothing." Rainbow was not sure what the stallion's problem was, but she knew that Twilight would know how to handle him. Tom walked on but was surprised when a piece of metal smacked him in the face. Looking around he caught sight of a single pony with an hourglass cutie mark trotting over a nearby hill. The object was a small gold coin. If that had just happened then it must be important so he decided to keep it despite the method of delivery. Despite this, Tom had a calm feeling telling him that this was going well. She did not appear to mean him harm. He was tom, so there would be no issue with interaction it seemed. If there were any that came up then he would have to adapt, if possible. None of this was said as he walked with the pony into Ponyville. In fact, they did not say anything until arriving at the library. "Why don't you wait here big guy." Rainbow waited for an answer. When none came she rolled her eyes and walked through the door. This guy was going to be a lot of trouble, she could tell. Rainbow found Twilight sitting calmly in her chair reading a book on enchanting. The purple mare looked up, a smile coming onto her lips. "Hey Dash, what's up?" "Something actually. I found this weird guy outside of town. I think he’s…" Rainbow started hitting her hoof lightly against the side of her head. Twilight gave her an annoyed look then smiled and pointed. "Uh, Rainbow? You might want to look behind you." The Pegasus spun around and saw that Tom was standing there with a neutral expression on his face. "What is the meaning of this motion?" he asked, repeating Rainbow’s action. The two mares stared at him not knowing how to respond. "Is this a symbol to indicate mental retardation?" Both girls stood stark still. This was so awkward. Finally, Rainbow spoke up. "Look, I'm sorry, it's just that…well…you seem…" "Mentally subnormal?" "No! I just thought you might be hurt from somepony taking you to the Everfree." "Your assessment is wrong." They stood there for a long time. Tom was confused. Was this normal? "So…um, what's your name?" inquired Twilight in an attempt to end the silence. She knew Rainbow would not bring him if there was not a problem. "He calls himself Tom," butted in Rainbow. "I do not call myself Tom, I am tom," he retorted. "…" Tom looked irritated. "I believe you may be requesting more information from me than just my name. First, I must know what information you seek." "We were just wondering where you came from before the forest," Twilight said. "How long before the forest?" replied Tom. "Um…a year ago." "I was in Canterlot." "Do you have any family there?" "No." "Any friends?" "No." "Shocker…" mumbled Rainbow. Twilight glared at her. "Ok, where was your home?" "Nowhere." "…Did you have a job?" "No." Twilight just stood there. There were jobs available for anypony. In Equestria, if you could work then you could find a job. Even if you couldn't, there were programs for you. Nopony would be without a place to live. Without any knowledge of where he came from there was no way to figure out where to send him. Then she had an idea. "Ok Tom. Where was your last home?" "Nowhere." Twilight facehoofed as Rainbow began to laugh. The unicorn began to grind her teeth. "Ok Tom! Where is somepony who knows you?" "Here." Of course! He must be here for help. she thought "OK! Now who in town knows you?" "Rainbow Dash and Magic." "What?" Rainbow spoke up. "He called me loyalty at first." "Loyalty, magic. Tom, are Rainbow Dash and I the only people you know?" "No." "Then who besides us knows you?" "No one." The room filled with silence once more, but this time it was broken by a purple dragon walking down the steps. "Hey Twilight, I finished cleaning…who is this?" "I am tom." "Uh, ok. Twilight I'm going over to help Rarity collect some gems, see ya!" Spike left quickly…and for some reason beyond his understanding Tom felt anger toward him. It was strange since they had never met before. "Should I call you Twilight Sparkle?" he asked, turning to the purple mare once more. It would be best to clear such things up. "Yes, please do. Wait no, you take everything literally. Just call me Twilight." "And me Dash." "Very well." Twilight offered him some lunch, which he accepted. It was during the meal that their conversation continued. "What are your plans…Tom?" "I intend to make a place of residence." "Make? Do you have a building permit?" asked Rainbow. "No." "Well then you can't build a place to stay. Plus, you need to own land." Twilight paused for a moment. "I’m sorry but do you remember your childhood?" Childhood was a time when you were young. He had never been young. "No." "How far back do you remember?" "…" He could not answer that either. He had always been. He was tom. "I remember back far enough to know that all I want is to be here." Twilight looked straight into tom's eyes. She could not pierce that stone glare. In the end it was up to him what he did with his life. She had scanned him and there seemed to be nothing physically wrong. "Very well, what is your talent?" He calmly turned his flank to them. "Hey! That is the same cutie mark as Rarity!” shouted Rainbow. “Well, almost. The colors are different." "I've never heard of two people sharing a cutie mark before. We have to go see Rarity about this immediately," commented Twilight. They set out after cleaning the kitchen, tom calmly walking behind them. With every step he takes the dust settles and the town is changed ever so slightly. With every word his speech would adapt. In time he would not stand out at all. He is tom, a being older than time, and he is going to meet his love.