Dextera watched the orange projection with a deep sadness in his heart. The first few times, it had been with a sort of confused semi-acceptance, given his initial amnesia, then mild contempt once the lies were revealed... now? Well, he couldn't help but feel bad for the Archangel.
The short human boy ran his hand through his dull blue hair. The bandages around his forearms itched a little this time around, and he found it hard to pay attention to the hologram of the much larger man in front of him. The man who blamed the world for his loss; it may have been the world who was at fault, but to make such an insane plan?
"... now go, atone for your sin." Oh, he was finishing with the same lie as always. The man, rather, the projection of the red-eyed man wearing the largest Fake Wings he'd ever seen extended his arm and...
Dextera had to concentrate very hard to avoid making a grimace as the Archangel transferred that horrible device. The 'Angelic Rifle' was very uniquely shaped, it was large, long, unwieldy, held too few shots, and was something that he would never ever dream of using.
EVER.
Even the first time, when he didn't know even the color of his own eyes, he knew there was something weird about it; learning the truth... it sent a shudder through him.
He still had to pick it up, but, as always, he hesitated. She was waiting for him, though, and he would not disappoint Her.
Still, Her desire to know everything about... well, everything, meant he had to go back and do things differently - perhaps in another order, or skipping them altogether. He still tried to argue against it, seeing as how She had to go through a period of near-insanity before he could restore Her properly... but every bit of comprehension helped in the long run. She understood, and as such, he did as well; every piece of conversation, every event, every thought that was voiced helped them make a little more sense of the world after the cataclysmic Blaze that left it twisted and scarred.
Wait, what was that feeling? He hadn't felt anything like it before... well, it was kind of similar to...
*****
"What!?" The others said; even Celestia could not hold back her cry of surprise.
"Let me in!" A voice yelled from outside. "If Twilight is in there, I'm going in!"
Celestia snapped back to reality. If swift action was needed, then she had to make sure it would be swift. She turned back to where the royal guards she had brought were holding off a certain cerulean pegasus.
"Let the Bearers in!" She ordered. "Otherwise, ensure privacy!"
The guard released Rainbow Dash, who sped by them and through the door in the blink of an eye, followed by Fluttershy at a more sedate pace.
Pinkie Pie was already in. Somehow.
Celestia closed the door with magic, as to not move and disturb her student, and surrounded the tree with a golden bubble shield. Then, she gently levitated the other two mares over to her.
"What happened? Where were you?" Dash began to ask, but a stern look from Shining Armor silenced her.
"There is no time..." Rarity said, wiggling a white cloth worn as a blindfold out of her face. Her hair, while still stylishly curled, was no longer as silky nor as shiny as it had once been. "We- wait, where is Dextera?"
Two hoofstomps answered her, and everypony turned to face an earth pony coming from the other side of the plate-covered green orb.
He had a mane that was a dulled cobalt blue, as if it were lifeless; his coat hair was very pale yellow, and also slightly neglected; his eyes... his eyes were a vibrant forest green, and princess Celestia could not help but compare them to those of the Bearers - hopeful, determined... but they also seemed to carry a heavy burden, similar to what she had seen in them as of late.
He was wearing a pair of saddlebags and a grey coat with yellow outlines over a torn shirt, his forelegs were bandaged from pastern to knee, he also wore black pants and a pair of boots on his hind legs. On his back, though, was a set of wings with spikes of glass apparently modeled after those of a bat; the whole thing was glass, and while it seemed attached to the collar of his coat, the base clung to his back like it was magically attached.
"Clever." Twilight said. "You were putting them on?"
The colt nodded. He looked more alive than the other three mares.
"Who are you?" Shining Armor asked, a hint of distrust in his voice and gaze. Rainbow Dash was also scowling at him, but didn't say anything.
"Dex. He's mute." Applejack said, and he nodded again. "But he's good folk. He agreed to helpin' us see if Equestria's in danger of turnin' like his home."
"Not to mention prevent those awful monsters from coming over." Rarity said, and he looked downcast as he nodded again.
"He needs to go to the ancient castle in the Everfree. Right now." Twilight said, trying to twist out of Celestia's embrace.
"I'll assemble a division of guards-"
"No!" The three mares said as loud as they could, and Dextera shook his head vigorously. The other ponies gasped at seeing such an adverse reaction to Celestia's suggestion.
"If anyone who isn't a Bearer or myself so much as looks at that crystal... the consequences could be dire." The voice of a stallion called out.
He came into view shortly afterwards. He was a tall, thin earth pony. His mane was a dark, ashen gray, and what little of his coat could be seen was a pale, peach color. The rest was either covered by his clothes, a dusty, black light jacket with blue decorations and a pair of dirty white pants, or covered in thin white bandages, leaving only the very end of his front hooves and the bridge of his muzzle uncovered - right above his nose and below his eyes. He also had a sleeve or something covering his left foreleg, it had some little blue plates decorating it. He had a sort of... instrument? Something with strings kind of like a couple of lyres put together strangely rested on his back, held there by a blue belt.
Princess Cadence found it just a little eerie that, despite having his eyes covered, he was still able to look at everypony directly.
Just a little, and totally not panic-inducing-ly scary. Honest.
"Only Dextera, myself, those who are, or were a Bearer are guaranteed to be protected from the distortion." He said, calmly as always. "Unless you are sure your own burden is heavier, or that your heart is strong enough to defeat Nightmare Moon's delusions, you should stay clear of the crystal."
"G-gah!" Rarity grunted with effort, her horn shimmered blue and the wings she wore before were replaced with a copy of Dextera's. Her head thumped on the floor, hooves around it in a futile effort to diminish the splitting headache.
The others tried to tell her that she should not overexert herself, but she just shushed them, as they certainly were not helping her pain.
Dextera sighed sadly, but only Celestia noticed that he had done anything... he had lifted his coat and shirt to look at a terrible scar on his hip. Nopony but her had noticed, and even then it was barely out of the corner of her eye.
The white unicorn stood up with remarkable ease, considering she had not been able to sit up a few moments before. "Well, since I am yet unable to read crystals with too heavy a distortion, I shall be your guide."
"R-Rarity, are you sure it's a good idea?" Spike asked, not understanding much aside from how dangerous everything sounded.
"I'll be fine, dear, the wings are magic." She replied, kissing his forehead affectionately, then placing a hoof on Dex's shoulders and turning around. "Twilight and Applejack will need some food in them, though."
"I-I'll go with you!" Fluttershy said, with surprising force too, despite her trembling. "I-I mean, i-if you don't mind. I wanted to say I'm sorry and I should have gone with you and-"
"Darling, there is nothing to be sorry for." Rarity looked at the teary-eyed pegasus, herself getting misty eyes. "I missed you all so much... but you should stay."
Rarity squeezed her tears and trotted over to the door.
"I'm going." Fluttershy said, no longer shaking like a leaf in the wind.
"I'll go too!" Rainbow Dash said, flying to them.
Pinkie was about to bounce over, but Rarity's stern gaze gave her pause. It also caused Shining Armor's planned offer to go, danger or no, to die in his throat.
"As much as I appreciate the offer, I think you should stay with Twilight and help here. There are too many things to do, Twilight could use the extra magic help to set up things, and since we need to inspect the road through the forest we can't look over three ponies as well."
Rainbow Dash was about to complain, but something in Rarity's eyes made her hesitate.
Fear.
Rarity was afraid. But not for herself.
Instead of complaining, Dash said something else. "She's right, both of you should stay here. I can fly, and I am the fastest out of all of us. I'm no unicorn, so I can't help with whatever it is you need to do, and if there is something bad, I'm gonna want to buck in the face myself."
"I still think we should go alone, but if you are with both of us it should be fine." Rarity smiled and opened the door. With her hooves, though, since she figured using magic again so soon might not be wise. "I'll fill you in on the way."
The crowd of ponies still outside was silenced when they saw Rarity, only for them to resume their murmurs... which quickly escalated in volume.
"Rarity!" Somepony shouted.
"It is her! They're back!" Somepony else said.
"What is she wearing?" "What's that thing on her back?" "What is Princess Celestia doing in there?"
The message spread quickly to the back of the crowd, and they tried to get a view too, pressing forward. The poor guards were trapped between the multitude of ponies and the princess's forcefield.
Celestia hated the feeling of uselessness the whole situation had instilled in her, and she was not about to let it continue! If Twilight was going to need magic, then it would be good to let the Canterlot team in, but if time was so critical for the Everfree team...
She rose, gently letting Twilight's head rest against Cadence's waiting form. Then, she stepped outside.
Her presence alone quieted the assembled ponies, and with a single gesture, both guards and ponies allowed the trio to pass unimpeded.
*****
A short gallop later, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Dextera found themselves at the mouth of the forest... the same from the first time. Daylight did very little to make the sight any more comforting - if anything, it made it worse! To Dash, it now looked like a hungry beast trying to get the sunlight itself into its massive insides. That night, it had only looked like a blob of black and green.
"Alright Rainbow Dash." Rarity's voice called her back to the matter at hoof. "We are going to treat this like always - we are going to run at any sign of the regular creatures of the forest."
Rainbow felt there was something more to it, so she nodded.
"If... if... there might be some other creatures, twisted and deranged... beings; I'll let you know if we see them, and those?" Rarity opened her saddlebags and reached for something inside. She took out a small... stick? Something wrapped in bandages, with a handle on it. With a small burst of magic, the object shed its cover and began to grow.
It was a sword.
"Those we fight." She held the knife-like blade, about the length of her leg, steadily with her magic.
*****
The scientists and wizards had to bite their own lips to prevent the barrage of questions bubbling right behind their tongues.
Just what was the orb? It was so large, four ponies could physically fit inside of it! Why was she being so specific about the resonance effects of magic? Was this object similar to the one that caused their disappearance? Just what were they doing?
Twilight was directing their movements, calling for a cable of certain caliber, or demanding a specific kind of connector; she instructed them to hook the orb up to the computer in the basement and gave them a very specific set of parameters to input. It turned out that the metal covering of the orb wasn't so random. Actually, most of it was, but there were some sockets for control.
Twilight knew her computer wouldn't be able to deal with the full capacities of the orb, but it would at least detect activity and either prevent it or allow it.
Until Dextera returned (and everypony thought it was strange that she spoke specifically of him) they were to monitor the readings.
Celestia, having read about the exploits of the Cutie Mark Crusaders (particularly enjoying their foray in cheerleading), decided to prevent them from going after Rarity by assigning them the' important royal task' of retrieving food from Sugarcube Corner and Sweet Apple Acres. Of course, the library's kitchen was still stocked regularly, but what they didn't know wouldn't make them got after the group of ponies hunting for an apparently dangerous object in the middle of the Everfree Forest. Once they were out of the way, Celestia managed to get the crowd to disperse with a warm smile and the knowledge that the missing ponies were, indeed, back, and would most likely answer their questions themselves once they recovered from their ordeal.
The slight emphasis had the desired effect, even making some blush sheepishly.
Now with time to relax, at least until Rarity and the others returned, Shining Armor looked at the returned ponies more closely. While Applejack was wearing a nearly-black coat with red trimmings, Twilight's was white with just a few red accents, including a symbol... a cross-shaped mark with an additional arm going in a diagonal direction. The apple farmer was also wearing fake wings, theses ones being bat-like like the framework of that hang-glider Cadence kept begging him to try out 'at least once, so that you can see the joys of flight'.
Twilight's were... strange. Shaped and colored like those of a butterfly, encrusted with a few gems, Shining felt like it was Rarity's design with a touch of Twilight.
"What is that thing?" One of the scientists mumbled absentmindedly as he tuned one of the instruments they had brought from Canterlot to assist in the investigation.
"That there sphere is called 'Consciousness Orb'." Applejack said, finishing a cupcake Pinkie gave her.
"It transmits information back and forth, and it also has matter-transferring capabilities." Twilight said, and those who heard stared at it wide-eyed, with newfound curiosity. "Discord overloaded a smaller model with magic and negative feelings; I don't think I can quite explain the phenomenon without explaining all of the events that gave rise to the circumstances, but I can say that it caused a self-defensive reaction and absorbed us - only to severely exceed the bandwidth limit and likely over-heating it to self-destruction."
"Indeed, Miss Sparkle." One of the wizards that helped set up a small barrier around the orb said. "We could trace the magic, but we could not detect anything beyond the fact that the sphere had been connected to... somewhere else."
"Our world." The bandaged stallion said; until that point, he seemed content with staring -if it could be called that- at others. "Perhaps you should tell them..."
-----
"... what happened after you disappeared, Rarity?" Dash said, looking at the grim-faced mare. "Where did you go, and why fight those things?"
*****
... like that time he entered a consciousness orb for the first time. An odd feeling on the air around him, and the tell-tale sound of a transfer. However, there was a sickly black haze along the orange glow linked to the transport - and that was another thing, it was a very bright flash coming over from somewhere else.
He heard a scream. Or, rather, the tail end of a scream; whoever screamed had started to do so before whatever it was it happened to... her? The voice was certainly girly.
No matter, he was going to inspect this strange, new event.
...
There was a patch of... grass... and... three colorful creatures... shoot! The type of creature has a name, but he forgot! Confounded Fusion!
The white one was still screaming, the purple one was standing tense as if it were waiting to get struck, and the orange one picked itself up and looked around.
"What in tarnation?!" She said... she could speak! Was she a Twisted One? She surely wasn't a Meta-Being, since she was lucid.
She spotted him, though, and adopted a stance that told him she was ready to pounce. Not good.
He held up his arms, showing his palms in what was hopefully recognized as a placating gesture.
"W-what are yah?!" She asked, either afraid or very confused, perhaps both.
He pointed to his throat, then shook his head. He hoped this could transmit the message. 'I can't speak... it never bothered me before, why am I starting to feel upset about it?'
"Wh-where are we?" The purple... no, lavender one... she asked while looking all around her. The sky was reddened and stormy, and the remains of a ruined city were all that was around-
"Eeek! What are those?!" The white one shrieked, pointing at a group of fish-like creatures that floated towards them.
'Moons.' Dextera frowned at the unexpected arrival. The scaly, silver fish didn't venture into these parts unless he managed to draw them near. For some reason, though, the gravity-defying creatures were showing their inch-long, quite sharp, teeth at the group of... equines! That was the word, kind of.
Pondering that was for later, though. He saw that those things would really attack the three girls, with nothing but hunger in their eyes. One of them lunged to cross the distance more quickly. The white one screamed. He sprinted past the three new arrivals and punched the approaching monster in the middle of the face.
*****
"We arrived at a world where delusions and insanity have twisted and corrupted the world unto a mockery of itself; the dark, empty feelings of its inhabitants changed them on the outside as well. Many became monsters and the world suffered for it; even those that retained something more solid from their previous lives did so just barely, going so far as to lose their memory of themselves or even the entirety of their 'Self'... tell me, Rainbow... doesn't it sound familiar to you?"
-----
All eyes were looking at Celestia, her own glazed over in fear.
"Baroques are the idiosyncrasies and delusions of an individual." The bandaged stallion, the reader of crystals and collector of Baroques, spoke in a way that made everypony believe he was absolutely unflappable. "They can be helpful - it is hard to survive in our world without some sort of a Baroque- but those who use it as their only tether to the world promptly lose themselves to it."
The sun princess's mouth tried to work, to say something - deny, agree, start to anger, something, anything.
"You may refer to me as The Baroquemonger, and I can tell you two things; the tale of Nightmare Moon is too similar to be just a coincidence, and that there is a chance that it could happen to more than a single mare."