//------------------------------// // Into A New World // Story: Echos of Strife // by dusk flame //------------------------------// I'm sure you're wondering why I've gathered you here today... Ahh who am I kidding, if you're reading this and I haven't given you permission, you're a bad person and you should feel bad. All that aside, I'm sure you're wondering what all this is about. Well, it all started one morning back at institution... Darkness. Pure, endless darkness engulfs the planet. A true emptiness that somehow puts to shame the “void” we call space. It seems so wrong, so monstrous, that the everlasting life that populated our planet no longer exists. No more do creatures look up at the stars, no more do plants grow beneath the sun. Cean! That voice again... it sounds like... CEAN! I woke up with a jump, I was just dreaming. "Took ye long enough ye bloody fool. We got class in thirty minutes! and quit sleepin' with yer Jack." It took a moment, but soon enough my head cleared. Knowing just how screwed I was if I was late, I went around my room to gather up all my gear. Netlink, a bag of peanuts, a mountain of text books that hardly ever get used (something about tradition is the reason we have them still) and finally my most prized possession: an external, quadruple encrypted memory unit with everything I've ever written in my entire life. I also had it fitted into a case that could get run over by a war machine... and I'm swooning now, aren't I? Well, time to go. A quick spot check around the room, and I saw almost everything where it should be. "Let me fix my desk real quick." My friend rolled his eyes "Forget about it mate ye can take care of it after class. Just hurry up before we're late." I then sighed in defeat as my friend ran out of the room. When I eventually followed, I took a quick look at my hair in the mirror I kept near the door. Seeing my glacial blue hair triggered the memory of a bet I lost two years ago. Ever since then I decided to have fun with it so I let my hair grow out, and styled it into a circlet of icicles. This, and the fact that I got the tips bleached, ended up earning me the nickname "Icing". Remembering that moment, another memory was brought to the surface of my mind. I was speaking to a guy with a lisp, and when I told him my name was Cean he said, "oh so its like you're Ice Cean" it came out as "oh tho ith like youar Ith then" which some people who were listening in heard as "oh so its like you're Icing". Rather unfortunate for a time, but eventually I took the name in as my own, ruining the fun of those that vainly tried offending me with it. Snapping back in to the real world, I dashed out of my room and down the hall only to see the lift with my friend waiting inside. As the door started to close, I put on a burst of speed, slipped in through the gap, span on my foot, and came to rest leaning casually on the railing of the elevator. "Cheeky bastard." He said with an amused grin. "Jealous much?" I threw a cocky grin at my best friend. Of course, this was a standard exchange between us. Since before we even met I had been a bit of a fanatic when it came to running. At first he made fun of me for it for whatever reason, but once he learned I was one of the many that was Rapid Perception Attuned, and... other various oddities, he came to understand why I did what I did. "Yea, yea, whatever Icy. Hope yer ready for the tests though. This day will be a pain in the fekking arse. "I see you're prepared for all the fun we'll be having." "Aye." "Well that sucked. I'm headed to the lockers, you in for some energy burning?" "I got plans mate. Definitely need time to relax after that marathon. Its like all the professors decided to torture us today or something. Bloody faculty meetings... they always plot against us in them I say." Conversation ended, I say my good byes and go running off to the lockers. When I get there, I find the one I've been keeping my gear in since I started at institution a year ago. Releasing the lock, I changed into a pair of blue running pants and gray shirt. Next, I slipped into my 40kg blue and black vest. Afterwards, I grabbed the two black 5kg leg bands and slipped them on in addition to my newly acquired pair of black running shoes. Finally, I grabbed my blue arm bands with 2.5kg in each of them before finishing off my ensemble with a pair of blue and black gloves at 2.5kg each. Before I threw my bag in my locker for storage, I took out the peanuts I brought with me and stuff them into a pouch I added to the side of my vest. Testing my weight with a few hops and punches, I decided I was all set. Equipment readied, I run off into the comforting embrace of the air-conditioned track. When I reach the starting line I hold myself ridged, feeling the ever present tension that plagues me. I close my eyes, focusing on the discomfort, and proceed to harness it. I move the abundant energy through my body, feeling my muscles sharpen, and my body quicken. With a lightning movement I fling my arms out wide, feeling a second rush fill me. My ritual complete, a wild grin covers my face as I lose myself to the feel of the track. "Alright, time to organize!" After emptying my bag, I set my netlink up on my nightstand, connect it to the speaker port and play some fairly old music from what is quickly becoming my favorite pre-Imperium band. As the song picked up I emptied my desk in order to sort the contents into piles. Hydromeals, essentials, gadgets, blades, other. Alright, all set! With my things organized, I start the task of replacing everything with a nearly obsessive attention to order and detail. Hydros bottom left, essentials center, gadgets top left, blades top right and other in bottom right. Good to go, now if only I could keep the bloody thing organized... With a lull in concentration, I notice a different song just ending. After changing the music, I move my laptop to my desk and crack my knuckles to mark the beginning of a relaxing session of writing. Soon enough, I got lost in a world of pure imagination. Oh, excuse me... human? You seem to really enjoy those spurious worlds of yours do you not? "Who's there and why is your voice coming from everywhere?" No... not everywhere, from inside your mind! Now then, allow me to introduce myself. *ahem* My name is Procella and I am a spirit of water. I am pleased to make your acquaintance, dear human. "Fair maiden, My name is Cean and the pleasure is mine." Oh my! Quite the gentleman you are. Now, I suppose you have a few questions and I am sure you are also wondering when it was you fell asleep. I can first tell you that you are in fact awake and I will also tell you there will be time for questions later. "Oookay well I'm just gonna roll with this and assume I'm unconscious from my workout again... Hope you don't mind!" Hmph, and here I am going out of my way to offer you the chance to go to a completely new world filled with dangerous beasts and unconditional happiness. "Well... strange combination... I'm sure there's a catch for me to partake in this this wondrous land of lands, oh spirit of water." It was at this point that I sighed inwardly, waiting for the inevitable as I woke up to the real world, only to find myself slumped over on my desk or just passed out on the floor. Thinking a moment, I save my work and interrupt the current song in favor of a much more fitting tune. It's right then when I realize that everything is too fluid, too connected, for this to be a dream and so I decide to take the voice I'm hearing a little more seriously. Well, that is an interesting song choice, is it not? As for the 'catch', well... the only stipulation is that you must do as you please and you shall not be allowed to return to this world. Not a great loss all things considered. This planet has fallen into a horrid state of disrepair... "Know what? I know what's going on. I've gone bat-shit insane and you're a split personality so yes, take my to this magical land of wonder and happiness please." Hmph. How crude! You know what? Fine, I will, but do not go crying if you regret this! It was then that a blue portal opened up on my wall, as if to rub it in my face that I was indeed insane, and soon enough , my desk, my chair and I were pulled from our resting positions. As soon as I touched the portal my vision began to fade to black and I found myself lost in a sea of unconscious dreams. POV: Fluttershy "Oh, calm down. Please... Please calm down now there's no need to be so upset." My animal friends have been disturbed for a long time now. It started when I saw this strange blue light come from the Everfree forest and now I've been trying everything I can think of to calm the animals. I'm worried about what the light was and I want to make sure nothing is all alone out there and hurt. After awhile I manage to calm my friends enough so I leave my cottage to go find Twilight. Once I get to the library I knock on the door like usual and ask to come in. When Twilight opens the door she asks me what's up. "Uhm... well if it's not to much of a bother, I m-mean, if you w-want to that is, there was this strange blue light in the *gulp* E-Everfree and I was wondering, only if you're ok with it, if you wanted to come with me and see what's going on... But i-if you don't want to that's alrig—" "Yes of course I'll go with you Fluttershy! Just let me go get my list for 'things needed to go exploring in the Everfree forest' sorted out and completed then we can leave right away!" After a few minutes Twilight and I left the library, Ponyville, and soon enough passed by my cottage to began our trek through the Everfree. POV: Cean Well... That was fun. I stand up, using my fallen chair and desk as support, and take in my surroundings. The muddy clearing I was in was ringed by a large number of fallen trees which led me to believe it was caused by the portal Procella sent me through. After taking a few minutes to fix up the contents of my desk and making sure all my electronics were off and put away, I decide the first thing I'll have to do is find shelter and clean water. I could tell I was in a forest so I slipped a belt of knives on, courtesy of my hobbyist nature and walked with no clear direction in mind. If only my friends were around for me to laugh at them for thinking my hobbies were crazy... It's a shame I never learned how to hunt... but at least my addiction to Hydros will pay off. I should have at least a week of food... I really wish there was somebody else here... Nice spirit lady are you still there?... I could use someone to talk to right about now... I had been walking for about an hour. I saw a few interesting things, one of them being a clearing filled with a long reed-like grass with some properties of rope. Despite my intentions to just wander around, I decided it would be better to follow a spiral path and it paid off as I finally discovered a rocky outcropping. Not only did it have a suitable overhang for a makeshift home, but it also had a spring bubbling up into a small pool of water just a few minutes away. I turned and walked in what I hoped was a direct route back to the clearing, marking trees along my way and after another 10 minutes I finally found my way back. I thought for a moment how I would lug my desk and chair back to my new home and decide to just lift my desk over my shoulder and carry the chair over the other. For once I'm glad I didn't get a bigger desk. I still wish I wasn't alone though. Maybe if... no she's gone and she's not coming back. No point trying to pretend things would be any different... Procella please say something... You can at least tell me a little more about this place, right? With my belongings moved, I decided it was time for me to get my temporary home a little more... homely. I grabbed a few items from my desk and went back to the clearing again. When I got there I started sawing off branches and piling them up with a length of nylon ribbon at each end so I could bundle the sticks together making them easier to carry. After another 30 minutes or so I had a nice bundle all made up so once more I return to my new home. And they said my condition offered no side effects... I can't believe I haven't seen any sort of animals yet. Must not be many larger creatures out here... Procella you can speak to my mind so that means you can hear my thoughts too, right? Another solid hour of work and I finished the job of forming the sticks into a two sided wall, the rock being the third wall and roof. I was able to make use of the twine-like grass I found in the other clearing to bind the sticks together and I gave the walls some semblance of wholeness by weaving in large ferns that grew wherever sunlight reached the ground. All around I was happy with my new home so I decided it was time for me to see what else I could find in this forest. So I've been here for around three hours and I already have a reasonably well made home, a source of water, and plenty of food for awhile. Not bad If I may say so myself... I'd give anything to have someone to talk to right about now... Procella... please don't just abandon me here... I had been wandering around the forest for over an hour, going in a serpentine path from my new home and so far I discovered nothing of use. Deciding it was time to head back I went in what I knew was a direct path back to my new home, using the occasional marked tree to alter my path. As I got closer I heard a low growl that shocked me and gave me hope at the same time. I turned towards the sound and was greeted with a creature I only knew from stories... a manticore. POV: Twilight Fluttershy and I had been walking in the woods for a few hours now. Of course, I had a recall spell at the ready in case something attacked us that she couldn't ward off with her special talent. We had kept up a steady banter, only falling silent when the occasional sound scared Fluttershy. After a somewhat close encounter with a manticore we came upon a clearing that was completely destroyed by what I assumed was a large water based magical blast. The trees were drenched and pushed to the edges of the clearing and the clearing itself was nothing but mud. I gingerly stepped over the logs, noticing that quite a few of the trees had branches that seemed to have been cut, and began my examination of the area. Deciding this area was important to our search. I planted a lodestone and then cast a spell to connect it to the one I kept in Ponyville. I was about to cast a second spell to test the connection but my concentration was interrupted by a terrible roar. Fluttershy froze up, cowering in the mud, so I picked her up with my magic and quickly ran towards the direction of the roar knowing something was in danger. POV: Cean (A/N And now, the part you've all been waiting for! Also, gotta havebattle music, yea?) The manticore charged me, its bat like wings held tight against its back, as it quickly closed the distance between us. My heart stopped for a moment as I looked the beast in the eye and I realized there was only one way I was getting out of this; I had to fight for my life or die trying. I grabbed three knives from my belt, placing one in my mouth to assist in protecting my head and neck, holding my off hand blade backwards for parrying and slashing, and the blade in my right hand forwards so I could stab quickly. I waited, every muscle in my body tensed and ready to explode into overdrive. I concentrated on the burning desire that plagued me, honing it, shaping it into an energy that could fuel me. I felt the energy move through me, time seemed to slow down as my focus sharpened and sure enough, the manticore made its move. It leapt into the air, claws extended to their full length, and let loose a mighty roar. I dodged to the right and raked my off hand blade through its side but it quickly shot its tail out to impale my arm. My grip loosened for a moment but by sheer force of will I held on to my blade. Not wanting to go through that again, I quickly whirled around to relieve it of its tail. Poison oozed from each end and I saw that even the stinger on the tail was oozing with poison, as well as my puncture wound. I knew I wouldn't have much time to act, since the poison was probably a neurotoxin, so I leapt towards the neck of the manticore with reckless abandon. I thought this would be it but the manticore charged forward, almost causing me to fall flat on my face. I turned quickly and locked eyes with my opponent. It let out a snarl as I grinned with insanity. The manticore kept circling me, waiting for its venom to take hold. Thinking quickly, I dropped to a knee and feigned weakness, waiting for my time to strike. The manticore slowly approached me, making sure I really was out for the count. I relaxed all my muscles which caused me to slump further and the knife in my mouth to swing down, only a tooth preventing it from falling completely. I continued to wait but sure enough I saw the manticore's paw enter my vision. I tensed all my muscles immediately before I struck the manticore on either side of the head. My daggers embedded themselves in it's neck but the manticore continued to fight, albeit with quite a struggle. Carefully, I lined my third knife up with the manticore's eye, and plunged it in without hesitation. Blood spurted out, adding my face to the list of blood soaked body parts. Now, finally, the manticore slumped and fell to the ground with a thud. I licked my lips, the taste of blood lingering, and thought of how good this meat might taste with a side of potatoes. With the fight over, the surge of energy that filled me passed and my perception of time returned to normal. I decide the first thing to do would be to squeeze out and then wash out what poisons I could since making an antidote would be impossible. The depth of the wound was similar to that of a weak handgun but it was starting to ooze heavily so I let it bleed out a little before covering it with some nylon ribbon. The fact that the ribbon was red gave me a little peace of mind since I wouldn't be able to see exactly how much blood would soak into it but I knew if I didn't do something fast I wouldn't make it. I quickly ran towards the spring I found so I could clean off my wound and half way there the pain from the poison started to set in. I stumbled and fell face down in the dirt and I could do nothing but lay there for a little while. So... this is it for me? Dying alone in a forest with manticore poison in my veins?... No, I'm not dying yet. I need to make it through this. I grabbed the ground into a death grip and pushed it away from me. I stood tall and with a blank stare in my eye I walked the last few minutes to the spring to plunge my arm, make shift bandages and all, into its waters. Well... I'm here now but wow this seems pointless. All this way just to clean myself off... but... I made it. I set a task for myself and I made it. With my arm soaking in the water, I felt the pain of the wound being leeched away from me. After sitting there for awhile I felt something different so I looked down and removed my bandage. Instead of blood and a wound that had been there moments ago, I saw some strange crystalline substance. Not knowing what to make of it, I pulled my arm and bandage out of the water and took a good solid look at this new addition. The crystal was an glacial blue like my hair and almost immediately I noticed it was growing. I stared in horror as it branched out, creating a strange lattice moving down my arm and towards my hand. I felt no pain from it but the world around me seemed to take on a darker tone. I felt fearful of the world around me and the once vibrant colors I had come to enjoy felt muted. I decided there was nothing more I could do here so I took a nice long drink from the spring and began my trek home. When I finally got there, my head was pounding as if it were being assaulted by a legion of hammers. I stumbled into my makeshift hut to collapse on my makeshift bed. Unfortunately, it really only functioned as a pillow but that was all I needed for now. As I lay there, I watched the crystal on my arm slowly grow towards my palm. Soon enough, the branching network of lines began to gather and form a large node in the center of my palm, ironically, where the lines of my palm formed an X. The crystal emitted a bright light and in the same moment the pounding in my head ceased. I studied the crystal and saw that the light within it was moving. I tapped the crystals and discovered that I had no feeling in them so I decide to take it a step further and test them with a knife. I took a knife to the node on my upper arm where my wound used to be and poked it in. I felt the pressure of the knife but the tip of the blade didn't sink in at all. I put more pressure on the blade and yet again the tip didn't even make a scratch. Thinking for a moment I took the knife to one of the tendrils of crystal on my lower arm and repeated the same process, even giving the crystal a quick slash but still, the crystals didn't get a single scratch. Ok so a little recap here... I got really strong crystals embedded into my arm now and I have a knife that needs to be sharpened... I also have a manticore I need to move away from my home and three more knives to clean... I wonder what manticore tastes like? I am alone in a forest on an alien planet after all. Might as well go ahead and keep up with trying new things... Feeling slightly more energetic after my short reprieve, I pulled myself up and carefully walked over to the manticore. I noticed something about it was off; it looked a lot more... dangerous, then it did before. Looking it over, I decided it would be a good idea to keep the pelt since I didn't have a real bed and I might need some blankets. The first thing I did was drag the manticore closer to where the spring was. It took some effort at first but eventually I just threw its hindlegs over my shoulders and lugged the thing half on my back, half dragging on the ground. After dragging it for a few minutes I stopped to catch my breath and that's when I heard a noise behind me. I left the manticore carcass behind as I quickly ran to put my back against a tree. I stood perfectly still for a bit and once again I heard a sound. I slowly crept towards the direction of the sound, a knife in each hand, and soon enough I had made it back to my house. Outside of it were two demonic looking quadrupeds. One a purplish color with a horn and the other a yellowish color with wings. I stopped moving for a moment, listening to the two beings speak to each other but it was a language I didn't understand. The horned one looked towards the yellow one and said "siht edam tahw redonw I?" The winged one looked around with a strange, almost fearful, look in its eyes and responded, "hguoht ti tliub evah ot seod ekips ekil swalc-c ro cigam rehtie evah ot sah ti-I. wonk t'nod I-I." The two creatures walked towards the entrance of my house and went inside. After some shouting they came out a little later and the lavender one's horn was glowing a pinkish color along with, to my horror, all my electronics and, strangely, even my school books. It was jumping up and down excitedly babbling on in that strangely familiar language and I decided right then and there I had to protect my belongings from these creatures. POV: Twilight Fluttershy and I had been walking through the forest for awhile now looking for any sign of a struggle. We heard some roars and adjusted our direction occasionally but it was hard to keep a straight path in the forest. Eventually, we came upon a small rock formation that had been made into what was obviously a makeshift hut. Outside of it were blood stains, foot prints of a manticore, foot prints of some strange creature I couldn't recognize and multiple trails of the strange foot prints leading off in one direction along with what looked to be the markings of something being dragged. So... this strange beast seems to have fought a manticore and won. I hope it isn't around right now... But maybe it was just defending itself! Maybe it isn't some dangerous beast. After all, it shows signs of intelligence if the ...being... is the same thing that made that hut... "I wonder what made this?" "I-I don't know. I-it had to have either magic or c-claws like Spike though to have built it though." Fluttershy and I walked into the hut after I assured her there was nothing inside and, to my surprise, I found what looked to be cushions and a desk. I spoke up as I looked through the drawers. "Now this is just weird. These two things are obvious signs of civilization so what're they doing so deep in the Everfree? "I-I don't know... but I just can't place those footprints. It has to be some new creature we've never seen before. We are in a section of the Everfree nopony has been in after all... I looked through the desk and found quite a few interesting things. In one of the drawers were packets of what I assumed was food based on the pictures. In another drawer were quite a few strange devices that I've never seen before so I took them all out before moving on. As I looked into the middle drawer I found two more strange devices and, to my great surprise, a few books!. "Book! Books! This creature has BOOKS!" I said, jumping up and down excitedly. I quickly looked into the other two drawers for good measure but found nothing else of interest. "Uhmm... T-Twilight? A-Are you sure we should be taking these things?" Fluttershy looks over at me, a look of worry plastered across her face. "Don't worry Fluttershy I just want to look at them. I'll put everything back! Now lets head outside so I can get better lighting." Fluttershy and I walked outside and as soon as we got a few steps away from the hut some strange bipedal creature came charging at us with daggers in hand. Losing my composure, I hit the ground. Not thinking about it much, I pulled all the items I had been holding in front of me before shouting out, "Stop! Please stop!" POV: Cean Once the two creatures get a few feet away from my home, I charge and as soon as the purple one sees me, it ducks, puts all my belongings in between the two of us and shouts out, "Pots esaelp! Pots!" I come to a sudden stop, not wanting to damage any of my things, but also because of the fact I recognized a word. "Pots?" The purple one looks up at me with a very confused look and says, "Stop?" "What the... I don't even." I deadpanned, staring at a creature that held a similar expression. The creature's face brightened as it started jumping in place, "Ti wenk I! Nairtseuqe kaeps uoy!" I responded, my expression unchanging, "What are you saying I can't understand you..." The creature then looked at me with a confused expression, "Enif tsuj uoy dnatsredun nac I! Tub... "Tub... Wait a second. I think... you can understand me just fine right?" The creature nods so I continue saying, "Say... Say wood dog" The creature regained a confused look but did as I asked, "God doow". "Thats it! Everything you say, I hear backwards! I don't know what's causing it... though I got poisoned by a manticore and then everything started looking evil and then this... But this is completely amazing! What're the chances of us speaking the same language when we're from different worlds?!" The creature looked at me, a glimmer of understanding in its eyes, and then placed all my items onto the ground. It walked up to me and as it did so its horn became enshrouded in that pink light once more. It touched its horn to the crystalline node on my upper arm and a surge of power flowed through me. I fought to stand but soon enough all I saw was an evil smile as I fell unconscious. Well, that was interesting. Why'd you give him some of your powers? Oh please, you saw how he almost died to the manticore. Without the purifying influence of my gifts he would have been done for! Even if the ponies found him Hmph. Well I don't need to remind YOU what happened the last time you gave a human your "gifts" Dear Ignus, please refrain from bringing about old memories from another time; It's quite rude. Besides, this planet already has very strong energy manipulators, adding one more won't hurt anything. Yea, yea, go steam yourself