Once Beyond the Gates

by Quill Scribe


Past and Future

Once Beyond the Gates

~Quill Scribe~

Chapter 5 – Past and Future

It felt warm and wet all around me. I felt like I was floating. I opened my eyes, but had to squeeze them shut again. The light was so very bright. I reached out a hoof and felt something hard and smooth all around me.

I felt much smaller, weaker too, than I should have. Almost as though I were a small foal. I wasn't wearing my braces and harness but I could feel my legs.

I could feel nothing else around me except my prison. I was helplessly suspended in some kind of liquid. Tubes that ran into my veins connected me to devices just beyond the glass cylinder I now called home, their hum and vibrations were oddly soothing.

I opened my eyes again at the muffled sounds of speech. Slowly this time to make sure they adjusted.

Through the cloying fluid I floated in I saw three vaguely pony-like shapes. The two who appeared to be pegasi carried a small lockbox. The third was a unicorn judging by the glowing blob on his forehead.

Where in Celestia's name am I? Last I remember I was with.... somepony? Why can't I remember, everything is so foggy.

One of the pegasus blobs tripped, dropping the box. It would have clattered to the floor had the unicorn blob not caught it with his magic.

"Careful you fools! His lordship gave nearly everything he had to obtain the essence of the day!" The unicorn blob scolded them angrily.

"Is the subject ready for infusion?" A raspy, masculine voice said. A fourth and fifth blob entered the room. I couldn't tell which one spoke.

"Yes my lord. I was just about to begin the procedure. We'll be able to open the portal very soon." The unicorn blob spoke.

Oh no. What are they gonna do to me? What are those IVs for?

The fifth blob, neither winged nor horned spoke next. "My lord? This procedure... It will cure our foal? She'll be able to live a normal life?"

Our foal? Who is this pony? Mocha is my mom, and she's... Gone.

"Of course, my loyal servant. Once the foal has served its purpose for me, you can take it home and live however you wish." The raspy pony soothed; through his sickeningly saccharine voice. One of the winged blobs shifted nervously from it.

I know that tone. There's no way they'll let me live; once I'm not of use to them anymore.

"Oh thank you my lord! I must go tell my wife at once! Can we see her when the procedure is over?" The pony blob said.

"You may. Return here tomorrow at this time and you may take her home." The raspy pony said.

"Yes my lord, thank you my lord." The pony blob kowtowed and scurried out of the room.

One of the pegasi and the unicorn laughed after he left. "Stupid earth pony. Like we'd give up such an interesting subject. Shall I begin the procedure?"

"Do so immediately. The sooner we open the portal the sooner I can rise to power. I need a new body soon after all."

The unicorn blob levitated a glowing golden cylinder out of the box and over to a machine I was hooked into. It clicked into place. The unicorn and raspy voiced pony began chanting a somber tune.

I felt a fiery warmth flow into my veins. It was soothing at first but that semi-warmth quickly ramped up to an unbearable heat. My blood felt like it was boiling. I tried to scream but no sound came out as my lungs were filled with this strange fluid. I felt magic run through me next. It was dark and cold, in stark contrast to the fiery brightness that was swirling inside me.

I felt myself twisting from the dark magics. They infused the brightness into the very core of my being. I tried to scream again. My eyes burned from my pupils warping. A spurt of blood burst from my forehead. I felt something long, hard and twisted swirl out from my skull. I nearly blacked out from the pain. The fluid I was suspended in boiled from the heat my body was putting off.

"The infusion is successful. Subject forty two remains stable in the altered state. Binding the subject to the portal will begin."

The raspy pony stepped up to my glass container. He was gray and black, his body ever twisting with thick smoke, with a wickedly curved horn. My eyes were beginning to clear. I got a good look at his eyes, blood red irises, the rest was a sickly green color that seemed to leak a purple smoke from the sides. His horn glowed sinisterly.

I swam backwards in fright, futilely trying to get away. He chuckled darkly as shadowy magic poured out of his horn and into me. I felt something far away tug at me. It pulled gently at first, steadily growing into an insistent yank. I felt myself slipping into the whiteness at the edges of my vision.

The tendrils of shadowy magic held me in reality. A black stone archway appeared before me. Its heavy doors were bound by blackened chains. The shadowy magic reached inside my ley lines, grasping at the brightness for purchase, and lodged itself deep near my newly formed magical core.

"Binding is successful. Subject forty two has taken to the modifications successfully, my lord."

"Excellent. Let us retire for the evening, tomorrow morning I will claim my new vessel. Make sure you send out the order to begin phase two. I want my beloved free of her prison by the time I rise to my full potential." The raspy pony commanded. The other ponies followed him out of the room.

I opened my eyes again. After how long, I couldn't be sure. There was a sound of light hoof steps.

What was that noise? Is it morning already?

I watched a winged pony trot quietly into the room. There was something familiar about her, but I couldn't quite place it. She pulled a lever of one of the apparatus in the room. I felt the tubes disconnect and the fluid drain from my prison. As I began coughing the wretched fluid out of my lungs, somepony lifted me up and placed me in a comfortable set of saddlebags.

"Come on Siggy, lets get away from here... Your parents don't deserve you, and neither does that wretched unicorn! I can't let them do this do you; even if it breaks my cover. The princess will protect us..."

I peeked out at her from the saddlebags. She was a brown pegasus mare with a black mane and warm hazel eyes.

Mocha? Mommy!

The memories rushed back into me. I felt the gate tugging at me again. Pulling me back through to life once more. It's heavy doors slammed shut behind me, and I knew blackness.

#

Thump thump. Thump thump. My heart began pushing blood through my body once more. I gasped, taking a first breath into my restored body. I felt the gate's magic ebbing away from me. After a few minutes of convalescence I took stock of my surroundings.

White room, tile ceiling, linoleum floor, smell of disinfectant. All those added up to hospital.

I guess that shouldn't surprise me.

Just what was that? It wasn't like any of the other visions I've had. A memory, maybe?

"Miss Way, we need you to identify the body. You were Sigil's roommate and we need to be sure so we can notify the next of kin. Please try to pull yourself together." I heard voices and sobbing from the hallway. My eyes widened in recognition.

Allie's voice cracked when she spoke. "What happened to her? How badly did those brutes hurt her before..."

"Actually, she passed from acute ley line rupture. Somehow, she channeled a large enough amount of magic to cause it to bleed out of the ley lines and into the internal organs, causing massive systemic failure." The formal voice that belonged to a doctor told her. I heard the sound of him rustling through his papers, he said, "Here we are. Are you all prepared?"

I've got to move quickly.

"Isn't this usually the job of the next of kin?" A familiar stallion's voice asked.

"Grief can do terrible things to a pony... The only family in the school's records was a 'Lyra Heartstrings'; and she flat-out refused to even look at the body. She said something like, 'Siggy can't be gone. Not after everything. She'll be back soon, and then I can see her and everything will be okay again.' Very sad business really."

Lyra actually wants to see me?

Of course she doesn't. Wouldn't she have sought you out by now? I thought we were some kind of genius.

I swung myself off of the cold gurney I lay on, and promptly fell into a heap on the floor with a loud thump and grunt of shock. My hind legs had given out from under me, totally unresponsive to any command I gave them.

Ponyfeathers . Of course they removed my harness.

"Who's in there!?" A stallion yelled as four ponies burst into the room.

Allie Way, Berry Punch, and Long Shot stared at me in shock, their mouths agape. The doctor pony bravely fainted. I lay on the floor in a tangled mess of bedsheets grinning sheepishly up at them.

Quick! Think of something!

"Um... Surprise?"

Bucking brilliant.

Berry blinked and shook her head. She reached into her saddlebag, grabbed a flask with her mouth, and tossed it into a nearby garbage can. Long Shot sat down heavily on the linoleum floor. Allie trotted cautiously up to me and poked me with her hoof.

Aren't they going to run away? Call me a monster?

Don't you remember? We were made into one. I mean, if the horseshoe fits.

"Is it really you Sigil?" She poked me again, testing to see if I was real.

Who else would we be? The queen of Prance?

Shut up. Why is my internal monologue such a jerk?

"Yes Allie, it really is me. Why wouldn't it be?"

Long Shot stood and walked to me with Berry in tow as Allie hoisted me into a nearby chair.

"Sigil, how are you even talking to us? I watched... It... Happen."

Go ahead. Tell them. They'll never understand. They'll just leave us like everypony else. I'll be left to pick up the pieces... Just like last time.

The three ponies stood in front of me, staring at me. I felt my eyes stinging. My cheeks felt wet. I looked pleadingly at Allie Way.

"If I tell you, you'll hate me just like everypony else... P-please don't make me... I-I'm not a m-monster..."

The rush of emotion got the better of me and I broke down into a sobbing mess. Allie put a foreleg around me, pulling me in tight, and shot a glare that could melt steel at Long Shot. Long Shot wilted under her gaze. His face softened a bit.

"Sigil; how could we ever think you were a monster? I may have just met you, but I consider you a dear friend. I watched you defend my cousin's honor, and later carry her and Allie out of a dangerous situation unharmed." Long Shot smiled gently and placed a hoof over mine.

Berry smiled in agreement and Allie hugged me tightly, tucking my head under her chin. I calmed down from my outburst, leaned into her neck for comfort and sighed deeply. After a few moments I extracted myself from her caring grasp.

"If you really want to know, I'll tell you." I looked out at my friends' expectant faces.

"I've done a lot of research. When you don't have friends, you have a lot of free time." I leaned to the side in my chair and pointed at my cutie mark.

"It's called the Ouroboros. It represents a cycle that begins as soon as it ends: Eternity. My special talent? I can't die... Or maybe more accurately, I die, but then the cycle restarts, and I come back to life. Either way, it isn't pleasant."

I told them everything. I suppose I did gloss over the beast that was in the gate. Maybe I didn't mention the visions either. I looked away from their shocked faces. My heart sank.

I won't say 'I told you so', but-

My self-defeating thoughts were disrupted by the feeling of three sets of forelegs being wrapped around me. I inhaled sharply in shock; tears still flowing down my cheeks.

"Come on Sigil, lets get you back to the dorms. You've had a rough day." Allie said while I smiled up at her.

I've never been more happy to be wrong than right now. Everything will be alright.

You want friends that badly? Fine, I hope we can protect them. Everything that happens to them from now on is your responsibility.

#

Canterlot may be a high-class city, with its galleries, fancy restaurants, and formal dances, but every city has its less-than-reputable districts.

Now or never, Sigil. If you're going to protect your new friends, you've got to put a stop to those ponies that keep hurting us.

The shack I entered smelled of mildew; among other less savory things. I looked at the pony behind the counter. He was disheveled beyond anything I had ever seen. His matted mane hung limply, framing his gaunt face.

"I understand you can perform certain services." I inquired.

"Aye lass, but what's a pretty young thing like you need of old Grim?"

"I need you to find somepony. Or rather, ponies. And I need it done discreetly; if you catch my meaning."

He looked at me incredulously. "Ah don't think stalkin' some school colt or filly friend of yours is somethin' we can do for you."

I slapped a hundred bits down on the counter with a loud thud and clinking. He cocked an eyebrow at me.

"There is a group of ponies out there, unicorns and pegasi. They dye their manes and coats midnight blue. Find them for me."

He slid the bits into a box and nodded at me. I turned and left his miserable shack.

Two more stops.

I trotted to the mercantile district. The buildings became less and less dilapidated as I went. Finally I reached my destination and went inside.

The post office was bustling with activity. I wormed my way through the crowd to get to the drop box; and I pushed a thick letter into its narrow slot.

Now I just need to finish my next project and wait for a response.

I walked off to my final destination. I rented a cart nearby and opened the door to the shop.

Bits clattered onto the table as I emptied a cloth bag. I grimaced and looked up at the shopkeeper's greedy grin.

That's the last of my inheritance. I really hope I don't need more than this.

"That should be everything. Three thousand bits. Now, where is my order?" I said.

The shopkeeper placed a large wooden box on the table and opened it.

Aluminum, star metal, gemstones, its all here.

"Thank you for your business. Some of these are very difficult to get you know. I can obtain more of course, but the price will be higher."

I nodded at him and levitated the box into the cart I was pulling. I left the shop and found Allie and Long Shot waiting outside in the bustling Canterlot streets.

"Well we're here. Got everything Siggy? I can't wait to see what you're working on this time." Allie looked curiously into my cart at the various wares.

I smiled at my two friends. Berry would have come but she was stuck working back in Ponyville and couldn't get the weekend off.

"Let's get these back to the dorms. As much as I'd like to get started, you two promised me a carnival and I just can't pass that up."

#

There were colorful ponies and even more colorful balloons everywhere. Wooden stalls lined the streets where ponies played carnival games to try to win some trinket or other. Allie and Long Shot walked along next to me.

"Enjoying yourself Sigil?" Long Shot said as he looked around at the stalls.

"This is awesome! Jugglers, fire swallowers, ponies on stilts, and acrobats! All without magic!"

A loud explosion of color caught my attention from off to the side in my peripheral. We turned our heads to see what the commotion was about.

"Gather around and witness magic beyond comprehension! Hear of the defeat of the manticore of Stalliongrad! The mummy of Las Pegasus! Witness the might of The Great and Powerful Trixie!" Yelled a young light blue mare from a stage nearby as fireworks went off overhead.

Magician? I can do real magic. No thanks.

"Hey, let's move on and see what else there is to do," I said as I guided my friends away from the blowhard.

"Hey Allie! I've been looking everywhere for you!" A pink earth pony stallion shouted and ran over happily to Allie.

"Everypony, I'd like you to meet my coltfriend, Lucky Strike," she said.

"Oh! Is this your roommate Sigil? I didn't know you had a coltfriend, and an older stallion at that! I was getting worried I might have to contend with you for Allie's affection. She's very fond of you ya know." He winked and elbowed me in the ribs jokingly. My face heated up. I must have looked like a tomato with a horn.

"Lucky!" Allie looked at me and then back to him with a mortified expression.

"He's only a couple of years older, and he's not my coltfriend, just a friend like Allie," I mumbled. I glanced over at Long Shot, who was looking off in another direction at nothing in particular. I looked down at my hooves, glad for once that my habit of hiding in my mane never faded.

I heard Lucky whisper to Allie, "I'd love some time to ourselves. Why don't we go off and watch that magician I saw earlier?"

Allie nodded and smiled at us. We all agreed to meet back at the entrance in an hour. The pair sauntered off towards the magician's cart and the growing crowd around it.

Long Shot and I walked in an awkward silence for several minutes. I caught myself staring at his flank for a fourth time. I finally spoke up to break the awkwardness that hung in the air.

"So, you know what my cutie mark means. When do I get to hear about yours?" I looked over at the shot glass with a crosshairs that adorned his flank again.

"I think it's better if I show you."

He looked around and walked to a nearby booth. It was deeper than most of the others. A set of toy rifles lined its counter. He placed three bits on the counter and took up the mock rifle in his hooves.

"See that target?" He pointed to the furthest one. "I'm going to nail it dead center."

He walked to the firing line, and then kept walking another twenty paces. He was almost at the booths across the street.

What's he doing?

A small crowd had gathered around us. Long Shot hefted the rifle, feeling its weight, and took aim. I saw he was aiming noticeably above and to the left of the target. The carny pony must have noticed too because he leaned back in his chair and snickered.

The compressed air forced the pellet from the rifle at high speed. It flew through the air, its trajectory curved slightly, and struck the target dead in the center. The carny pony's jaw dropped and his cigar fell to the ground. The crowd cheered.

"We have a winner!" He shouted, after composing himself. I watched the carny hand Long Shot a brown pegasus plush that he was pointing to.

He walked over to me with a smile and a bounce in his step. He placed the stuffed pegasus into my hooves.

"An adorable prize for an adorable filly." He winked at me.

I looked down at the stuffed pegasus. My face heated up as the blood rushed to my cheeks and I heard several "awws" from the slowly-dispersing crowd. Something clicked in my head. I remembered all the things I had told my new friends about nearly a month ago.

The coloration is a little off, but it almost looks like...

"Thank you. It's, um, very nice." I said awkwardly as I placed it carefully in my saddlebag.

He just smiled at me and we trotted off to enjoy the rest of the carnival.

After riding rides and eating our fill of unhealthy, fried carnival food, we walked towards the entrance where we were supposed to meet with Allie and Lucky. I turned my head towards Long Shot while we trotted along.

"So, you're from Ponyville just like Allie and Berry?"

He nodded.

"Isn't it a little odd for a pegasus to be from an earth pony town?"

That came off as a bit forced. Are you that desperate?

Shut it, I was just curious.

He laughed a little bit. "Well, my father was an earth pony like Berry. So I did grow up in Ponyville for a while. I am related to her after all."

"Was?" I asked. I could see his face fall slightly.

Oh no, why did I say that. Fix it stupid.

I stepped in closer and nuzzled his shoulder reassuringly. He smiled down at me.

"It's okay; it was a long time ago. My father was a Royal Guard. He was killed in action saving a schoolhouse from a chimera in Fillydelphia." He looked down at me. "Don't feel bad Siggy, I don't. He saved foals, trading his life so they could have a fair shot at theirs. He was a hero. After he passed though, mother and I moved to Cloudsdale. It was just too painful for her to stay in our old house."

I smiled up at him.

He is so proud of his father. Just like I am of Mocha and the Heartstrings. I like that.

"I might need your help with a project I'm working on. Maybe when it's done... You could show me Cloudsdale?"

"Sure thing Sigil. I'm sure my mom could put us up for a few days."

We walked the rest of the way to the entrance in a much more comfortable silence. Simply enjoying each other's company.

#

I sat alone in my dorm room, barely noticing the setting sun through my window. I tinkered with the materials I had collected earlier that day. Forming an aluminum and star metal framework and a multitude of thin, almost diamond shaped strips.

I worked diligently well into the night. Weaving metal cords and strips into a latticework. The wings began to take shape, almost like real pegasus wings. I had studied anatomy books for years for these projects of mine, and with good reason.

I set aside the completed set and admired my handiwork. Anatomically correct in every way, down to the smallest feather and the minuscule artificial ley lines of starmetal that connected every last piece.

I set to work on weaving my spells into the gemstones. They were similar to the spells I used on the harness, but were a lot more complex. A pony needed to control every feather and be able to run pegasus magic throughout their body to achieve lift.

The sun began to peek over the horizon as I finished my work. I removed my harness in preparation for bed and fastened the wings onto it.

Finally done. Now all I have to do is learn how to use them and see if it worked.

I crawled under the covers of my bed and levitated a small plush pegasus under the crook of one of my forelegs. I closed my eyes and nuzzled it, feeling its velvety softness against my cheek. I softly held it close to my chest and sighed. I smiled to myself.

I'm really happy he's my friend.