//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: Coincidental Encounter // Story: Zeno's Paradox: A Fluttershy Effect // by Flint Sparks //------------------------------// ...mainly because I was now hurtling down a dark abyss, dragged down by the cruel mistress of gravity. I wave my arms frantically and let out a high pitch scream; my spell isn’t telling me anything. Sometimes not even intuition can save you. The large hole that the ground sunk into was getting smaller and smaller as I fell, and I could barely see the pegasus diving down toward me. Dust, in his bravery, had apparently grabbed Skates and Lu during their descent and was now reaching toward me with his arms. I reach out with my hoof and try to grab his, but we wave around and only manage to briefly brush against each other. Before I realize what’s about to happen, I feel impact. The wind is knocked out of me and my head is spinning. I groan, every muscle in my body screaming in pain. Usually falling two stories wasn’t much for my kind, but for some reason I really, really hurt. As I lie on top of the strange minerals beneath me, my hide begins itching and adds to the pain. It’s a burning itch, one you can ignore but incredibly difficult to do so. A warm, irritating fire burns just under the skin, far from where my scratch can reach. My hooves try with all their might, but to no avail. Just behind me I hear Dust make a soft touchdown with our friends. From their irritated whines I can tell they feel the itching too. I let out another groan and slowly roll over to stand up. I take a moment to shake the dizzying sensation from my head as my friends regroup with me. Lu circles around me for a moment, inspecting my body for injuries. He pokes and prods here and there, eliciting a sensitive shudder or a painful yelp from me. Other than a bruise or two, nothing is seriously injured. I notice a tiny limp in my front left hoof, but it’s not serious enough to worry about. All I was worrying about right now was getting the buck out of here and back to the future before we have the honor of meeting Princess Celestia. The moonlight that’s poking into the cavern we’re in seems to be absorbed by the crystals we were standing on. We can only stare as the light spreads and intensifies until the entire chamber is illuminated in moonlight. Each crystal is a perfect hexagon, crystal clear, and reflecting light in every direction. However, the light is being magically amplified, which can only mean... “We must be in a ceremonial chamber of sorts,” I declare, finishing my thought as I begin walking across the chamber and examining the walls. It’s very subtle, but I can make out colored designs in the crystal walls. The crystals with a slight burn are most likely magically crafted by natural forces, which explains why they’re perfectly shaped. Concentrated magic can crystalize, meaning we were standing on crystallized Order magic that was burning away at our magic essence. Fortunately we were merely ponies, so it was only our innate magic affected. If any of us were a nature spirit, we’d probably disintegrate. “Really?” Lu asks skeptically as he follows close behind, his grey coat illuminated by the luminous room. He seems a little hesitant to take in that information, considering part of his history classes studied ancient pony sacrifice. “How do you know?” “First off, I’m an Archeology Major, remember? Anyway, look at these walls. They’re murals,” I explain, pointing a hoof at the most colorful one I can find. It takes a minute for Lu to see it, but he finds the right angle and gasps. “Dude. Is this what I think it is?” he asks as eyes widen in realization. His head turns toward me, and we share starstruck grins. In our haste to escape the past, we’ve stumbled upon one of the greatest discoveries in history. “A filtering chamber,” I answer. Lu and I jump up and high-hoof each other in glee. If we took a few pictures and crystals, we’d have more than enough bits for quite awhile. Maybe enough to get filthy rich! During our celebration, Skates trots over and pokes me on the shoulder. “Hey, I don’t mean to be a dumbass but what’s a filtering chamber?” he asks, scratching his blonde, blue-highlighted mane. Lu and I exchange a few more looks, our rapid squints and scowls determining who had to face the music. After an intense struggle, I manage to win with a well-timed guilt glare. Lu sighs and drops down to Skates’ level. “Remember the fourth wall we passed on our way here?” Lu asks as he scratches one front hoof with the other. Skates nods with a wince, remember his painful arrival here. “Filtering chambers seem to be closely related to the fourth wall. Inside each chamber is a sacred well, filled with concentrated Order magic. Right now we’re standing on the by-products of said well, or some sort of magical condensation. I’m not quite sure. Anyway, filtering wells are kind of a double-edged sword. On one hoof they suppress the power, attitude, and lethality of any living object within its proximity. If my calculations are correct, this well’s influence should extend to the old castle of the Solar and Lunar Princesses.” Lu stops, realizing he’s been pacing like the professor. He turns around and makes eye contact with Skates this time. “However, on the other hoof, many ponies find filtering chambers to be annoying, intrusive, and sometimes even a hindrance to everyday life! Whenever a pony subconsciously curses or says anything lewd, a strange beeping noise censors it. Consciously, however, most ponies are unable to even conjure the thought of such things!” Skates gasps and grabs his cheeks with his hooves. “That’s horrible! Then how do they..?” He bumps his hooves together, representing something quite inappropriate. Lu shakes his head. “They don’t.” Skates screams and collapses, twitching. Boy does he need to get laid. “As for foals being born, for some reason married couples will just give birth without being pregnant in the first place. To this day nopony has ever seen the filtered birth. One day the couple is alone, and the next day there’s a baby in the hospital waiting for them.” “That’s pretty frickin’ weird,” Skates grunts as he stands up. “So, are we going to look for this well or we going to get out of here?” Huh, usually it’s Dust or Lu asking to go to places that could probably kill us. Lu shrugs. “Might as well. I mean, the time machine is stuck right now. Not much else to do.” Dust pipes up. “We could wait for morning and meet Princess Celestia!” “Ha, and get banished to the moon?” I scoff, rudely. Dust flinches, poor thing, but it had to be said. “We accidentally resurrected her sister’s other persona just by existing! Remember how her sister was trapped for a thousand years? Imagine how she feels, facing the fact she almost had to banish her again! I bet she’s plotting our torture right now!” I scream as I stand up and fall on my back dramatically, holding my hoof to my forehead.. Lu catches me like a true gentlecolt. “Well, I think he’s right, Dust,” Lu agrees as he helps me to my hooves. Dust rubs his chin with his hoof and flutters his wings in deep thought before eventually conceding to my reasoning. Even if it wasn’t the most rational explanation, it was still very likely and I’d rather not take my chances. We take a moment to calm down and begin exploring the chamber. The floor is like a normal trader’s road between cities, a strong bedrock of crystals lie underneath a looser layer of ‘gravel.’ It shifts and tingles underneath our feet, but we manage to ignore it for now. The walls are covered in murals, depicting abstract art and events. A few make more sense than others; one wall detailed the rise and fall of Discord and another illustrated Princess Twilight’s ascension. Filtering wells were beyond normal comprehension, so we merely shrugged the last one off. By this time we’ve left the hole in the ceiling far beyond, but for some reason every crystal in the chamber is glowing with moonlight. We’ve traveled a good distance at this point and haven’t seen anything valuable beyond the crystals we’re walking on. For a few minutes, I notice Skates biting his lip and shifting his eyes to and fro. “Wait!” Skates shouts, abruptly stopping the group’s progress. “I just realized something.” “Yeah?” I ask, curious to see what his mind had come up with. Skates wasn’t the brightest nor the most powerful, but he had his moments of glory. He circles in place, scratching his cantaloupe coat in thought. “Alright. Sorry, but I was thinking. Whenever I play video games there’s always a pattern. You find a big chamber full of treasure and stuff. It’s pretty and massive, and there’s always an artifact of power in it, right?” “Yeah,” I confirm, having played the same games he had. “So what’s your point exactly?” “Well…” He paws at a few stray crystals like gravel. “If this is a treasure room, then where’s the boss?” I facehoof. “Skates! This isn’t a video game! The closest thing these chambers had were some guardian, but that was back in ancient t-” Boom. “-imes...” I freeze as a heavy impact shakes the ground underneath me, nearly causing a localized earthquake. I’m afraid to turn around, my hooves are rooted to the spot. “It’s right behind me, isn’t it?” Skates just grimaces. “What’d ya think?” Jeez, way to be rude. Despite Skates jab at my rhetorical question, I can see the fear evident in the three of them. Dust’s usually twitching wings have snapped shut to his sides, Skates’ orange eyes were shrouded with uncertainty, and even Lu’s legs were quivering in fear. I gulp, and slowly turn around. I promptly wet myself for the second time in the last twenty-four hours. On the crystals standing, no, towering over us is the guardian. The monster looks like a turtle spliced with a cat; its stumpy legs sporting diamond-tipped razor-sharp claws, its two pairs of freakishly sharp fangs dripped with saliva. Every square inch of its skin is adorned in multicolored crystals, shining bright in the reflected moonlight. Its eyes resembling nothing but glowing sapphire orbs that illuminates the monster’s wide, taco-shaped head. Only larger than the head is the shell-like torso attached, seemingly double the size. From this angle I couldn’t see if there was a tail or not, but I hope I wouldn't have to find out. Feeling starts to creep into my hooves and I begin to turn and run… “STOP HEATHENS!” the monster roars as our nerves fire up to run. At his command, we freeze again. An unknown force holds us in place, no matter how much we struggle. At first I thought it was Order magic, but the lack of pain and well, death, begs to differ… “W-w-what do you want?! W-w-we were leaving!” I stutter, trying not to cry. A huge monster with magic. Binding magic. All the better to eat us with. A musky scent lifting in the air alerts me to my companions relieving themselves in the moment. Humorously enough, some of the flooring beneath us tinges yellow, basking us in a golden glow. The monster chuckles, deciding to taunt us before its meal. “I merely wanted to speak to you four interesting individuals.” “I swear! We don’t taste as good as we look! Trust me, I tried!” Lu screams as he begins panicking in place. He manages to break his bonds and begins galloping, but something odd happens. His legs pump in unison as he gallops, lifting from the air and planting his hooves onto the ground, but he isn’t moving! The stallion is galloping in place! The monster snorts at Lu’s attempt and stifles a rising laugh. “Silly ponies. I’m not going to eat you!” The monster smiles at us, and I feel a strange sense of honesty radiating from it. “Yay!” We all cheer, joyous to hear of our salvation. “I’m going to destroy you.” “No!!” We cry in fear. “At a little game.” “Yay!” “A fighting game.” “No!” “Yay!” “SHUT UP SKATES!” “However,” the monster interrupts us as we begin chiding Skates’ stupidity. “I really do mean to talk to you. As long as you promise not to run, I’ll release you. If you do run…” The monster tears a boulder of crystals from the ground and crushes it into dust with his claws. “Well, these muscles aren’t just for show!” We nod furiously, not eager to lose our lives in a moment of weakness. “Before we begin, my name is Formidilosus Homoliberalis. But you can call me Cuddles. Any questions?” The monster looks down at us and smiles to our shaking heads. He turns around and begins walking, signaling with his serpentine tail to follow. “As you know, this is the legendary filtering chamber. Inside it is a filtering well.” He speaks as he travels ahead of us. Each one of his steps leaves a resounding vibration and an indentation in the ground. “There are many hidden across the world underneath important settlements, including Ponyville and Canterlot. Each one protects important hubs of civilization from traumatizing events at the cost of…” He loses his train of thought and grunts. “Maturity?” Lu helps. The monster snorts. “Actually, yes. The well prevents certain levels of behavior and speech at the discretion of the metaphysical fourth wall, which you have no doubt heard of. An unusual side effect causes nearby residents to act somewhat more childish, as you have no doubt seen.” As the monster says this, his tail moves to halt us. He shifts around to face us. “I am a guardian of the well, the greatest source of Order magic in existence. However, I am not Order myself. To be so would allow weakness and give evil a chance in obtaining ultimate power,” the monster informs with a disgusted glint in its (literal) orbs. Something tells me there’s history to this. “Wait, you’re not?” Lu asks, scratching his ashy white mane in confusion. “Then what are you?” The monster grunts and stares wistfully at the ceiling, reminiscing. “I am beyond time, beyond Chaos and Order. My magic is eternal, since the day of its conception. One day I will pass it on to my child, as she will to hers.” I tilt my head, nonplussed. “That sounds kind of like…” “Harmony, I am Harmony itself.” His declaration surprises me. I open my mouth to speak, but he interrupts. “Those trinkets your idols wear are fragments of the source that birthed my power, each coupled with a more… mischievous twin. I believe you know them as…” “Reagents?” I ask. Cuddles nods, confirming it. “Yes, reagents. It’s quite the interesting relationship. While the Elements of Harmony seal and dispel evil, the Reagents of Chaos merely create. Just like the balance of the universe. Order seeks to shape and control the life that Chaos creates. Both are limited, yet have so much potential. However, I am beyond those powers. As Harmony, I have the power to both create and control, but with limits. It is my duty to maintain those two, and unfortunately you four have upset that balance.” “Uh…” I scratch my itching hooves. “Alright, I see your point. But now what?” “Well,” the monster scratches his chin with a diamond talon. “Your very presence has ruptured time and space itself, creating a tangent. The only solutions…” “Wait!” Lu screams, his eyes widening. “Did you just say we’re in a tangent universe?” He’s breathing rapidly and his grey eyes have become bloodshot. Thank goodness we’ve already spent our bladders. The monster turns his head toward Lu, the sapphire orbs twinkling somberly. “Yes, unfortunately. The paradox is most likely irreparable, and only two solutions remain. I cannot risk the fate of the universe, so I must choose the uneasy one. I am sorry.” His blue orbs dim. It takes me a moment to realize he’s actually saddened by his decision, not merely pretending for our benefit. “Hey, what’s a tangent universe?” I ask Lu, turning toward him confused. He shakes his head, mouthing the word later. “Y-y-you’re going to kill us?” Dust whimpers, finally speaking to the giant. The monster lowers his head, apparently in shame. “I’m sorry little one, but you lack the power for the alternative.” “What alternative!” I scream angrily, finally losing my cool. I walk up to the beast, stand up on two hooves, and plant one of my others on his crystalline head. “Look, I don’t know or care what you think, but I’m damn well sure we’ve got the power! We managed to stop a force that can kill us mid-shot, so I’m damn well sure we can fix an itty bitty paradox!” Thunder booms in the distance, shaking the chamber. The guardian looks up toward the ceiling as it vibrates, and growls toward it. As I adjust my four hooves on the ground, the guardian looks back at me. “Very well. Lady Equestria has spoken. I will give you one chance, just one chance to prove yourselves.” I nod, confident in our abilities. My horn begins to glow scarlet, the same as my coat, from my previous spell. It warns me that Twilight is on her way, and that she’s zeroed in on my location with company. Oh, and that she’s crazy mad. The monster sighs and extends his claws while ruby and emerald spikes jut out of his spine. His crystal scales shift and start reflecting every color of the rainbow as he slowly stands up on his back two feet. “See if you can defeat a Kaiji in battle.” “Well… shit.”