"Preparing Incarnation #277...
Target World Designation: Equestria
Scanning Specifications...
#[618788985i - 159376569 | -271037595i + 372999592 | -77186302i + 65 | MLP:FiM]
Physics Setup: S-6-C
Arcane Potential: 29295482758.1Ri
Barrier Integrity: 96.73%
Deterioration Rate: 1.2
Descended Present: Light, Order, Chaos, Malevolence
Access Pending..."
—Incarnation Log, lines 14176 to 14188
Careful not to disturb its pattern, the alicorn strode around the octagon, inspecting the candles, the runes, the arcane seals. Everything was in place.
She reached out with her mind to inform Him they were ready.
“The circle is drawn, the runes are flawless. Shall we proceed?” she asked.
'Perform The Ritual.' The answer came with His usual, unnatural high intensity. It was an unsolved mystery whence it came, but it arrived with precision and imprinted itself into her mind, kin to conscious thought, but not her own.
“Everypony be attentive,” she addressed her followers, slightly raising her voice. “We will now begin as soon as possible.”
Her fellow ponies bowed to the order of their princess, hurrying to finish what final preparations they were engaged in.
She sighed heavily. Looking around, it once again struck her she was the only alicorn present, and a sharp pain ran through her chest, as though an icy needle pierced her contracting heart.
So many of my sisters have died...
“Light the candles! Bring the dark crystal.”
Now, there were only two other princesses left. But, well, they—
“Hey, princess! Aren’t we gonna have a party before the ceremony to celebrate everypony’s efforts?”
Her train of thought derailed by the outburst, the great alicorn jumped at the sudden appearance of the joyful and, not to mention, prominently pink pony with the curly mane. She was still not used to that kind of shrillness.
“No, I'm afraid not.” She pulled herself together and focused on the here and now.
“Oh, you don't have to be. Not having a party is boring, not scary.” The mare grinned enthusiastically at her, not in the least perturbed by the princess's refusal.
A little chuckle escaped her. Despite the melancholy-invoking affairs ponies like Diane reminded her of, that one's mood was simply contagious.
“I have to admit, though, nothing prevents a party from taking place after the ritual has been successfully performed. In fact, it would be appreciated.”
Her subject smiled up at her.
“That's awesome! Thank you so much, princess.”
“It's quite alright, Di. Your efforts to keep everypony's spirits high are most valuable.”
When she turned, however, she noticed something at the corner of her eye and froze. A young unicorn colt with a black mane was prancing along at the other side of the hall. On top of his stubby horn, he was balancing a glass pod containing a single shard of jagged, grey crystal, maybe two hoof widths in length. Wobbling precariously as the youth bounced along, the fragile container seemed only moments away from a disastrous fall.
Within the blink of an eye, the alicorn teleported over to him and grabbed the pod before it could fall and shatter. The colt gave a short yelp and dropped down on his rear, looking up to the princess with wide eyes and flattened ears. She sighed, once again. She had been doing that a lot, lately.
“Sombra,” she started with a trace of annoyance, “this is not a valid procedure to transport our only sample of a vile material with mostly unknown and potentially dangerous qualities. I want you to be more attentive and cautious from now on, especially when handling crystals imbued with dark magic.”
“I'm sorry... I... didn't think...” Sombra stuttered, his lips quivering. She had been too forceful, too intense. They were all on edge, these days.
She tried took keep the sharpness from her voice as she continued.
“You'll have to change your approach a bit, my little pony. Otherwise, not thinking will get you into real trouble someday.”
“Gee,” Di barged in, “why do we need them mean evil grey scary crystal magic things at all? I don't like them.” She narrowed her eyes at the shard.
“Unfortunately, they act as a nearly irreplaceable catalyst in our ritual. I don't like them, either, but we have no choice but using them.”
“Yes, but, I mean, what do these things even do?”
“The Purpose Of The Ritual Is To Tear A Rift Into The Very Fabric Of Reality, Creating A Portal Which Links This Dimension To Another One.”
The princess was startled. Of course He was nearly always connected to her, sharing many of her thoughts, but He hardly ever started speaking without being addressed first. In fact, He had never joined a conversation of hers before, let alone projected His voice into somepony else's mind.
“This Portal Is Tremendously Unstable By Its Very Nature. In Order To Prevent Catastrophic Surges Of Raw, Uncontrolled Magic, It Has To Be Properly Stabilised. If One Were To Accomplish Such A Feat, They Would Have To Use An Appropriate Spell, A Catalytic Material Or A Specialised Artefact Comparable To, For Instance, A Sigil Stone.
As Powerful As Ponykin Are, Given The Currently Available Resources, You Are Not Capable Of Producing The Necessary Magic Output For Simultaneously Opening The Rift And Casting A Proper Stabilisation Spell. Concerning Artefacts, It Is Important To Note That The Concept Of An Interdimensional Portal Is Quite New To Ponykin. Therefore There Are No Known Magical Appliances That Possess The Ability To Stabilise Such A Portal.
Hence The Only Solution Is To Use Magic Materials Possessing Qualities That Allow Them To Withstand The Arcane Emissions Of A Rift And Prevent It From Instantaneously Collapsing.
Said Crystals, Attuned To The Correct Vibrations, Are The Only Suitable Material Available. Their Purpose Is To Stabilise The Gate, Enable Passage And Save You From Being Lethally Mutated By Fluctuations Of Chaotic Magic.”
“Okey-dokey-lokey!” Diane replied and happily bounced off.
'What A Remarkable Pony. She Is... Different.'
“She's just being Di Pie,” the alicorn put forward. It felt like a feeble explanation, but it was easier to prescribe strangeness to eccentricity than otherwise. “Being happy seems to be her special talent.”
'Most Peculiar. Do Proceed.'
And His voice was silent once again.
The princess carefully placed the glass pod with its vicious content at the centre of the eight-sided star. Her team of seven unicorn conjurers had already gathered around the magic circle. Everypony else had just about left. She slowly trotted over to the octagon's last remaining side to complete the ring of magi.
“Let us start the incantation!” she boomed.
The room was now completely silent apart from the constant collective muttering of the eight ponies reciting spells not made by their kind. Brilliant magic radiated from the eight unicorn horns, tinting everything in an eerie, otherworldly light. The runes glowed faintly, pulsing with energy. The candles flickered in the wind of a different world, their flames taking on odd shapes and hues.
The sharp, clear noise of breaking glass soared through the thick, heavy air. The pod had shattered, the crystals were growing.
The incantation continued. Other, foreign voices seemed to weave themselves into the choir as the hall gained an unnatural resonance.
Two large crystalline spikes rose from the ground, piercing upwards, forming two columns of dark, grey crystal, sizzling with malicious magic. More crystals sprouted from the pillars, forming a twisted arc. The candles flickered, the ponies chanted. The air rippled.
With a deafening burst, the world was torn apart. An expanding, quivering black tear hung inside the circle. It reached out and abruptly widened, hitting its crystalline confines with a sound that sent the dark archway ringing.
A gate of absolute darkness had opened. The ritual had been successful.
Three unicorns collapsed due to the immense exhaustion and mental strain, the remaining looked up and stared into the starless void between the worlds. Something was moving out there.
An eldritch abomination pushed Itself in front of the faceless void. It was twisted, horrid and massive, yet it was impossible to tell whether It was solid, liquid or gaseous, an incomprehensible titan, something pony was not meant to know or see. Its form was not to be defined by fourdimensional space-time, Its colours were not limited to the spectrum of light. Luckily, the empty space transmitted neither sound nor scent, for these would have been equally beyond perception. It had no visible face, in fact nothing that qualified as a specialised body part, still, It was smiling. Maybe it was imagined, maybe it was something about the way It moved, but It seemed to radiate content.
The ponies reacted accordingly. Two unicorns fainted on the spot, one ran off screaming. The last sat down, shaking, wall-eyed, staring at the indescribable Thing. The princess herself froze, mesmerized by the unreal appearance. A part of her was primally afraid, the other simply overwhelmed. She felt as though It was speaking, yet Its voice was lost on her.
The Thing purposefully slithered towards the portal, watching the ponies with an eyeless stare. It reached the gap between the worlds and tried to pass.
The tear in existence buckled and blistered. The doorway of crystal groaned, motes and glimmers of light dancing around edges and creaks, and around each molecular imperfection.
A shockwave of raw, unrelenting magic erupted from the portal, vaporising the crystal arch, blowing out the candles, tossing around and blinding everypony with its brilliance.