//------------------------------// // New Eden Part 1 // Story: The Maria Chronicles: Book 2 Origins // by Sea Pony //------------------------------// ``You can do it Maria,`` Celestia said encouragely. I scrunch my face in concentration, ``You did it!`` My adoptive mother exclaimed proudly. I open my eyes and sure enough the vase was levitating in front of me with a dark blue aura. I was going to put victorious smile but that was before my magic withered away letting the vase shattering on the floor of the castle. I wince and look at the princess ashamed of my poor performance. ``It’s okay Maria we have plenty of other vases in the castle. Learning magic is not a easy task I didn’t expected you to learn levitation so quickly.`` ``Why am I learning magic so quickly? I barely learned to walk on four hooves and you expect me to learn spells?`` I ask with a frown. ``Well the reasons I want you to learn is because I know you are ready and also because I’m tired of hearing you complaining about how ‘disgusting’ it is to grab things with your mouth.`` She said the last part with a roll of her eyes. ``Well I don’t think I’m ready, every Unicorns of my age at least arleady know how to levitate and do the light spell. I must have a sort of magical disability!`` Years of praticed at enduring stuffy nobles was the only thing that keep Celestia from groaning. ``Maria you don’t have any disability, the other Unicorns of your age know more spells because they have been preparing themself to study magic since the day they were born! On the other side you weren’t even a pony one week ago.`` ``In the stories my dad was telling me before I sleep magic seem so easy yet out of reach and now that I have the ability to cast spells I can’t even do it. I wonder how he would react now that her daughter is a farm animal.`` Celestia was about to protest that ponies were no simple animals but bite back her words when she saw my sad expression. She through for a moment before a smirk cross her lips. ``Maria I think it’s finaly time you and I go on a long overdue trip.`` I was about to ask what she was talking about but before I could react me and her where engulfed into a golden aura. - - - - - Do you know the sensation of falling? This sensation that the comfortable safety of the solid ground is gone replaced with the terror of moving to a insane speed where you can’t imagine you will survive? Well imagine all of these sensations happening in the space of a single second and multiply it by ten and you might have an idea of what teleporting feel like. ``I’m so sorry Maria I didn’t think this through I was so excited and I didn’t had to teleport for so long that I forgot how it felt.`` I didn’t respond instead I droop my ears in shame and lowered my head. I might have peed myself from the experience. Yeah not my proudest moment in my life. at least I could recomfort myself in thinking that Celestia have seen much more embarrassing displays in her extremely long lifetime. Fortunately Celestia was able to wash most of it with her magic. Now that it was taken care of I could finaly see what was around us. I could see a huge city a little bigger than Canterlot, in the end of the city was a tall castle made of brick. Multiple flags were displayed at the top of the castle, the symbol was a red talon on a white background. But the thing that stood above all in the city for me wasn’t the batiments but the inhabitant. Instead of ponies like I became accustomed to the city was full of... ``Griffins?!`` I exclaimed loudly. ``Welcome to Griffonya, the biggest country on the Equus continent and the second most powerful country in the world. They are not our allies, but we have been in peace with each other for generations. The griffins might not like the ponies all that much. But they respect us for dethroning all the tyrants that rose up in our country.`` Celestia developped a frown as she through of something before she snap out of it. ``Anyway! We’re not here for the griffins my little pony.`` Why does everytime she say that line, I feel like I’m missing a reference? ``Look what’s behind you.`` I follow her instruction and was surprised at what I saw. In front of me was a pu5ple gate made of pure energy, it was half as tall as the Canterlot castle. It’s weird but I felt like the magic coming from there was very potent and really ancient, despite me being inexperinece with magic. ``What is that?`` I ask after a full minute of silence. ``This is the Veil, every single worlds apart from Oasis was created by the magic contained inside of it. It is also where the four creators of the worlds hold their council.`` Celestia had a familiar smile on her face. When she was in her lecture mode there was nothing to stop her t’ill her lesson was over. ``So why are we here exactly?`` ``It would ruin the surprise if I told you, follow me.`` With that the Princess trot into the magical gate. The griffins who stood as a guard didn’t even bother asking what was our business when he saw that it’s was Princess Celestia who had enter in the Veil. - - - - - All the way through this strange ‘Veil’ Celestia kept silent. We finally arrived in front of a golden door where a cross was engraved on it. I noticed that every door we passed was engrave with a symbol or another, the cross was the only one recognizable for me. ``Wait a second Maria`` Celestia interupted me in my trot. She aproach me with a pendant she held in her magical grasp. On the pendant was a small looking gem which was glowing with a golden aura the same color Celestia’s magic had. ``What is that?`` I raise an eyebrow at her. ``This is similar to a soul catcher, only it is designed to only absorbed magic spells.`` I didn’t know what was a soul catcher in the first place but I didn’t ask for now. ``Since we’re going to a world of level D you will need this. it is enchanted so that it wash your entire body with magic, so you don’t fall unconsious because of the lack of magic.`` Celestia put the pendant on my neck and instantly I felt the familiar warm sensation of Celestia’s magic wash over me. ``Won’t you need one too?`` I ask cautiously. ``I have a spark of level A, I don’t need magic to survive like my little ponies.`` The levels were something attribute to mesure how strong the spark of a being was. It was classed from F, the plants and small insects, to A, the gods and goddesses. There was also a level S but since only four beings in existence had a soul of that level we tend to not talk about it very often. Contrary to the other living beings, the people with sparks of level B, A and S could adapt to any worlds and didn’t need a certain amouth of magic to survive. Since I became level C by becoming a pony I needed a daily dose of magic, at the opposite of humans who would die if they were exposed to a stronger dose of magic to a long period of time. Anyway now that the small lesson is over let’s get back at the subject at hoof- I mean hands, these ponies are begining to get to me with their awful horses puns. When it was done we began to trot to the small door. Celestia shot me a encouraging smile and I open the door with a hoof. I gasp in wonder as soon as I came on the other side. The ground beneath me were made of clouds. What surprise me was that I could stand on it. Only Pegasi and griffins where suppose to be able to stand on clouds. So how could I? ``The entire place is enchanted with a cloud walking spell, normaly we cast the spell on a single pony but the Elders cast a powerful everlasting spell on this entire country so that everyone could stand on it at anytime.`` ``This is amazing. What is this place?`` I ask, I’m sure my eyes were sparkling at this point as a pony who’s passion was to write fantasy novel this was a dream come true. Oh sure I had Equestria with magical talking ponies. But when you live with them for one year it’s made them not so fantasist anymore. ``Welcome to New Eden, or as you humans used to call it, Heaven.`` Celestia state with a wide smirk. ``t-This is really...?`` I stuttered in disbelief. ``Well maybe not exactly, but the Elders helped the humans to recreated this place the more acurately they could, if it live up to the one in your old books it’s not in my knowledge.`` ``It’s wonderful that you show me this, but why? I arleady have a place to live in Equestria as tempting it is to live here I’m happy where I am.`` Celestia giggle at me. ``We’re not here for you to come live here Maria, think about it for a second, most humans of your time wanted to come here once they die. And every single soul that died in the Gaia branch get to choose where they want to live.`` I looked at her still confused before it clicked in my mind. ``My family!`` ``Yes I checked with the Elders and your family indeed chosed to come here. They live in a small house not too far from here. One warning through, because of the magical book of Free Dreamer your family have not seen you for centuries while you have only lost them for a year and three months.`` My eyes widden in shock before I narrowed my eyes. ``Wait a minute why did you wait all this time to show me this place?! I could have visit my family all this time!`` I glare harshly at the Princess. Celestia sighed sadly. ``I wanted you to have a chance to choose if you wanted to come back in your homeworld and live your mortal live. I knew if you came here you wouldn’t even consider leaving the Kira branch for your old life. But now since your tie to the Gaia branch has been cutted I through it was time you finally see your family.`` ``How will they react now that I’m a pony?`` I ask worriedly. ``I assume they will be shocked at first but do not worry too much about them rejecting you. They have lived here for a long time and became more than acustomed to the other sapient species, contrary to the humans who still live in your old world obvious about how the world really work.`` Celestia with a reasuring smile. ``Now follow me we don’t have all day.`` I followed my adoptive mother, it’s really weird to call her that I think more of Celestia as a mentor than a mother I think I’m just not ready to replace my real mom with another just yet. Anyway like I said. I followed Celestia awkwardly not just because I still had difficulty to walk on four limbs but also because at each steps I almost expected to fall through the clouds. Now I know how weird it felt like for Jesus to walk on the water, well that is if he really existed I should probably check on that. When we pass through the first batiment I saw a lady giving us stink eyes, I noticed that her glare was more aimed at Celestia than on me. ``Don’t worry about it Maria.`` Celestia said calmly, I am that easy to read? ``Almost everypo- I mean everybody who came here were strong believers of your religion. And since I am consider a goddess my presence alone can offend greatly some of them. But most of them came to accept that their beliefs where not wrong, but inacurated.`` I can’t imagine how it would be to dedicate every living breath of your life to a belief that wasn’t completely true. Sure I believed in christianity back home. But me being atracted to girls made me more than rejected by the church and I think I came to resent a being that couldn’t accept me for how it created me in the first place. So I wasn’t hit that hard when I learned that some of it wasn’t as acurated as I through. My line of through was interupted when I heard a loud voice screaming orders. And I got to say what I saw wasn’t what I expected. We were now standing on a small bridge below us was a small street made of bricks constructed over the clouds. Marching on it, was a squad of man and woman each wearing proudly a pure white set of fake-looking wings. ``Who are these soldiers?`` I ask to Celestia making her stop in her track. ``Those are the knights of the coucil or more commonly called by humans the angels. They’re wings are fake and are just for show. The real wings of the knights are made by pure magic, they only create them when they go fly because it would take too much magic out of them otherwise.`` Celestia responded. ``But I through humans where a magicless race.`` I look at her in confusion. ``Normal humans are magicless.`` She respond with a nod. ``But the humans who share blood-tie with the Elders family developed a soul of level C instead of level D and they can learn to cast spell. Most of them can’t do anything past wing conjuration and spiritual orbs. Oh! And they can also survive in both types of world of level D and C.`` ``But does that mean that every humans with magical powers are reunited here? I can’t imagine there that many humans with magical powers.`` Celestia laugh at my question. ``You would be surprised how many people share a bloodline with the Elders. In all of the multiverse almost thirty percent of humans have magic powers. There also humans who are still have a soul of level D and learned to cast spell.`` ``How?!`` I ask genuinely curious about this. ``Well like I said the humans who are connected to the Elders in a certain way developed magic, but since they are many races in this world it is not unheard of that some interspecies relashionship will give birth to a human, but humans who didn’t become a sort of hybrid by a interspecies relashionship are most of the time been given life by magic induced pregnancy. ``When that happen it’s rare that the baby will share as much gene with the second parent than pregnancy given by the natural way. But their soul will be strongly mixed with the magic of the father or mother who casted the magic induced pregnancy. And because of that they’re chances they can still cast spells. But most of them need the help of a magical conductor like a magic wand, a staff and some even dare to use a soul catcher.`` Her expression darkened when she mentioned the last. ``What is a soul catcher?`` I tilt my head confused, this was not something I heard at school. ``Don’t worry about it, oh look! We’re here.`` Celestia exclaimed looking happy to have dodge the question. We arrived in front of a small house made of almost rotten wood, one of window was brocken probably by a kid who played a game or something. A patch of grass was planted all around the small structure and I could see small flowers and fruits decoring the poor looking environement. I gulped as a strong nervousness attacked me. I didn’t saw them for over a year. I admit for the longest time I held a fantasy where they would just smile and greet me and everything would become perfect finally. I now realised how childish this fantasy seem, my parents where more accepting than most humans of my world. But that was mostly because my dad had to explore a lot of subjects when he wrote his novel and developed a strong open mind. But could they accept their daughter becoming a mare, or even worse could they forgive me for having abandoned them for centuries? As Celestia knocked each noise produced by the wooden door sounded more like the marching of an unforgiving army than a simple pounding. My heart beated faster than it ever had and when the door finally creak open a huge lump developed itself in my throat. This was the moment of truth. - - - - - In a simple looking back alley. A loud metalic wheezing sound interupted the calm and peace of New Eden. Fortunately no one seem to be pertubed by the strange sound. When the wheezing came to an end a blue box was materialised in the once calmed back alley. A brown stallion with a hourglass cutie mark poke it head out of the blue box before he grin and looked back behind him. ``Ditzy, Winter Song I present you New Eden!`` He said in a proud voice.