//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: New Beginnings // by Lunafan1k //------------------------------// Jack Frost and Pitch Black approached the base of the mountain. It had taken nearly the rest of the day to make it that far, but being incorporeal spirits that meant nothing to them as they never tired. “So…” Jack started. He was bored out of his mind, (the green fields had gotten old after a few hours) yet he was not quite sure if he was ready to speak to his traveling company, no matter how bored he was. Pitch sighed, feeling the same way. “What?” Jack shrugged and decided to throw caution to the wind, “So how did… you know, you, come about? All I know is that you were causing trouble before the Man in the Moon chose the Guardians to overthrow you.” Jack said with a bit of hesitation. “Really? That’s all those simpletons know of me? Come now Jack, surly you must be joking.” Jack merely shrugged. “I was born from the darkness caused by the light.” Jack looked at Pitch like he had grown a third head. “Let me explain it to you this way then, when you turn on a light in a room, what lurks behind and underneath everything?” “Um, shadows?” Jack guessed. “Exactly! Do you know why?” Pitch asked with a grin, “Because that is the true balance of the universe. When there is light, there must be shadows, and from those shadows I was born. I am darkness; I bring darkness into the world. Without me, life would be dull and without meaning!” “How would a world full of light and joy be dull and boring? I think it would be the paradise that everyone strives for.” Jack said. Pitch looked around in thought for a moment, “Because there would be no meaning to everything. You would have no desires because you would have no need of them, nothing to strive for, content with the world for eternity. Darkness brings meaning of sacrifice; nothing is easy and the more you fight against the darkness the more glorious the rewards. Like a man with no legs racing against seasoned runners on flimsy prosthetics. He may not win, but the fact he fought his own disability to finish a race is truly inspiring.” “So then why did you want to shroud the world in darkness then?” Jack asked. “Have you heard of the Greats?” Pitch asked suddenly, to which Jack shook his head, “The Greats are beings of balance; neither of darkness nor of light. But they do what must be done to maintain order. The Man in the Moon is one such being.” Pitch paused, and picked a yellow flower from the grass nearby. He held it up for Jack to see. “Over the last few centuries, he went against his own purpose to instill more and more light upon the world to the point it was vastly overbalanced. He made you, the groundhog, the leprechaun, and all sorts of beings for the good of the world. The darkness was being pushed back so I made a plan to not only restore the balance, but hopefully tip the scale in my direction.” Pitch crushed the flower in his palm, reducing it to a juicy mush. “For the most part it worked; the nightmares are still out and about wreaking havoc around the world, while the guardians do their best to fight them to a standstill. Although I never thought I would be banished to the darkness I came from. Slight oversight on my part.” “That… doesn’t really put me at ease…” Jack said, moving slightly farther away from Pitch as they walked closer to the mountain. “What’s keeping you from trying to do the same to this world once you get your power back?” “Remarkably enough, the balance of this world is actually nearly perfect as far as I can tell, which is actually rather disturbing.” Pitch said. He slowed to a stop and closed his eyes as he cast his mind outward. Jack stopped to look back at him, “Disturbing? How, exactly?” “Imagine it Jack, a dark power so pure and strong it could single handedly destroy the planet. Now imagine another of equal strength restoring the world in an instant. Their power would cancel themselves so completely there would be nothing left. “Now imagine those beings separated into parts, the darkness into fewer, more powerful monsters and the light into many, less powerful people. Alone the monsters would destroy the people, but if the people rally together the monster is vanquished: strength in numbers, people would say, but it is the inner light and darkness that truly tip the balance in favor of one side or another.” “Wow,” Jack said, “since when did you become a philosopher?” “Millennia to my thoughts, Jack.” Pitch stated in monotone as he opened his eyes to stare at Jack. “Oh, right.” Jack turned back around to examine the mountain’s sheer cliff. “Anyway, how do we get up there?” “There must be a path nearby…” Pitch trailed off as he looked around the area. Off in the distance to their right was what looked like a horse pulling a carriage along a path of some sort. “I think we’ll find our answer just over there.” Pitch Turned back to Jack and jerked his head towards the small caravan before striding closer to it. Jack quickened his stride to keep up, but as they neared something seemed… off. Neither could put their fingers on it at first, but soon they were close enough to pick out the major details. The one pulling the cart was horse-like, but much smaller, more pony sized. But unlike any pony they know of, this one was brightly colored, with a head much too large for its body and its eyes almost swallowing its entire head. “Well, I guess you were right about that different world theory after all…” Jack commented as they strode alongside the strange creature. “And it looks like we're invisible to it too.” He said, snapping his fingers in front of its face. Pitch wasn’t paying attention to Jack. Instead, he was looking in the carriage. There he found two more of the odd ponies, one that appeared as an adult, and a sleeping little one that he would guess to be a child, a foal. He was speechless for a moment, purely dumbfounded. “Jack? I think we might have a problem.” He called out. Jack wasted no time in joining Pitch in the carriage, “What’s up?” he asked as he looked around in worry. “Tell me, Jack, what are we not seeing on this little caravan?” Pitch said, staring intently at the two ponies. Jack looked around, thinking back to his earlier days when this form of travel was common. “Well, let’s see, they got the pack animals, food, blankets… I’m not seeing any meat though, or hunting equipment. Looks like just grass and stuff, so what about the people on this trip, what would they be eating?” “Exactly, there is no indication of there being any people on this trip at all, just these animals, it makes no sense!” Pitch exclaimed. He clutched his head and began to pace back and forth trying to figure out what exactly was going on. “Well, this is another planet, right?” Jack asked. Pitch paused to consider his earlier thoughts. “No… no I don’t think this is simply another planet. The culture looks far too similar to our own world to suggest that. I think this is truly another plane of existence, one that is perhaps a mirror of our own world.” “Ok, well, maybe the ponies are the dominant race instead of the people?” Jack asked. Pitch turned and gave him a look that could melt steel. “Don’t be absurd, there is no way a race of plant eaters could become the top of the food chain, let alone master the skills required to build something like this properly!” He denied. “Well, I think I know of a way to find out.” Jack suggested. Pitch glared at him, “Well if you have such a cunning idea then go ahead, find out if they are the dominate race.” Jack looked over the horses once more, “Well? I’m waiting.” Jack shot him a glare back to silence him, before moving to gently tap his staff against the side of the little one. The effect was instantaneous; the foal began to shiver as the chill ran over him. One of the larger ponies noticed, and then greatly alarmed both Jack and Pitch as it spoke! “Oh, look at the poor dear; shivering from cold on such a nice day, I think he is worse off now from when we started this journey.” It stood and rummaged around in one of the boxes of supplies, returning a moment latter with a heavy blanket. “Golden Wheat, have we reached Canterlot yet?” The mare called out. The stallion pulling the carriage looked back at them, “Not quite yet, Maybelle, we’re about to start up the mountain path.” “Good, the sooner we get there, the sooner the Princess can help little Apple Seed here.” The mare, Maybelle, said as she snuggled up to the little foal to help warm him. The carriage quickly fell back into silence, the only sounds coming from Golden Wheat’s hooves clopping on the road and the rattle of the carriage. The two spirits could only look on in stunned silence. Jack was the first to break it, “So, talking ponies…” Pitch remained silent as he slumped to the floor of the carriage. “Well if the direction is any clue, then I bet the castle is called Canterlot, and these three are headed there, to see a princess. A princess pony.” Jack slumped down in defeat as well, “Seriously? A pony princess. What the hell is going on?” “Honestly, I don’t know Jack.” Pitch replied as he threw his head back against the wall, producing a thud that the ponies didn’t hear. “I doubt a pony princess would be able to help us, but I don’t have any other suggestions other than ‘Go see the princess’ to try.” Jack said. So they waited out the rest of the trip in an uneasy silence, the foal shivering and moaning at random and the supposed mother trying to comfort it being the only distraction.