This Can Only End Well
-Chapter One-
Stepping through the Vortex was an odd experience. Think of amusement park rides that, after swinging you up really high quickly bring you back down, making your stomach feel really weird.
After the queasiness finally left, I opened my eyes (I didn't even know I had closed them) and took a look around.
The sight took my breath away.
To put it bluntly, we were in a moonlit clearing ( Which I will henceforth refer to as 'The Glade'). To actually describe it, we were at the edge of a forest clearing, the trees towering into the sky, yet leaving a big enough gap to let the full, giant moon glow brightly down, illuminating everything not shadowed by the trees, which was quite a lot. The night sky was filled with thousands of shining stars, and I'm sure there were some constellations, but I don't know enough about the formation of them to be completely sure. I reached down and brushed my hand through the grass, which reached up to my ankles. It was incredibly soft and ,while wet with dew, surprisingly warm. There were violets scattered randomly throughout in large groups. The most striking thing about The Glade however, was a pool, completely still, that twinkled under the shine of the moon. I got up and walked over to it, and it wasn't until I was right at the edge that I noticed that it wasn't the reflection of the moon or the stars that made it twinkle.
The pool was apparently made of stardust. It was simply beautiful.
"Hey, Glyph. Is this where you come from?" I instantly doubted it. I found it very unlikely that anything as simple- well, okay, Glyph isn't simple in any way, but I mean simple looking- came from anywhere as incredible as this.
"No, this is not my home. Where I come from, there is hardly any vegetation." He sounded distraught, but I could tell that he was as enthralled by this place as I was.
I sat down next to the star pool as Glyph floated over to me. "This place is simply incredible. I'm pretty sure we're not on Earth any more. What do you think of this place, Glyph?"
"It's so pretty. Right now, I don't care if we never find my home. I'd be happy just to stay here forever." That was a sentiment I could agree with, though I'd probably get bored after a while. I felt completely at peace, something I don't think I've ever felt.
"WHO ART THOU THAT DARE TRESPASS UPON OUR PRIVATE SANCTUM"
I jumped instantly to my feet, in complete shock as I tried to register what I was hearing, and the implications it brought. 'Okay, saying this is impossible isn't valid anymore. I just stepped through a Vortex with a floating metal ball that speaks. But if that voice is coming from who I think it's coming from, then I honestly have no idea what is going to happen next.
I turned to look behind me. Striding at a steady pace towards us was a dark indigo mare, tall enough that the top of my head only reached the base of hers, her wings outstretched and eyes full of anger, horn shimmering, a spell being readied.
And Princess Luna, Ruler of the Night and Co-Ruler of Equestria, bore down on me with fury and confusion in her eyes.
As fast as I could, I got down on one knee and knelt before her, grabbing hold of Glyph and bringing him down to ground level. If we were lucky, we might get out of this un-banished.
Luna looked puzzled by my actions, probably now realizing that I wasn't a pony. Thankfully, it seemed that her confusion overrode her anger, and she was left staring incredulously at us.
There was a long and awkward pause before she spoke again, this time without the Royal Canterlot Voice. Good. I don't think my ears could have taken the volume at such close quarters."What manner of beasts are you?" I winced slightly at the bluntness of the question, but shook it off before standing up, Glyph returning to his original floating height.
It took me a while to answer.Mainly because I was still overwhelmed by the fact that I was looking at Princess Luna and because I was trying to stop myself from hugging her. While I was regaining my composure, she looked at me, slightly annoyed. "Well, can't you speak?"
Composure: Regained. " Yes, I can speak. Both of us can. And since you want to know, I am a human, and Glyph here" I thumbed at the floating ball "is... well... he's a..." It was at this moment in time that I realized I didn't actually know what Glyph was, exactly. "Um, Glyph? What ARE you?"
He stared at me for a moment, blue eye wavering a bit, before finally he spoke." I... I don't know what I am. All I know is exploring ruins and then finding the Vortex which led me to you." The poor guy looked so sad. I would've given him a hug if it weren't for the fact that Luna was looking at us, completely dumbfounded.
"A... human? And a silver ball that doesn't even know itself what it is?" She mulled this over in her mind for a couple of moments, before addressing me again. "You, human-". I cut her off," I do have a name. Kinda rude that you didn't think to ask, Princess Luna."
She looked shocked. But, I suppose that if you were an immortal, all powerful being that knew of every creature in your world and suddenly found two completely knew ones, one of which knew who you were and had actually cut you off, you would be too. Then it dawned on me that this couldn't end well.
Oh crap how am I gonna explain this think dammit think oh god why did I have to be so smug.
While frantically thinking, it occurred to me that Glyph was probably just as clueless as Luna was. I figured I would explain it to him later.
"You know who I am and yet I know nothing about you nor your floating friend." Her voice was completely still. I had a hard time figuring out whether she was angry, surprised, confused or even scared. "You must also know that my sister and I have complete knowledge of every species in Equestria.You know that we are two of the most powerful beings in the land." Luna had gotten quite close to my face, and I could hear anger growing in her voice, yet she still displayed no emotion. I have to admit, Luna is pretty ballsy. She probably thought that I was more powerful than her (HA!), yet she showed no signs of fear or worry. "I ask of you this: How.How do you know who we are?"
Ah, crap.
Time for the biggest bold-faced lie I have ever told. I motioned for Glyph to be quiet while I spoke.
"How do I know all that, you ask? You know how you use magic? Well, where I come from, magic doesn't exist. Unless, of course, you believe that magic is just sufficiently applied science. You see, the top scientists of my people have managed to create a device that allows us to see into other dimensions." Okay, technically a TV is basically that, but from what I can tell, only FiM is an actual universe. "However, we have not yet been able to travel to other dimensions - and don't ask me how the dimensional viewer works, only the people actually working on it know that."
Luna had a look of pure shock on her face during my 'explanation', but at the mention of us not being able to travel through dimensions, she looked confused."If you cannot travel from your own world, then how did you get here?"
"Oh, Glyph and I just used the Vortex over there." I motioned in the general area of the Vortex. "It somehow brought us here. I don't think we'll ever find out how it works."
Her eyes widened upon seeing the Vortex. What she said next, however, had me worried.
"You came through that? Don't you think it's a little... big? For just the two of you?"
I turned towards the Vortex."What are you talking about? Surely it's not that... big..." Okay, so I didn't mention it before, but when we stepped through the Vortex, it was around the size of a normal door. Now? It was about as big as a house.
"Uh, Glyph? Was the Vortex that big when you went through? 'Cause I sure as hell don't think it was when we went through to here."
"No," Glyph replied, "The Vortex I took was about the same size as the one we used. And I don't want to alarm anyone, but, uh, I think something is coming through."
"Anything coming out of that is gonna be MASSIVE. And I doubt it's gonna be the friendliest of creatures. We have to get to the trees, now."
I started running, Glyph flying after me. Luna wasn't budging.
"DAMMIT LUNA, MOVE!"
"I have faced plenty of creatures, many hundreds of times my size. My sister and I sealed away the very anthropomorphic personification of Chaos. I doubt anything coming through that gate would prove much of a threat." She sounded very sure, and she probably could take most anything that appeared.
But I wasn't going to take that risk.
"Luna, we've seen a lot of things in other worlds." She was now focused on me. "We've seen many like our own. Many where there is hardly any conflict or strife. But we've also seen some of the most terrifying beasts imaginable. Some can drive men insane even if they are just glimpsed. Some have destroyed countless races over billions of years in a vicious cycle. There are many that could destroy, or corrupt, or conquer this world in a single day. I don't know if you have ever seen inside the gates of Tartarus, but any demon or fiend in there pales in comparison to any of the eldritch abominations that we have seen. So please Luna, GET TO COVER!"
She didn't need any more encouragement, and she looked terrified. I promised myself I would make up for this. Right now we had bigger things to worry about.
From behind the cover of trees, we could see the Vortex pulse. Whether or not it did that when Glyph and I came through, I have no idea. But I'm pretty sure it didn't send shockwaves through the forest.
I glanced over at Luna. She was actually melding with the shadows, the only things visible her eyes.
Through the Vortex pushed a head. A scaly, reptilian head about the size of a double-decker bus, three amber eyes, the size of dinner plates on each side. Fangs as long as a grown mans leg and as sharp looking as a razor lined an eerily grinning mouth. Four horns, as thick as tree trunks, two on the top of the head, two curving down along the side, all ending in wicked points.
The mouth opened, and roared in a voice that shook me to the very core
"I.AM.BELIAMUT.