//------------------------------//
// CH 15: Floodgates 
// Story: Bridging Ages, Bridging Worlds 
// by BlueDWarrior 
//------------------------------//


=== BABW: A New Movement ===


=== Chapter 15: Floodgates ===



[ March 1, ??? + 1 – Vogelstadt, Gryphon Federated Territory[1] ]
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        The tik-tak of talons and the occasional tok of an accidentally extended foot-claw filled the air, as a finely dressed gryphon rushed down the finely buffed halls of Löwe[1] Castle, the formal residence of the Head of the Leo Clan, and therefore King of all the Federated Gryphon Tribes[2].

“Oh dear, this is big… really big… bigger than big…” the royal aide muttered as he tried his best to rush down the hall without slipping across the recently waxed floor.

Something the poor leopard-coated gryphon couldn’t manage well at all, as he constantly banged into decorative armor displays, and got momentarily caught in various standards and banners hanging from the walls.

“Of course they would wax the blasted floors when I need to get clear across the castle in a hurry,” the aide mumbled angrily as he carefully took the flags off his face and dinged a nearby bell for one of the servant-gryphs to deal with the mess.

After another few minutes struggling to walk and/or run through the halls of the castle, he had finally reached his destination, the Masseuse Halls. And more to the point, a particular room with a particular sign laid across the upper half directly under the number:

        “Room Reserved By King Guile – Please Knock Before Entering!”

The aide calmed himself down as much as he could manage, as he rapped the door several times.

“By Aquileo’s glorious crest, that feels good…” he heard a certain gregarious, masculine voice shout, clearly audible from the entire hall for several lengths down.

“Sir, I hate to interrupt your weekly deep tissue massage, but we have some urgent news from our contacts in Equestria.”

“And just when I was starting to shut out the entire world… fine, Leonard, you may enter.”


The aide was greeted by the sound of a sitar being played on newer model record player, the smell of rich incense burning, and the sight of his regal King face down on a masseuse’s table, beak barely visible underneath the face-hole on the table. 

While King Guile was not the most imposing of gryphons with his lion-and-eagle based build, as well as being middle-aged, he was still quite the figure. And the fact he even came close to appearing vulnerable, being face-down on said table, was making Leonard even more nervous than aides normally were while in Guile’s presence in a less-than-formal setting. A flock of crows were the only other things in the general vicinity, as they peered in at the sight of the Gryphon king laid out on his belly on a table through the lone glass window of the room.

“Well you did see fit to interrupt my massage session. And you know I only let my darling Guinevere do such without a very good reason. So I would like to hear this reason of yours…” Guile asked with only the slightest hint of terseness in his voice.

Due to the less-than-obvious anger in his king’s voice, Leonard still quaked as he gathered his mind to relay the message. “Your highness, our contacts in Equestria have a major update regarding that strange… outburst of energy our scryers noticed some weeks ago.”

“Ah yes, I believe one of the Rootwatchers picked that outburst up. If it was one of the Lichtsuchers[3] they would say Princess Celestia was developing some kind of Pony Magic Super-weapon, and we had stumbled across the aftermath of a test,” Guile replied as he silently ordered the masseuse out of the room.

“Their paranoia about Equestria in general drives me up a tree. And it has only become worse in the months since they have begun their little… project,” the aide added, as he took a seat on one of the cushion-chairs near the masseuse’s table, which Guile was now sitting up on;  towel across his lap.

“Quite. If only there were a way I could ship off the more malcontented Tigris-house members to wherever Celestia seems to be shuttling off to. Then again dumping a bunch of easily riled gryphons there would bring on a whole other host of problems. And the last thing I need is to re-strain the relationship this kingdom, through my family, have spent generations attempting to rectify,” Guile groaned as he struck a contemplative repose, trying to game out what was going on where and why.

“In any case, back to the point. Our sources tell us they are going to attempt to release some kind of… ancient energy in that other realm. And there is some speculation that released energy will travel back across whatever they’ve used to link our world to that other one,” Leonard reported, as he tried to steer the conversation back to where it started.

“I see. I meant the super-weapon thing as a joke. But a mysterious energy could easily be construed as such. And the Tigris House is looking for any excuse to start returning to a more… traditional stance vis-à-vis Equestria and her commonwealths,” Guile figured aloud, as he dreaded the idea he had just invoked.

“Why does the Tigris house cling so… so bitterly to that old way of life? All it begat was constant war with Equestria and all her commonwealths. I mean you can’t expect a species of sapient Ponies to just accept being hunted like a common antelope, now can you?” Leonard struggled to rationalize, as he ran a talon through his red-fringed feather-crest.

Guile slapped the padded table as he acknowledged the like-mind of his aide. “No, and that was the ENTIRE reason for King Gallant forging the Rights of Existence Accord with Equestria. We leave the Ponies alone in terms of hunting or sport-killing or anything of that nature, and they provide us with material support in finding wild populations of non-sapients and techniques for ranching and raising livestock. We get our meat without having to constantly bang our head on a brick wall. I cannot see why any-gryph would have a problem with it.”

“I… I don’t either…” Leonard replied, as his eyes traced along the floor.

“Now if we are done, I would like to get back to my massage. I was finally starting to enjoy myself,” Guile remarked, as he made to lie back on his belly on the table.

“The good Queen confides that she believes you are enjoying your weekly sessions a bit… too much,” Leonard replied, as he shook his head in dismay at his king’s intellectual blind spot.

“Oh come off it. I am nothing if not the model husband for Guinevere. What kind of king am I if I cannot so much as keep my queen happy and content?” Guile asked as he placed his head back into the face-hole of the table.

“You may need to ask her that…” the aide replied as he walked out of the room and let the masseuse back in.

Guile merely waved Leonard off dismissively as the masseuse re-engaged where she left off.


[ March 8, ??? + 1 – Ponyville, Equestria ]
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        It was early morning in Ponyville, and not much was stirring, save for a pair of less-than-fully loaded carts moseying down the slightly damp streets toward the Newfoal Reception Center.

“So how have your families been taking the fact that you all are back-and-forth between dimensions like this on a regular basis,” Blue Vague asked as he walked along the street, one cart hooked up to him while Applejack was hooked to the other.

“Honestly, Ah’d say they’ve come around. At least Ah’m sure that Applebloom understands why Ah’m so in and out of her life now,” Applejack reasoned aloud, as she remembered the words of encouragement that her younger sister gave her as she set off at dawn from Sweet Apple Acres.

“Sweetie Belle can be so delicate sometimes when it comes to her feelings; but she’s showing more strength than I gave her credit for before. I’m sure she would be devastated if she found her Cutie Mark before we all came back, but she also understands that there are some larger forces at work here, and it is our obligation as the Elements of Harmony to help see all of this through smoothly,” Rarity added, hoping that Sweetie Belle wouldn’t have to deal with finding her Mark before she returned, after all.


“Well what about you two?” Golden Storm started asking of Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle, as he floated along ground level. “Especially you, Miss Sparkle. I mean I thought you were a bit charmed being Celestia’s personal student and all; but to think your big bro is Prince of an entire commonwealth, and then married to the youngest of the Alicorns on top of that?”

Twilight blushed with the mild embarrassment she felt whenever someone reminded her of the circumstances of herself and her brother. “He’s always had a way of figuring out what was going on in my head without me telling him, or him using any kind of telepathy. By the time I started dedicating some time to the issue of how exactly you all are supposed to unseal the Terran Mana, he already had sent me a letter requesting an audience with the four of you once you were done. Something along the lines of him wanting to understand Terran Magic so he can devise defensive spells and equipment against it.”

“I wonder if that’s because he’s the head of the Crystal Guard, or if because he’s your older brother…?” Red Blaze asked aloud, not directing the question at Twilight directly, but the tone was obvious to everyone there.

“Knowing my BBBFF… it’s both.” Twilight replied, with some hint of exasperation.

As the cadre of eleven continued along, Twilight noticed something, or rather the distinct lack of something.

“You haven’t said that much Spike. Do you not to want to go to Earth again with us?” Twilight asked of the young drake riding in cart.

“It’s not that. It’s like there is this nagging thing in the back of my head. And it won’t shut up until we’re back Earthside,” Spike replied, the annoyance evident in his tone and his face.

“Well maybe you could describe it?” Fluttershy asked as she looked Spike over to see if he was sick or anything.

“I don’t know really. It’s like I’m hungry for something, but it’s not food. Like some piece of me is… empty I guess?” Spike replied as he turned to the side, to face somewhat away from Fluttershy.

“I wish we had an older dragon to talk to about this. At least an older one that wasn’t a complete boor,” Rarity replied, showing concern for the purple dragon.


-----


        After some time, the eleven of them arrived with their belongings. Pinkie Pie was somewhat bemused by how 'empty' the place looked, despite all the Converts and Natives that would come through during the day in due time. "Wow, you can tell this place was busier earlier, but I guess when the Princesses say 'Clear out', well, you better clear out."

Everyone just nodded in sage agreement.

Shortly afterward, both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna manifested in the Transportation hall where the ten Ponies and Spike were waiting. 

"So, it looks like everyone is ready to go then?" Celestia asked, everyone a bit taken aback by her brevity.

Twilight Sparkle looked around for anyone to object, and found nothing. "Um... yeah, it looks like we all are."

"The Isegawas are ready on their end as well, they report we can depart at any time," Luna reported to her sister, a bit eager herself to start focusing on the larger issues of Earth again, and report her preliminary findings regarding Terran Magic to the HEA and their government allies.

All of that said, the carts were lined up before the Gate, and sent ahead of the thirteen of them. A few moments later, said thirteen beings followed the Conduits and Bearers belongings as they all crossed back over to the Conduit's home-world.

I can feel the Conduits of my Power returning to my space. They must hurry and execute the unsealing, the dam shall soon break and flood the world with uncontrollable magic... The Robed Figured thought out loud, as she sat looking at the once-ornate seal, now degraded to the point where it appeared ready to completely disintegrate at any moment.



[ Outskirts of St. Louis, USA, Earth ]
======================================

        “And that *ding* should mark our thirteen lucky arrivals…” Dr. Hayato mused as he tapped a panel that activated the mana sinks.

“I wonder how much our Kyoko and her friends have changed, aside from the obvious?” Dr. Jun thought aloud as double-checked to see if everything was clear, which it was.

The two doctors walked out from the control room into the Transport Hall itself, awaiting the doors to open. And after a few moments they were.

And immediately afterward, Dr. Hayato was bowled over by a green figure moving as fast as Pinkie Pie when it was time to try a new dessert.

“I could feel the backdraft after she took off,” Vague replied as he chuckled at the sight of his now-marefriend perched partway on top of her father’s chest.

“I didn’t think she was that agile, but then again, aside from our physical training we never had to show that level of agility,” Storm added as he began moving the carts into place for the domestic drones to pick up and carry back to the dormitories.

Hana and her parents exchanged pleasantries, once she got off her father’s chest and allowed him to breathe normally again, in rapid-fire Japanese that only the Princesses could understand without having to strain. As that went on, Spike continued to sulk off in a corner, causing Twilight to walk over and check on him in true sisterly concern.

“Come on Spike. I know when something’s wrong with you. So what’s eating you?” 

Spike grumbled as he laid out on his back, the frustration evident in his ten-year old draconic face. “That’s just it! I can’t figure it out. I keep thinking it’s the fact that I’m kinda separate from everyone else and I’m just having a bout of jealousy. But if it was that, then I wouldn’t be acting like this.”

“Yeah you would be trying to find anyway to shoehorn yourself into our activities. But you’re part of what we’ve been doing ever since the start,” Twilight mused as she was trying to figure out the exact genesis of Spike’s increasing frustration.

Spike, for his part, rolled over on his chest and stomach, as he propped his heads up in his arms trying to think. “Maybe that’s it. I’m with you all, all the time, but then I’m not doing much when I’m with you all. Instead of feeling left out, maybe it’s more like I’m not doing enough…”

“Well, I guess you can learn Terran Magic with us when the Conduits are done with the unsealing?” Twilight suggested, her smile masking her uncertainty.

“It’d be a start anyway. I don’t want to be a tag-along all the way until I grow up. If I can do something now, well then I wanna do something now,” Spike resolved, as some of the frustration lifted from his visage. 



-----

        “As much as I love the Greystone Conductor, this place has a charm to its own. Plus I kinda missed having a separate device for using the ‘Net,” Vague chirped as he tapped a control pad to turn the projector holo-vision on for what seemed to be the first time in quite some time.

“I kinda liked being away from everything for those months; it makes me appreciate all of this more. Even in Basic I was still all around tech, doubly so because of how much they stuff into those planes. Small wonder they don’t fly themselves at this point…” Storm added, as he lounged on one of the couches as the drones sorted out everyone’s belongings.

“Well, as much as I will defend our own culture, I will have to admit being able to have all my books without needing them all physically is a great boon. We just need a way to make it more… universal…” Twilight figured, as she took out a case full of crystal balls that held magically duplicated copies of her books and notes regarding the ancient and modern forms of Magic that (supposedly) existed on both Equus and Earth.

“Perhaps that’s a problem our magic could solve? I mean I doubt that Terran magic is only fire, water, wind, and earth-styles of magic.”

Princess Luna, who had followed everyone back into their other home with her sister, was suddenly stricken with inspiration.

A magical computer that could work in either world with either magic… it would be nothing short of revolutionary for both worlds. And could probably lead to even more exploitation of the arcane forces that fill our worlds.

Celestia looked on at her sister with a bit of bemusement, as she recognized the faces she made when her brain began to kick into high gear regarding an invention of new technique. Her face quickly changed from bemused to stern as she stepped back outside with her sister, where she saw the Doctors Isegawa sitting on a bench under the canopied walkway, a chilled bottle of water sitting on a small table provided by a drone that was blowing a fan.

“Sometimes I wonder if there isn’t already magic at work here on Earth, despite the world’s mana still being bottled up largely,” Celestia wondered as she sat off to the side of the drone.

“You sound like your former personal protégé… at least I believe that is what Twilight told me once before of her relationship with you, your highness,” Dr. Jun responded, as she took a drink from her bottle.

“The English-speaking in our world have a saying: any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic,” Dr. Hayato added, looking at his mini-pad as he did.

“I believe that would be a saying from an Authur C. Clarke, quite the visionary author he was, no?” Luna responded, as she watched Earth’s sun drift by in the sky, imperceptible degree by degree.

“That’d be the one. I wonder if you prefer high fantasy or science fiction in your fantastical stories, Luna-hime?” Dr. Jun asked.

“I tend to like both equally, though noire-style detective stories are a close third,” Luna replied as she looked back at the three sitting figures.

“I wish this was a story where we could just rewrite what is about to happen, but Reality is what Reality does,” Celestia sighed as she mentally calculated the time from the sun’s position in the sky.

“And Reality is about to turn into a very harsh mistress indeed, if what we think is to happen will happen,” Dr. Hayaton groaned, as he pinched his temples with his water-bottle holding hand.

“I would like to imagine the bulk of humanity to not be so foolish, but as I’ve seen in your history, it only takes the actions of a zealous few to bring chaos to this world’s order,” Luna added.

“While that is necessary sometimes, it always runs the risk of exploding into a conflagration that results in scores dead and cities flattened,” Dr. Jun concluded as she worried about the future for her daughter and her sure-to-be future husband.

“And yet, as far as my research shows. This world cannot truly restore itself without that power. At least not without some severe actions on our part. And that could cause issues in and of itself,” Luna figured, as she began to steel herself for the horrors that may escape the Pandora’s Box in a week’s time.

“I would rather we let the scars created from that event and the past many ages begin to heal, than to keep trying to struggle as we are. Perhaps this is what is needed to create a truly vibrant world,” Dr. Hayato replied.

“In the end, all we have are our hopes, our ideals, and our own hooves and hands. We will just have to do the best we can in a situation none of us can predict,” Celestia replied, as she began to realize the time was getting close.

Dr. Jun looked over at the mini-pad that Hayato was constantly checking and began to realize what time it had crept to. “And according to my husband’s mini-pad, one of your philosophizing friends is due to arrive here in a short while. We have everything in order for him already.  it’s hard to say how Kyoko and her friends will react to him, necessarily.”

“I doubt anyone would be overly upset, except perhaps Fluttershy and Blue Vague. But I trust they can keep their anger in check and be courteous to our esteemed guest,” Celestia replied, as she rose back to a standing position to walk back into the dormitory

“I’d think so, but you never know with the youthful…” Dr. Hayato responded, as he and Dr. Jun did the same.

-----

        The Princesses, Bearers, Conduits, Spike, and the Doctors Isegawa were gathered in the recreational room of the dormitory, as they awaited their guest for the late morning/early afternoon.

“Alright, now she said that he was one of the major human benefactors of the Human-Equestrian Alliance, so I guess this guy must be one of the few not-crazy people living in the domes,” Rainbow Dash wondered aloud as the fifteen beings in the room carried on with their side conversations or internal thoughts.

“Well, sometimes the crazy ones, as you put it, still fund a philanthropic venture or dozen, just to show to rest of the world they aren’t completely detached from reality. So I really can’t say if he’s crazy or not until he starts talking. But if the Princesses will vouch for him, then I can’t reject it out of hand, or hoof as it were…” Vague replied, as he finished up checking his old-emails and messages for the time being.

“At least do that much for the Princesses, please? I heard from some of the volunteers at the Bureau that he’s an upstanding man,” Twilight pleaded mildly, sensing a bit of tension in Vague’s voice.

“Fine, I don’t have a reason to dislike him personally, just the people he finds himself around…” Vague replied as he rolled his eyes and wanted everything to go ahead and start already.

Twilight sighed in exasperation, thinking better than to continue pressing the issue.

The more sensitive ears of the group picked up the sound of a rather smooth-running van stopping in the parking area a short distance away from the door, as they saw the silhouettes of a man and a woman walking into the covered walkway that lead to the dorm’s front door.

We’ll let’s see who we’re dealing with… Vague thought as the electronic chime *ding-dong*ed and the front doors slid open.

“Kinda reminds me a bit of the stores I used to work in, bit of the old era charm I guess…” the entirety of the group heard say.

They eventually saw their guests walk into the impromptu meeting room proper: a middle aged man of slightly graying hair and fair skin and build with a rather inexpensive (for someone of his wealth) suit on, flanked by a younger secretary with thigh-length skirt and blouse on, her hair much more vibrant (oddly enough) medium-coffee brown.

“Ah Mr. Edwards, so good to meet you again face to face,” Princess Celestia remarked cheerfully, nodding to acknowledge his presence.

“And how is my favorite pair of extra-dimensional equine princesses?” Richard replied, giving a gentleman’s bow as he did.

“Fine, thank you for asking,” Princess Luna replied curtly but politely.

“To the point as always, Princess Luna,” Richard replied as he and his secretary took a seat in front of the gathered group.

Vague nearly choked on his own breath as he realized exactly who was standing in front of him.

“Richard Edwards?! You mean the Owner and CEO of Edwards Robotics and Nanotech . You mean the fourth richest man currently walking the face of this Earth? He’s our esteemed guest?!”

“Where we build it bigger, better, and cheaper than anyone out there. Sorry but the tag line is a force of habit at this point, kinds reminds me of my roots working in the stores themselves as a teenager. In any case, yes I am that Richard Edwards, Owner, CEO, and everything else the stallion in blue said,” Richard replied with some measure of jocularity.

Vague recovered his bearings quickly enough, as he decided not to ask any further questions until he heard whatever this man had to say to the collective them.

“Alright then, where to begin… well I guess the here and now. I know that you all have probably been reading up on the news, so I’ll expand on it since I have a bit of insider perspective. There has been rampant speculation that the issues that the Elites in the Domes have with the major governments of the world since Aguillar began spear-heading a global reform effort a couple of months ago has now reached a fever pitch. That part is for the most part true; though it seems to be concentrated amongst the top of the top of the pyramid if you want to call it that.

“It only stands to reason though. Even if you don’t wish it to be so, what you are doing is upsetting the natural, at least as far as they feel, order of things. Those with the resources dictate to those without resources what to do and how to do it in order for those without to survive. The fact that another option would exist aside from them would do nothing but drive them crazy.

“As for me, I see it an opportunity. While I have come into and built further my wealth, I was not raised in it fully. While I will not claim to have struggled like anyone who has converted or would wish to has, my father did make me work my way entirely up the chain, from stocker all the way to regional VP of our chain of stores and offices. Eventually when he passed on from this world some… ten years ago was it Candice? Yes, it’s been roughly ten years since he passed, and I’ve taken his company, and combined with the work of many diligent programmers, created AIs and nanoframes that have revolutionized this world.

“Yet, due to the lack of restraint of myself and my fellows, admittedly, this has rendered a lot of humans redundant employment-wise. Due to this, I feel that I must take responsibility for the environment of those without my good fortune, in both money and luck, and improve it so that they can have an avenue to showcase their talents to the world, and hopefully be compensated fully for such.

“The term noblesse oblige is very important to me. Those who find themselves on top of the economic pyramid have a solemn duty to ensure that they do right by those who are below them; for if they don’t, eventually the pyramid will crumble.  Many a nation has crumbled because the greed of a few causes the many to suffer, and humans will not sit by idly and suffer and stay quiet forever. Eventually a tipping point is always reached, and this revolution by the proletariat, as a philosopher once put it, leads to needless bloodshed and destruction. 

“Why go through all of this needless strife, this bloodshed, this destruction? Why not do what is needed to be done to arrest the cycle? And I believe the magic that you all can work, when combined with our technology and communications expertise, can lead to not necessarily a Utopia, but a world that is a far sight better than what we find ourselves in now. That is ultimately my goal, that by the time I am ready to leave this mortal coil - that I have done everything that I can to ensure that I left this world in better shape than it was when I entered it.”

While the small audience discussed to itself what Richard had to say, he took a moment to think to himself about some details he decided to omit. I wish I had more evidence… no, I NEED more evidence. Those idiots are planning something major, something that could cause everything to completely collapse if it is not stopped. I just hope the plans to unseal that magical energy the Earth has will allow us to stop that madness, and not merely exacerbate it…

I get the feeling that there is something else Richard isn’t telling us about what those Domers are planning. But even if I wanted to probe his mind, I wouldn’t know how. And if I did know how, I wouldn’t know where to start looking. I guess I’ll have to hope whatever happens will hold off long enough for us to deal with it… Vague thought at the same time as he excused himself to go get something to drink.


[ March 12, 2081 – St. Louis Conversion Bureau, USA, Earth ]
============================================================


        “And exactly HOW were we roped into this again?” Blue Vague complained, as he shifted nervously in his seat.

“Because we are the principals in this little endeavor, and it would only be right for us to give them a heads up before we went on with the plan,” Golden Storm replied as he put on the best brave face he could manage.

“I know I’ve spoken with Defense Secy. Richardson before, but not like this, and not with this much riding on it. Hopefully this will be brief,” Red Blaze said, as she tried to calm her nerves as well.

For her part, Midori Hana looked dissonantly serene as she just stared at the video wall, seemingly ready to face whatever may come.

“So why are you so calm about this Hana? I’ve spoken to the Princesses before many times and I’ve always been a nervous wreck while doing it,” Twilight Sparkle asked, trying to figure it out for herself.

“I’m so beyond scared right now I can’t even express it…” Hana replied, her voice inflection remaining more or less even.

“Well, the sooner this begins, the sooner it will be over with…”  Rainbow Dash remarked, as she hated having to sit in one place for too long.

After a few more minutes, All of the Bearers, Conduits, the two Princesses, Richard Edwards, and the two Doctors Isegawa were seated in front of the video wall, as the connections were made to the various nations.

“At least we don’t have to speak to everyone’s prime ministers and presidents face to face, but I’m sure that they are either watching or will see this in due time,” Vague muttered as he did his best to put forward a calm face like the others his age.

After a few minutes of everyone introducing themselves with their formal titles, Storm mused internally about who was arranged before them all. Seems like we got all the big Cabinet level diplomats from the American government and the other equivalent people from Japan, and the EU; for not having the Presidents and Prime Ministers here, it’s sure a stacked audience…

I should have guessed the four bold colored Ponies were Converts, especially how they seemed way too comfortable with our technology for any Native. No wonder Blue Vague seemed so interested in me. I will have to make it a point to talk with him privately at some point in the future… Richard thought to himself after all the introductions were done and the meeting began proper.

“Now that the introductions are out of the way, let us get down to business recent discovery of thaumatic radiation being generated by the Earth,” Princess Celestia began.

The EU Minister of Environment was the first to chime in. “Yes this is Minister Cassillas. According to the Pony thamaturges you so graciously loaned us in our endeavors to understand your magic, there should be no type of flow of this thaumatic energy from the Earth. Is this correct?”

“Indeed, Minister Cassillas, the very fact that even our inexperienced thamaturges can pick up raw magical energy coming from the Earth, is the leading indicator of a major event about to occur.” 

“And that would be what, Princess Luna,” US Defense Secy. Richardson asked of the indigo Alicorn.

“The failure of the seal upon the force carriers, if you will, of Earth-generated thaumatic radiation – Terran mana,” Princess Luna stated with all due seriousness.

“Not to get too far ahead of ourselves, but I propose for the sake of simplicity, when we refer to the two types of thaumatic radiation, that we refer to Equus-borne radiation as thaumatic-ε(epsilon) versus the Earth-borne thaumatic-τ(tau),” Dr. Hayato suggested, figuring that everyone would get tired of using the longer qualifiers before long.

“I see no reason to disagree, do you Sister?” Luna asked of Celestia.
 
Celestia merely nodded in agreement, and the conversation continued.

“In any case, the failure of this seal would, as far as we can tell, be a cataclysmic event. Though tau radiation is not lethal to the human body like epsilon radiation, there would still be many effects that in the end would prove to be quite devastating to civilization.

Princess Luna then began to show slides with dramatizations of some supposed side effects of the entire flow of mana being loosed unto the world uncontrollably.

“As you can see here, though this is by no means an absolute prediction, but based on the preliminary research into Terran magic I have been able to start calculating potential effects of wild magic. It would suffice to say… practically anything and everything is possible in some way or another.”

The various ministers and secretaries looked on at the slides on their own monitors as they began to try and comprehend what was going on.

“It’s as if various prediction of the End of the World would really begin to happen. The environment becoming wild and unpredictable, monsters and mutated animals running amok…” Japanese Defense Minister Ayashi figured aloud.

“… not to metion what could happen to people. Let us put aside the prospect of cities being ruined by the environmental and ecological disasters. With no mechanism of defense or control, violent elements could begin to wage open warfare with either the state or each other for dominance of a world that would go teetering on the brink,” Justice Minister Ogel of the EU continued.

“Not only that, but many in the public would either blame the Ponies for delivering a hellscape instead of aid, or rush the Bureaus in a maddened attempt to escape what they’d regard as the Apocalypse. It would be unmitigated chaos in every respect,” American Secretary of Justice Keller added.

“I do not present this information to simply say that you only have so long to preserve your civilization. In fact, the Conduits themselves are devising a means for the controlled release of this energy,” Celestia added, with a bit of a nod to Vague, which nearly caused Vague to faint in his chair.

“Can you explain what you mean by a ‘controlled release’? I would imagine there is a reason for that option instead of re-sealing this energy,” Secy. Richardson asked of any of the darker colored Ponies before him.

Blue Vague swallowed his anxiety as best he could before he began to speak. “In consultation with the Princesses, the Bearers, and others, we feel that this world cannot achieve its full potential without every single tool and asset at it and it’s peoples disposal. This would include the restoration of the thaumatic energy that is native to this world. And… um… the revival of whatever schools of magic that may have been lost to history, as well as the development of new sciences and arts combining our technology with this restored energy.”

Surprisingly eloquent for a Pony having to think on the fly; perhaps he has been contemplating this more deeply than he let on… Celestia thought as she smiled at Vague.

“While my initial reaction would be one of gross trepidation, I find myself agreeing with the blue stallion. While we would have a great deal to fear from this power, the Equestrians and their neighbors have thrived for their entire lives in an environment soaked in it, or something very similar. What is to say, given the proper leadership and scholarship, that we could not do the same?”  Cassillas asked of the rest of the panels.

“I would consider it an insult, personally, if anyone were to say that Humans could not learn to not just cope with, but thrive in a world full of magic,” Secy. Richardson added, his resolve to see this potential crisis through. Everyone else either chuckled or nodded knowingly at the statement.

“Well if all goes well, you all won’t have to do anything except deal with the aftermath. Of course that would be a trial in and of itself, but a far sight better than trying to deal with tsunamis or giant demons running about,” Twilight added, getting the same knowing nod from the rest of the participants as Richardson received a few moments earlier.

“Magic is a field filled with a million curiosities, and I would hope our kind is up to the task of understanding and adapting to them all. In the end, I believe this was meant to be. However, I would like to know why this power was sealed to begin with?” Minister Ayashi wondered aloud.

“I cannot think of a reason why, but I think when we begin the process of re-establishing the flow of magic to the world, we will get our answer. I just hope we will be able to cope with it,” Midori Hana said as she brushed some of her mane from her eyes.

“And if there is anything that we as the Kingdom of Equestria can do beyond the Bureaus to help ease this transition, you and your superiors need only ask the question,” Princess Celestia stated, as she made to conclude the proceedings.

Secy. Richardson nodded in acknowledgement. “While I don’t doubt the eventual human ability to master, or at least get a good grasp on magic, we would be collective fools to ignore the assistance of a species already evolved to live in a magic-rich environment.”


After exchanging some concluding pleasantries, the various groups on the teleconference cut their feeds. Shortly afterward the Conduits and Bearers left the conference room in order to mosey around the Bureau to chat up the volunteers and clients; which left the two Princesses, the two Doctors, and the one philanthropist to discuss some more matters with relative privacy.

“So, I heard that you had come up with an idea for a new technology, Princess,” Richard asked as he unbuttoned the top button of his shirt.

“Well, in layman’s terms it would be more of magi-technology, but yes, a side comment by one of my own students inspired this little beauty,” Luna responded as she magicked a short stack of papers with some diagrams and a few paragraphs worth of notes.

The Doctors Isegawa silently marveled a bit at Luna’s rather flowery telekinetic-powered writing, looking strangely like Old English block print; as well as the concept behind the designs in question.

“Hrm, if I am reading this correctly, you want to design a computer that runs its calculating mechanisms with magical ‘waves’ instead of nano-circuits… correct?” Dr. Jun asked of the indigo Alicorn.

“That would be the long and short of it. To use particles, or even wave-forms, as the foundation of the logical units instead of circuitry I believe would lead to a revolution in terms of computing and information processing. Also, using magic ‘waves’ allows us to improve the reasoning capacity of loaded AIs.”

Celestia just chuckled to herself as she watched her sister continue on with some of the theory behind the machine she was designing. Luna is such a marvel to witness when her sense of invention is fully engaged. Something unfortunately I lack to her degree. Perhaps that is some of why my little Ponies have… stagnated compared to the other species technology-wise…



[ March 19, 2081 – Outside St. Louis, USA, Earth ]
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                It was the day of the March Equinox, Vernal for those in the Northern Hemisphere and Autumnal for whoever was left living in the Southern. Despite what the calendar said, the weather seemed not to care for the most part. If the calendar didn't say 'winter', then it was hot.  The four Conduits were pacing around the 'backyard' to the Isegawa's Laboratories, while Twilight constructed a Magical Array to help them try and communicate with the Robed Figure. They knew the Power they were about to potentially loose upon the world was one the world was not ready for, and probably would never be truly ready for. Yet, if they did not complete this task, that force was going to let itself loose, and not in a way pleasant for anyone. 

        The core idea of the Array was simple: contact the Voice, get to wherever the seal was, undo the steal however they were told to do it, and come back. The six Elements of Harmony were to go with them to provide moral support at the very least, figuring what they were about to do could be very taxing on the mind. Twilight also had a very personal reason to go. She wanted to know why she has been constantly nagged by the thought that Equestrian Magic was somehow incomplete. Everything she read to that point, everything she was taught by the usual professors at the School for Gifted Unicorns all said the same thing - Equestrian Magic, especially Unicorn Explicit Magic, perfectly exemplified the concept of Will - the idea that if something was to be done, you had to direct things in that manner.

        The Earth Ponies willed the earth to produce the necessary plants and minerals for their society to thrive. The Pegasi willed the skies to produce the desired weather. The Unicorns willed the flow of Equestrian Mana in order to produce whatever desired other effect they could manage. Equestrian Magic, as a whole, seemed like it did everything they could want it to do; yet, it felt incomplete nonetheless. When she watched the performance that earned her four new friends their Cutie Marks, even though they were still learning in both realms of magic, it just seemed complete. She could remember the final display still - those four great beasts each manifested from nothing but a concentration of raw magical energy; leaving behind the magical skywriting in both Equestrian and English script when said beasts disappeared. 

        The setup was now complete, and the 10 Bearers and Conduits stood in the Magical Array – the Conduits in a square-diamond shape while the Bearers ringed them in a circle slightly further out. The theory of contact was simple, the four Conduits were to simply activate their elements and try and call out to the Voice to ask them where they were to go to unseal the Magic and then if they could bring the Six Equestrian Bearers with them. The appointed hour came, all Six of the Equestrian Bearers charge the magical array, and the Four Terran Ponies began to hum and glow as they activated their Elements. 

Blue Vague began to shout into the ether of the late afternoon. "Mysterious Voice, we have heeded your calls and warnings. We believe ourselves to be prepared to carry out your request to unseal the Magic of this planet. However, we do not know the location of the Seal. We ask of you to show us the path to the Seal, and allow our new friends and the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony to accompany us in this task."

Things were silent for a few moments, before a voice responded to the ten Ponies arranged there. Conduits of the Elements of Terra… Bearers of the Elements of Harmony from the Other World… I have heard the request of the Conduit of Water. His request is granted in full, and you shall soon see the portal to the Realm of the Seal before you.

Soon all ten saw the Portal open up in the center of the array. All ten of them could feel the magic now supporting the array, finding it strange that it wasn't just the Unicorns that could sense it. They all had some trepidation before entering, not knowing what the Robed Figure had in store for them once they crossed over. Eventually, Pinkie Pie, figuring they went through all this trouble already, simply got up and walked through the Portal. Soon Midori Hana followed her, and then Blue Vague, and then everyone else one by one. The Princesses knew of the plan but were not present, yet still wished them all good tidings. They knew that should the Conduits of Terra be successful, both worlds would be changed forever.

----- -----

        After travelling seemingly infinity in an instant, all ten Ponies arrived at the destined place. It was a subspace not unlike the room that served as the shrine to the Elements of Harmony. However, while that room was a relative paradise, this was everything but. It was a cave stretching into infinity; the floor was clean but rough looking, as if it was once polished stone left to grow rough and unkempt through erosion. After a short while of walking further in, they came to a chamber, wherein they figured they had finally found the actual Shrine of the Elements of Terra. They saw five shrines, four relatively 'normal' sized for a human, none more than 8 ft. tall; and one relatively huge, perfectly square-based step pyramid, each side 50 ft. long, and what appeared to be a master shrine at the top that stood another 10 ft. tall.

“Hrm, for some reason the shrine to Terran Magic being a pyramid of some kind makes sense,” Blue Vague said as they walked down the cobblestone path to the pyramids proper.

“They look like the old pyramids you’d find in Central America… I think they still have some of them preserved for tourists,” Storm thought aloud as the shrines came into clearer view.


As they trotted around the pyramid, they noticed how the stone was just as old and unkempt looking, like sandstone worn down by millennia of weather. Each side of the square-pyramid had steps, and all of them terminated near the base of the four ground-level shrines, which the Conduits began to inspect after breaking off into groups of two or three. The stone face of each shrine was apparently once painted in their respective colors, but that paint was all chipped away or faded. There were also slots for gemstones, but most were empty, the gems having broken away long ago.

The Shrine of Water had a fountain, but spray was pathetically weak; and the pool formed by said fountain was fetid, having turned a greenish shade of brown and reeked of dead algae and other invisible .

This is just sad... it's like no one has cleaned this thing in forever...

The Shrine of Earth had a crumbling stone, with greenish-brown vines all over. The stone looked like it could crumble to sand at any minute, and the mostly brown vines were apparently nearly dead, if not dead already.

Why has this never been changed... these vines are pretty much dead, and this stone is the rock-equivalent of near-death as well...

The Shrine of Wind looked more like someone had sprung a leak in a gas main, they could even see the discoloration in the weakly whirling ball of air. 

This is just brutal, even the Shrine of Wind itself looks like a gas main with a hole in it...

The Shrine of Fire burned, but it burned weakly, and the fire was dim and barely gave off any heat at all.

It's an insult to fire itself to say that this is the Shrine of Fire...


        Everyone began to walk up the steps, eventually coming to rest at the open-air shrine atop the pyramid. They then saw the formerly ornate Seal of Terran Mana, now more resembling a giant stone cork. Said stone cork was visibly crumbling, and everypony could feel the roiling mana underneath just waiting to get out.

"So you have come, Conduits of the Elements of Terra, and Bearers of the Elements of Harmony from the Other World..." 

All ten could hear the voice out loud now; whatever was speaking to them was here. They scanned the walls and ceiling of the caves, trying to see what was actually speaking to them. Rarity turned around and spotted what looked like a throne or some such, but what she saw in full shocked her sense of aesthetics to the core.

"Oh my goodness, how utterly dreadful!" Rarity yelped, her voice giving away the sudden shock she felt at what sat before them all.

The other nine Ponies soon shared Rarity's shock as they all found the 'robed' figure. Said figure was a titanic being, easily over 100 ft. tall; though not necessarily towering over them, as she sat in a degrading throne some distance away. Her hair was white and unkempt, her skin ashen gray and incredibly wrinkled. Her robes were tattered, all the colors that represented the Four Elements were terribly faded, almost gray in their own right. But what most shocked everypony was her face. Her eyes were pale and somewhat glossed over, and her countenance was that of one who seemed like she has been in grief for an incredibly long time. There was such an incredible, oppressive sense of forlorn and sadness in her, that it made every single of them there shake in nervousness.

The ashen figure rose to her feet before disappearing briefly, and then reappearing at a more average height of 5’7”. She walked around slowly, like the elderly woman she appeared as, around the seal of Terran Mana, before touching it, and watching a few more tiny fragments of the magically conjured stone crumble into loose mana. "I am truly sorry anyone from this, or any other world, has to see me in this condition, but it truly cannot be helped. I am but a representation of the state of the World itself, after all."

“I… I’m sorry… I’m sorry that we, and my parents and ancestors let everything degenerate to this degree. If only we had known…” Blue Vague began to reflexively apologize, before the Robed Figure cut him off.

She took off her hood, revealing a head of aged, white, but still relatively full hair. After much more careful looking by the other Ponies, especially Rarity, they saw something in her similar to an Alicorn. She appeared to have the potential to be the very embodiment of human feminine beauty, but the overall poor health of her world prevented her from reaching her full potential, in even an aesthetic sense.

Twilight was only left to wonder silently if Celestia, Luna, and/or Cadence would look similarly ragged and elderly if Equus were to degenerate as Earth has.

“It is not your fault. The nature of the seal meant that after I formed it, I had no way to communicate with the wider world except through indirect means. And by the time I had even thought to try and communicate with the world, there was no one left that could recognize my existence. But that is not a story I can tell quickly, so you may want to settle in.”

The Figure waved a hand slowly, causing a rainbow-like trail in its wake, which was then followed by large cushioned pads for all ten Ponies to sit on manifesting on the around the central Seal, while she manifested her throne behind her.

“At least I was able to passively monitor the outer world’s communications, so I am not entirely ignorant of modern languages and syntax. So let me contemplate a place to begin this story,” the Figure began as she paced slowly around the shrine atop the pyramid where they all stood or sat.

Why does everything feel so feeble, and yet my Element’s power feel like it’s bottomless… Is the seal, despite how much it’s fallen apart, really that strong? Blue Vague thought as the Figure began her tale.

The figure resumed speaking before long as she found a good place in history to begin. “I believe I should start there, yes. While I do not have forever to go through a detailed history of the world before the Days of Darkness, I can sum it up thusly. Just as you all have surely felt, or know by having been born in it, the world you refer to as Equus now is awash in Magic. And just as Equus is awash in magic know, both Equus and Earth were once stable, magic producing worlds.

“Magic is a miracle energy brought about by the combined Will and Vitality of Sapient life. So as the various creatures on Equus and Earth grew and evolved, eventually a wellspring of Mana was born. This caught the attention of the Greater Watchers, immortal beings like myself, but with a greater reach and magnitude of power, whom reside deep in the Astral Plane. They saw the twin-worlds of Equus and Earth grow and develop their wellsprings, and began to take special note of these worlds. 

The ten Ponies all sat and wondered what these ‘Greater Watchers’ might actually be, and if Celestia and Luna might be related to them in some manner.

“Eons ago, Equus and Earth were practically twin worlds, as I implied earlier. Creatures great and small traveled freely and lived freely in each world as if they were one great planet that was divided by a dimensional barrier of some manner. In any case, both worlds were relatively at peace, until at some point, two of the greater species began to have a falling out.”

“If I were to take an educated guess, that would be the ancient Humans and Ponies, yes?” Midori Hana asked, not intending to interrupt the Figure, but found she couldn’t keep the question to herself.

“That guess would be correct, Conduit of Earth. The Ancient Ponies and Humans eventually had a falling out based on Magical . The Ponies began to believe in the aspect of Magic focused on one’s Will, whereas the Ancient Humans began to focus on the aspect of Magic related to Power. Even though Will and Power are merely two sides of the same coin, the ancients did not feel that way; this eventually to a breakdown of the relations between the ancient species of Equus and Earth. Oddly enough, and this may be of  to your companion that travels with you all, it was the ancient Dragons that became the mediators between Earth and Equus in this time of Division, believing there was no difference between Will and Power ultimately. This fact I am sure your Princesses are aware of, in one way or another.”

That could be why they are constantly attempting to treat with the Dragons. Though the Dragons are being churlish and secretive like usual… What is it going to take to finally break through this standoff-ness with them? Twilight thought as the Figure continued on.

“Unfortunately, before the Dragons could work out some kind of philosophical settlement between the two worlds, a Cataclysm befell this world. Something so violent it shattered the original bridge between Earth and Equus. Though, after consulting with your Princesses, I began to realize the true nature of this Cataclysm,” the Figure continued before Applejack asked another question.

“Ya say there was a Cataclysm, but then something the Princesses said made ya rethink it?”

“Indeed Bearer of Honesty. At first I thought the beast that represented Earth’s Cataclysm was alone, and its sheer force destroyed the bond, but now I realized that there was another entity that arrived at the beginning of that dark period. One you should be quite familiar with, Bearers.”

“You mean Discord? Discord was the other monster that arrived with this… thing you are talking about?” Pinkie Pie realized as her hair stood on end a bit remembering the tribulations Discord put them through.

“While your Princesses did not go into specific detail of the nature of this… Discord entity, I can only assume by his nature and name that he was a being that sowed Chaos of some type. It would be well within the realm of abilities for a creature meant to test the Will of a magic-bearing world,” the Figure reasoned aloud before she tracked back to her original point. “The creature that wreaked havoc upon this world was, similar to the split in magic, focused upon exploiting power.”

The Figure stopped for a moment, as she could still hear the screams that seemed to fill and echo over the entire globe during those days. “Egypt, Atlantis, Maya, Nubia, Inca, Lemuria, Dryas, Dorado… all of these and other ancient nations fell one by one to this monstrosity. Even the magic-rich creatures, the monsters and beasts of your legends and mythologies could not stand against this entity.”

“What kind of entity was it? I mean we have a solid image of Discord, solid stone image granted but still solid,” Rainbow Dash asked after raising her hoof.

“Hrm… the beasts true form is incomprehensible, Bearer of Loyalty. And I do not make that statement as some type of dramatic flourish. It literally has no definite form, just as no human has yet to decipher the true nature of the interior of the great black holes that pepper this Cosmos,” the Figure replied before pausing to think a moment. “In fact, that is probably the best way to reason the creator’s true nature. It is a living black hole, the ultimate expression of power; a force so great and strong that inevitably all is drawn into its maw and crushed beyond any recognition. Yet, the very fact the cosmos still stands means there is some way to quell this beast from devouring everything. At least… an option that is better than the one I had to enact those eons ago.

“The creature had already wormed its way into this planet, like some great demonic parasite – tendrils cris-crossing through the entire crust, and satellite ‘heads’ that would appear when it was ready to devour a source of magical power, be it in a living being or just freely coalesced in the environment. It made everyone fear expressing any magical ability at all, which only seemed to enrage the beast further. So it responded by sending heralds to inspire war and chaos to force Humanity and the other sapient creatures of Earth express and use magic, so that the beast could feed. Eventually all of this conflict came to a head, when a unified force began a collective offensive to either kill the beast, or drive it from this planet.

“Unfortunately, the beast had ingrained itself not merely in the planet, but the psyche of the inhabitants. Every time we seemed to make progress against this entity, a faction would break off and attempt to fight with the main force, attempting to establish itself as dominant once the crisis had passed. Eventually, the grand coalition of the many Human and Non-Human nations broke down, and it simply became a free-for-all – every faction attempting to simultaneously wage war against each other and the Great Devourer. Needless to say, this only hastened the fall of the ancient World in all respects.”

“If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house will not stand. Mark 3:24 and 25,” Blue Vague responded completely .

“Boy that certainly came out of nowhere; didn’t think you were a biblical scholar…” Storm mused aloud as he looked at Vague strangely.

“I’m not and I will never pretend to be. But when your mother constantly quotes scripture, you can’t help but retain some choice selections,” Vague responded, as he chuckled a bit at the image of his mother positively apoplectic that he quoted scripture in that context.

“Abuela was the same way, very devout Catholic; anyway, back to the story… um…” Storm concluded as he tried to right the conversation train after it had derailed.

“You may simply refer to me as Gaea. Thought I did not choose that name for myself, the ancient peoples frankly tired of calling me all manner of generic terms,” the Figure responded curtly.

“Ok then, we’re sorry for the interruptions, Madame Gaea,” Storm replied as every looked back at the white-haired immortal.

“Let’s see… yes, eventually the nations of Man and what you may refer to as Mythical Creatures fell, leaving the Devourer to eat at will. It was at that time that we executed a plan we hoped would buy us at least some time to regroup,” Gaea started before she took another pause to gather herself. “I would seal Terran Mana completely, hopefully causing the Beast to lose  in the planet, and thereby leaving without further incident. At that point, the remaining tribes and nations would gather to formulate a plan to deal with the Beast should it ever return once I unsealed the Mana.

“Unfortunately for us, this plan worked only in the respect that the Great Devourer eventually released the Earth from its grip due to disinterest, now that the wellspring of Mana had been capped. The mythical beasts found they had evolved to depend upon mana to such an extreme degree that they literally could not survive in a now mana-void world. Those that survived the initial die-off either took refuge on Equus, or migrated to the fore of the Astral Plane, where they now still reside as best I can gather. This included the Earth-born tribes of Dragons, who I can only assume interbred with Equus-born Dragons to the point they can be considered one singular species. The Humans, while they were able to survive without mana, were left to the mercy of a ruined environment began to slip back into an ice age. Whatever was left of the civilizations eventually disintegrated into various what one could consider ‘savage’ tribes, that roamed the now magic-less environment as hunter-gatherers. This is about the extent modern humans, with current human technology, can trace their history.”

“Well it would explain all of the artifacts that exist that seemed to have been made by intelligent creatures, and also pre-date humans,” Red Blaze contemplated aloud during a pause that Gaea took.

“Since those who knew of my existence were now dead, none could recognize my messages as coming from the Keeper of Magic. My only recourse was to try and use concentrations of magic that remained in the world to try and spark some soul to recognize my existence. However, this largely failed, as those who did recognize me  did not do so fully, or were killed by the now skeptical humans as being witches or something to that nature. This caused me to withdraw and simply keep watch over the seal, the only thought keeping me sane was the firm faith that someone at some point in the future would find me and recognize me for what I truly was.

“And so I sat through all the ages of modern Humans. Recreations of the old , which I can only assume were preserved through degraded oral history, rose and fall. All the while, the desperation to reclaim a magic they were completely ignorant of begat various technologies. Eventually, these technologies would begin to remake the Earth itself. However the technologies that your recent ancestors and parents used would damage the Earth beyond its natural ability to regenerate, which itself was severely crippled by the sealing of mana. That, combined with my grief over my powerlessness to change this world’s fate had caused my visage, and the condition of the shrine, to progressively degenerate over all of these centuries and millennia.”

“To the point where the seal that you created all those years ago is now falling apart…” Fluttershy continued, more or less finishing Gaea’s line of thought.

“Indeed, Bearer of Kindness. But then fortune fell upon me, when I heard the beacon that your Princesses sounded. At that point I realized that if I could no longer inspire the spark of Magic in my own people, I would need a ‘people’ who already possessed a spark of Magic to do it. That is why I did not protest, and even encouraged the Conversion of those whom I keep watch over, for I feel it will eventually bear fruit for all.”

“And that fruit would be plucked today. Am I right?” Blue Vague asked.

“That is the intention, in any case, Conduit of Water. It is time that the current generation of humanity begin to reclaim what was lost, and correct the mistakes that were made innumerable years ago. And… if I might be a bit selfish, I wish to correct that mistake I made so many years ago as well.”

“Not to start a debate, but I don’t think you were wrong to seal the mana of Earth, since it seemed like this magic-eating monster was well on the way to eating everything the Earth was at the time. And I doubt anyone could have predicted that withdrawing magic would have had such severe consequences as it did,” Twilight offered as a potential justification.

“Well, since I can’t think of a real strong counter-argument, I think we should go ahead and start with what we came here to do,” Blue Vague stated as he stood up and walked over to the side of the seal that faced the Shrine of Water.

The other three Conduits nodded and each walked over to a different side of the master shrine.

“Are you all absolutely sure that this is the right course of action. What if this power falls into the wrong hands?” Rarity asked, still nervous about what the future held for Earth.

“Honestly, I don’t think we have a choice Miss Rarity. Either we release this magic so it flows like it is supposed to, or we don’t and it releases itself. And who knows what the hell happens then,” Golden Storm replied as his and the other Elements of Terra were manifest on their possessors. 

Rarity merely huffed in response, not being able to come up with any kind of counter-argument herself.

“First, you must remove the seal capping the flow of raw mana. From there, you pull the mana so that it will flow into the shrines. They will act as moderators and prevent an explosive release in real-space. However, because the world is so void of mana, it will appear explosive once you return, as the shrines will attempt to make up the shortfall. Hopefully this will not be severe enough to disrupt your human technology, but I can make no promises,” Gaea stated, as she gave directions to the Conduits.

“Well, I guess it is now or never…” Blue Vague said as his body began to glow with the pale blue runes of Water Magic. He reached out a tether to the stone ‘cork’ that served as the seal in the center of the master shrine. Which was quickly followed by similar actions by the other Conduits, as now the ‘cork’ was tethered to all four Elements of Terra.

“Alright everyone, and now!” Midori Hana ordered, as each Conduit yanked on their end of the cork, which caused it to disintegrate into ethereal dust.

The roar created by the rush outward of the now free mana was positively deafening. 

“Well if it weren't the point of no return before, it is now!” Applejack shouted, as she tried to cover her ears to protect them from the roar. 

The Conduits struggled to find some purchase as they sat in the flow of the mana outward, as it positively flooded down the pyramid. After a few moments though, each of them began to find their footing, as they ‘dragged’ the mana toward each shrine. Once the flow was established, the flood began to abate, as each shrine began to regenerate and glow with a otherworldly light.

“That light… it’s like when you all figured your elements for the first time back in the Training Fields, just a whole lot stronger…” Twilight said with some sense of rapturous glee.

“You know… it is like that… except stronger…” Vague replied with less glee but no less a sense of awe.

“It’s a wonderful feeling… I can already feel my strength starting to return to me…” Gaea responded, as some of her white hair began to shift to gray. “It will take some time, but eventually my beauty will return to me. It is a minor and selfish concern, but sometimes you have to take whatever small victories you can.”

She really is the embodiment of humanity… Twilight thought as she looked at years beginning to roll off the immortal’s face.

“That was less… strenuous than I thought it… oh boy…” Blue Vague started before he began to wobble on his feet.

“Yeah it’s just now hitting me like a ton of bricks as well. It was a simple procedure but it must have taken way more strength than we realized,” Red Blaze said, as she felt her horn throbbing all of a sudden in exhaustion.

“Now I’m really glad we brought the six of you with us, we might need a little help getting out of here,” Golden Storm said weakly toward Rainbow Dash, who responded with an eye-roll and a chuckle.

“I could go for just passing out for the next ten hours myself,” Hana added as she groggily walked down the stairs, which now split to allow the mana to channel itself down the center of each side of the pyramid where the flow settled into channels around each shrine; as the geyser that sprouted once the cork was undone had reduced to a gentle fountain. The Four Shrines already began to show a rejuvenation: the water fountain for the Water Shrine began to gush forth more strongly, as the pool cleared to a pure and transparent color; the gas in the Wind Shrine cleared to a perfect representation of the atmosphere of Earth, as wisps of white were occasionally seen – simulating drifting clouds; the Fire Shrine looked like the interior of a volcano, as the gouts of flame danced safely within its confines, and the stone glowed like recently erupted lava flowing to the sea; lastly, the Earth Shrine’s stone façade was completely repaired, as the central block was a combination of seemingly every kind of stone and mineral, and various veins of metal raced through, as well as vines of different budding plants now clung to the otherwise polished surface.

“At least all of the shrines look like they properly represent their element, instead of just being lazily put-together facsimiles,” Midori Hana tiredly stated, still exhausted from her recent work.

“Given how tired I feel right now, that will have to be enough for now…” Blue Vague moaned as he trudged on back to the portal to real-space.

“Indeed, you all have done an admirable job given the circumstances. I hope to have your cooperation in the future,” Gaea replied, as she gave a formal bow, the strength now returning to her voice.

I wonder what she’ll look like once her strength completely returns to her… Storm wondered silently as the ten of them made their way through the portal.

“I just hope there are more magic-users like you all amongst humanity than otherwise. If there aren’t, or they don’t manifest quickly enough… I fear that I may have only, in the end, delayed the inevitable…” Gaea said to no one in particular now, as a familiar sense of dread began to creep through her immortal soul.


-----

I knew she couldn’t keep it bottled up forever… Now… who to choose as my host…

-----

This… this is what I’ve been looking for… I didn’t even know it until now … but… but… 

-----

        A few moments later, all ten Ponies were back on the surface of the Earth, back on the now inactive and fading Magical Array they started the afternoon on. The Princesses were there with the Doctors Isegawa.

"So my little Ponies, how are you all feeling this evening?" Princess Celestia said, a wide grin on her face. 

Blue Vague sighed with clear exhaustion as he formulated his words and answered his Princess. "I feel like I just ran a hundred marathons back to back. Other than that, well, as well as you can expect after doing all that."

As the Conduits of Terra took a few more moments to reorient themselves to real-space, they began to recount the words of the Will of the Earth, now known to them as Gaea.

"Quite an amazing story, and one that… though I cannot exactly explain it, it seems we are familiar with,” Celestia replied, as she began to think about the various vague sensations she had begun to feel when conversing with the now named Gaea.

Do you think it’s related to that, Sister. I mean we don’t know the exact mechanics of our genesis in full, perhaps… Luna started to wonder to her sister, telepathically.

 Perhaps some residual memories from her embedded in us? A strong possibility now… Perhaps we should consult with our other siblings in the near future… Celestia concluded as she looked around.

“I wonder where Spike has wandered off to… usually he is right here waiting for you Twilight whenever you leave suddenly…” Celestia thought, as she couldn’t find scale nor ridge of the young drake.

As they continued the talk, they witnessed the sky go completely black like pitch, and not a star or anything to give any sense of orientation. 

"Ok Princess Luna, I'm just going to assume you aren't doing that since your sky is more an indigo or midnight blue color anyway," Golden Storm said, becoming mildly disoriented by the featureless, black sky.

Everyone rushed inside to look at the holographic television to check to see if the news reports were saying anything about it. Indeed, all over the world, the sky had suddenly turned black as pitch, and not a cloud, star, or heavenly body was to be found. Then they all heard what sounded like a massive sonic boom, as four lines of color streaked over the sky, all of them in exactly the same hue as the Elements of Terra. Each streak soon exploded into fireworks of all manners and colors; showering the whole of the Earth in rainbow colored sparks.

"Well, Gaea did say it would look explosive when the Shrines started to pour magic back into the world. Didn’t think it would be literal fireworks and sparklers, though," Blue Vague said, chuckling at the simple yet highly impressive display.

"Wow, they look really pretty up close," Pinkie Pie said, muzzle pressed against the window watching the sparks land everywhere she could see.

Twilight nearly fell over when she felt a roar echoing in her head, as she looked around startled.

“Twi, what’s up?” Applejack asked as she saw the sudden frenetic face Twilight made, as she made for the doors of the dormitory.

“Spike… big magic… explosion… roaring… can’t talk!” she choked out as she ran into the nearby woods.

“Princesses, any kind of explanation?” Rarity asked of the white or indigo Alicorns.

“No definite ones, but I have a suspicion,” Celestia said as she began to scry the area for the outburst Twilight felt. “There!” she shouted before disappearing in a flash of golden light.

---

“MORE! GIVE ME MORE!” A purple beast shouted as he tore apart the still sickly trees around the Isegawa’s property.

“Spike, please stop! This is just like your birthday, you have to get control of it before you turn into a monster!” Twilight shouted, as she watched her adoptive brother grow steadily.

“NEED! POWER! Ahhh! I… I can’t focus… NEED… something!” Spike tried to say, as his body continued to morph and grow; now easily matching Twilight in height.

“You have to focus on yourself, Spike. Your body is reacting to a flood of mana, something no Dragon has felt in eons. It shouldn’t surprise me that you would be subjected to this,” Celestia stated calmly and sternly, as she manifested near the glowing purple dragon-like creature, body now bigger than Twilight.

“What’s happening to him, what’s happening to Spike?!” Twilight asked, as she began to cry.

“Something I’ve only read of, but if my memory serves correct…” Celestia started, before she knelt slightly to nuzzle the growing drake. “Please Spike, you have to focus on yourself. What is the Dragon you want to be, what do you want to become. I am sure it is not a giant, feral monster like before.”

“No… NO monster… I’m… no monster…” Spike struggled to say, as the power surged through his body and caused him to grow still further.

Celestia continued as she found she had made a connection with Spike’s psyche. “You’re right, you are no monster. You are a Dragon, a creature of Desire. A creature that will do whatever they need to ensure what they truly want for themselves and others comes to pass. A creature that will go to any length for their heart’s wish, be it for good or ill.”

“I… I want to help… help them… help them build this world…” Spike said, as his mind began to coalesce around a mental image of himself. The young drake picked himself up to his knees, now roughly half of Celestia’s height while kneeling.

“That’s wonderful. Then become that, become the form of the Dragon that will be the vanguard for the Elements of Harmony, and the trusted ally of the Elements of Terra,” Celestia said as she watched Spike slowly grow to a height that was somewhere between her own and Luna’s.

Spike let out a roar that resounded through the air around the forest, as he stumbled on his longer but less-sure legs. Eventually he reached a point of tentative equilibrium, as his body began to cool magically. He had a face similar to his in his smaller form, though now more sharply defined, as his snout was longer and he had couple of overlapping fangs, similar to an alligator’s snout. His back-ridges sharped to a point somewhat, as his ear-fins now were longer and flexible. The most noticeable change, aside from his height and accompanying musculature, were the barbed ends on his tail.

“I feel… so disjointed right now… like I can’t even tell up from down,” Spike said in a slightly distorted, deeper voice.

“That much is obvious, it’s like you’ve undergone puberty in all of about three minutes,” Twilight replied, somewhat awestruck as her adoptive younger brother now looked like a lizard or dinosaur version of a human teenager, at least in general build.

“This is really weird… either you got shorter Princess. Or I just got four times as tall…” Spike remarked; the distortion in his voice now gone, but pitch falling from an alto to a true tenor.

“It’s the latter… we need to get you back to the dorm where you can rest, and the Isegawas can order a bed for you. Though where are we going to put a 5-plus-odd-foot dragon?” Celestia wondered as they made their way back to the dormitories.

“Wouldn’t mind crashing in the rec room until they get everything sorted out; doubt they wanna go through the hassle of building an add-on…” Spike said as he trudged onward back to the dorm.

Or at least he would have if he hadn’t idly swung his tail and got it stuck in one of the trees.

“That’s going to take getting used to,” Spike moaned as he yanked his tail out.

“Just so long as you don’t poke us with that thing, we’ll figure it out…” Twilight said as she made sure to walk in front of Spike.


[ March 22, ??? + 1 – Office of Historical Records, Karrak-za-Jalve, Dragon Central Territory ]
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        “How interesting, how very interesting indeed… oh and he looks like quite the strapping young drake too…” a rose-red and teal-green-ridged dragoness quipped as she looked at some of the photographs a certain white Alicorn had sent her in the last day.

“I thought you knew well enough to not indulge your little… fantasies, while in my presence Madame Secretary,” a black and blue-ridged dragon said in response; the frustration evident on his face as he really didn’t care much for the personality of the dragoness whom he recently delivered said photographs and documents to.

“Oh come on, I’m far too old for him - looks like he’s fresh out of his mother’s den. You know my interests are in the more… long-lived types…” the red dragoness replied in a playful tone.

“You could fool a lot of other dragons with your words versus some of your actions,” the black dragon responded curtly, as he dropped off another folder onto the red dragoness’s desk.

“Well, it is nice that a certain somepony remembered what I taught her all those years ago about thoroughness in research,” the dragoness stated as she read over the Equestrian script.

“Something like this has not happened in at least 30 years. The mana-flow on this side is too stable to allow it to happen more than once per generation,” the black dragon mused aloud, having already spied some of the information while bringing it to the dragoness.

“And yet we expose a little drake to a long-sealed Magic, and suddenly he’s quite a big drake. And by the way Silentclaw, what have we all told you about prying into other Secretaries’ mail. Some of us may have more, private things to send to others now,” the dragoness said, her playful tone turning to one of annoyance at the black dragon’s bad habit.

“I apologize, Rosethorn; though I see it more as keeping abreast of everything. And I think that event, combined with the recent treats by the Equestrian government, may mean the Council will have to issue a formal response,” Silentclaw stated in his usual dry tone.

“Ugh, and I was looking forward to a nice little vacation away from all these records too. What is a young dragoness supposed to do when she wants to have a little fun~” Rosethorn mock-whined as she looked out at the window.

“The only one who can claim 1500 to be young is Wraithwind. You’ve lived longer than most of the modern nations have existed. Then again all of us on the Council have,” Silentclaw quipped, as he looked on at Rosethorn with a bit of a smirk on his face.

Rosethorn responded by puffing her cheeks and pouting, before laughing. “Yes, well… I like to feel like a fresh faced draka[4] sometimes. So sue me.”

“I believe I have before, not in the last century though,” Silentclaw responded as he joined the dragoness at the window overlooking the flight of a couple of returning full-sized dragons. 

“What was that over? I think some records regarding the old Zebra Tribes. In any case, knowing her, I believe this violet cutie will be making his way here, probably from the Eastern Checkpoint we share with Equestria proper,” Rosethorn replied as she looked on with some manner of fond remembrance.

“So that means the nearest city would be… hrm… Dural-ga-Jafid. Haven’t been there in a few weeks; though not much happens aside from the occasional sit-down with our Pony contacts,” Silentclaw figured as he walked back out of the dragoness’s office.

“It seems I will be making my way over to the East-Lands then,” Rosethorn quipped with quite a bit of cheer in her voice and a wide, toothy grin on her face.

“Just go easy on him. If he is who I think he is… he wouldn’t have been around another dragon save for a precious few instances. And you are a load and a half for even someone my age,” Silentclaw warned as he face-clawed and exited the office.

“Don’t worry Silent, I will be a perfect lady toward and mentor for him~!” Rosethorn shouted as Silentclaw’s tail disappeared past the door frame.

“The little drake will have to learn some time… and Tiamat-willing he will have a LOT of time to learn…” Rosethorn mused as she filed the photos back into their envelope.



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