Without the Tyrant, the Solar Empire fell quickly. Those she bound to her service were free, and while it took several days for the reformed United Governments of Earth to move it down the chain that not all her soldiers were willing, those who were proven to be suffering the after-affects of powerful compulsion spells were released to mental hospitals, though not the kind pre-contact humans would think of. No, these hospitals were staffed by those who had learned to use these new powers to aid the ailments of the mind. For the first time in history, mental illnesses were within Humanities grasp to deal with. With powerful cleansing magic, the medical revolution didn't end there. Even the most virulent diseases were subject to eradication. Truly, with the marriage of Technology and Magic, there was nothing that could not be done.
Eventually all The Twisted were returned to their birth forms, though some chose to keep the boons of their prisons. Who would give up flight once you'd experienced it? Why would you not want to be able to throw a lightning bolt at that blasted bird that keeps shitting on your car? Others asked for different boons, even if they didn't originate from the Potion. If you could have flame and damage resistant scales, would you take it? What about fox ears for the cartoon fans, or maybe you were a hunter, in which case you may want a stronger nose? Truly, for some people it was a dream come true. Others saw it as an opportunity, a way to better themselves in ways that were not possible before.
Some saw it as stepping into the realm of the divine, and sacrilege. That humanity was overstepping themselves, just as She had.
Others saw it as their duty, that by rejecting it humanity was squandering a gift given to all. That it was a greater sin to waste this new technology.
Even so, all of humanity was changed in the end, even if they kept their human form. Their race had suffered horrific loss, most of it self-inflicted in desperate defense. Many accused soldiers of murdering those under the effects of mind control, those who had no control over their own actions. Others blamed themselves for the losses humanity inflicted on itself. As such, in defense of those who took arms to defend themselves, The Laws of Magic were created, and the first major laws were those regarding mind control and compulsions. Those under the influence of others were not to be held responsible for their actions while entranced. Neither would those who defended themselves against the controlled be accused of murdering an innocent if they acted in self-defense. While the wording was tricky, the controlled was assigned the legal role of a bystander in terms of what was done by the accused, an extension of the will of the controller in terms of self-defense, like a remote controlled toy. More importantly, those who inflicted such things on others could be found guilty of not only everything the victim did, but also be guilty of the greatest crime yet, one only a single other creature had been accused of in humanities history. Crimes against sapience, and theft of the body. The latter left room for other charges to follow, as technically, the owner of the body became a hostage.
Rebuilding was going slowly, despite the gifts their previous overlords had "left" them. Being able to rebuild a house in 3 days was all well and good, but the infrastructure of the planet had been wrecked. While the factories were being rebuilt, the few existing facilities were constantly being refitted to make another object that was in high demand until a sufficient number of plants were remade to create each item separately. Humanity needed to rebuild the tools to rebuild the tools, etc., to get to where they once were. It was slow going, but even being reduced to snail mail wasn't going to stop them. Not when governments, corporations, militaries, and reconstruction leads could keep in contact with either magic or flyer-based mail. So progress was made. Not as quickly as most humans would have liked, but faster than anything the Equis natives had seen before.
That was another change. Humanity was able to also save the other natives of Equis from the Potion, returning them to their original forms. Many, especially those not magically inclined, moved to Earth. Furnaces not fully repaired yet? "No problem, Karstradez over there can melt that metal for ya in no time. It's what drakes do, after all." Need access to a mine that was closed by the Empire? "I heard Rocky's pack was looking for work. They could get that place opened up in a few hours, I bet." Humanity already knew they weren't alone. Now though, that wasn't exactly a bad thing. These other races, they were broken by the Empire as well. Humanity would not leave them in the dark. They came too close to that fate themselves.
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James Raymond was one of those who hadn't kept any special augments. Six foot one, at two hundred and twenty three pounds, he saw the wings needed for such a frame as impractical. Why would he change what already worked for him? And it's not like extra strength would help him wire the houses that were being rebuilt in the reclaimed lands, anyway. No, he was content being just another regular human being again. No more fur, no more bad eyesight, no more dealing with his mind being twisted to be overly happy about the dumbest shit. Ah, and being able to swear freely again. Probably the most important of the things he got back. You know, besides his fingers.
With the rebuilding being under way, anyone, and really, anything with knowledge of construction found themselves fully inundated with work. Even if the entirety of ones knowledge was the difference between a regular and a Phillips screwdriver. Not that it was a bad thing. James enjoyed teaching those around him the wonders of electricity. The looks of disbelief on the faces of the Equis natives was always worth it when he described the wonders humanity had created before the war. His favorite reactions were always those of the Dogs when he described mining equipment. In fact, he was currently enlightening one right now.
"So, you say hoommies make ding's dat dig tunnel so big, dragon can walk through without hitting head? Not possible! How would ding move? Be too heavy."
James chuckled at his disbelief "You've seen those cars that have been showing up again on the streets, right? You take the same principle for the engines, and blow it up to about four times the size, and you can literally move a building. Easily, I might add."
"What was ding you say? Oh, yea. Bullshit. Still not possible."
"Say what you want, Iron, I know what we did before the war. Even our own people had trouble believing some things that were done."
Finishing the last few connections for the underground housing unit he was working on, James gathered his tools, bid Iron Grip farewell, and went home for the night. No, life would never be 'normal' again, not with the new species wandering the planet, and most of humanity permanently changed in some way or another, but there was a new normal settling in. Once again people were going to their jobs, without the fear of the Barrier, or someone sneaking the Potion into the local water supply. Once again, people like James could do what they wanted: live their lives in peace.
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It was a peaceful walk back to his apartment complex. While cars were making a reappearance, there just wasn't enough of a supply of them yet, not to mention those with wings didn't use them unless it was long range and they needed to take a bit of luggage. There was also the issue of most roads being destroyed. Why would you use resources that were desperately needed elsewhere when the end product was limited anyway? So many walked. Those that needed to go long-distance could use the trains (those were easier to rebuild)or in an emergency, a dragon could be bribed for a lift. There was rumor going around that some techno-mages were even working on teleportation pads in the major cities, making world travel instantaneous, but those same rumors said it was still a thing of the distant future. Still, it gave James time to relax. To process the changes the world had gone through.
The world was at peace again, the calm night air holding a gentle breeze that carried with it familiar scents and sounds. A few engines could be heard in the distance, and he could see the lights of New Chicago in the distance. The moon just rising into the sky, following it's own path as it should, naturally reflecting the light of the sun that belonged to no one creature for the enjoyment of all. After five years of hell, life was good.
Five years. Five years ago he was a bright eyed, bushy tailed High-school student heading to college, already planning on following in his dad's footsteps as an electrician. It was simple stuff, things that he grew up with. Electricity always acted in a specific way. If it did something strange, it was because you weren't aware of the whole setup. Not so with Magic. That stuff was volatile at the best of times. So many rules that changed based on the location or the season or even the attitude of the caster.
"Screw magic. I'll take electricity over it anyday..."
Unfortunately for James, Magic, as many mages had figured out, sometimes has a mind of its own. And it took offense to his badmouthing.
One moment James was walking back to his apartment complex. The next he was gone. Witnesses claimed he disappeared in a quick flash of light that was obviously magical in nature. Within days, Magitech crews were on the scene, working feverishly to determine if this was some new attack, another threat to their home. What they discovered left some relieved, others puzzled and the rest with imaginations ablaze with the possibilities. While the origin of the spell was unknown, the direction it had traveled in was to another plane. An as of yet undiscovered location. They would find the victim, but they would not rush in blindly. No, they would explore this school of magic thoroughly before they sent anyone through it. Once again, magic would be the cause of another revolution in human understanding of how the universe worked. And humanity would eventually use it to travel outside of their plane of existence. But that is a tale for another time. This tale, dear readers, is about James. James, and his discovery of a terrifying place. One that would make him ask a question that Man has asked since the dawn of time.
What If...?
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James stumbled slightly, but managed to keep his feet after the unexpected teleportation landing. That was all that could have been, really. He'd seen quite a few mages preform the spell, and even been dragged along on a few trips and thus knew what to expect in the aftermath. Confusion, vertigo, fluttering stomach, cloudy vision, and an odd tingling in the extremities. Taking a knee, he let the symptoms pass. They never lasted more than a few seconds anyway, based on distance teleported.
He knew he wasn't near the apartments anymore, he could smell rotting vegetation all around him. This only compounded his worries when almost two minutes later, his vision started to clear. Doctors had found that teleporting from one side of the planet to the other only resulted in about 20 seconds of symptoms, so how far had he been pulled? Taking a look around, James found himself in a forest. A particularly dark one, actually. The one thing that did catch his eye was a message burned into the ground in front of him.
"Fuck you"
'What?'
James was confused. The last insult he'd thought was based on magic being unpredictable, and 'screw mag-'
"No. There is no way in hell our planet's magic field has- I don't know whether I should laugh at the irony of our planet's magic field being so 'human' or cry at the fact that it just threw me somewhere for insulting it." Looking around one last time, James sighed at his predicament.
"So, the question still remains... where the hell am I now? Dammit, Earth, this is all your fault!"
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Teeth. Teeth and claws, it was all he saw before running as fast as he could. While he would have liked to fully ponder how he'd ended up in this forest for insulting magic in general, he now had something else to occupy his time. Mainly, keeping ahead of the angry ball of death tearing through the forest behind him. It was the first time in a long time he had reason to truly appreciate the enhancements given to humanity in general. He juked around a tree; a normal human could never have reacted to the obstacle while moving at his current speed, much less seen it. He batted aside a branch that crossed his path; increased durability prevented the branch from tearing through his skin easily at his current speed. He hopped over a lo-
A quick roll and he was moving despite tripping over the vine behind the log. In a different direction as well, so whatever was chasing him was thrown off enough that it could not capitalize on his mistake. Even with these upgrades though, James knew this was bordering hopeless. No, unless something happened soon, he would eventually either make a mistake that he couldn't recover in time from, or the creature would tire him out. Just as he would have sworn he could feel the monster's breath on his neck, his rescue came, but not in the form he hoped it would take. There was no rescue party, no wandering hunter that took the beastie out. No, it was something that caused some part of his brain to remember a movie he saw as a teenager.
The forest to the left of him suddenly exploded with movement. Trees batted aside, trunks as thick as a two feet across snapping like twigs under the force of the motion. The creature behind him only managed a strangled yelp as whatever it was grabbed the creature mid-stride. James didn't stop for a second, in fact, the thought of a larger predator left him with an unexpected burst of adrenaline and he continued to run for a full two minutes afterwards, though he did start to slow down around thirty seconds or so after the chase had ended. He no longer ran like the hounds of hell were nipping at his heels, but he had no intention of stopping just yet.
Despite his plan, he stumbled again, this time from sudden fatigue. Dizziness followed, and he collided with a tree. Something was horribly wrong; yes he'd run harder than ever before, but he should be able to keep going for at least another minute at full speed. Never before had his strength left him so quickly, even taking into account the brush with death. As his vision darkened the final thing he was aware of was a strange ringing behind him, leaving him with the distinct feeling that something was laughing at him.
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A splitting headache was the first sign that James was coming out of whatever blunt force trauma induced darkness that had once clouded his mind. Slowly he managed to crack his eyes open. If he'd had full control over his form, he'd probably have shit himself. He was in a hospital bed, no more then five paces from The Tyrant's Gaze. Satan's Promise, some called them, others referred to them as The Soul-Void, as any being caught in her stare was stripped of it's free will and willingly danced to her tune. He looked down, and delved further into his panic. Fur. Brown fur.
They'd gotten him again.
'No, this is not happening. It can't be happening. I won't go back to that mindless thing again, there's no way, she's-supposed-to-be-dead-I-saw-the-report-myself...she's...dead?'
His downward spiral was stopped by that thought. The Tyrant's Hoofmaiden's were one of the first targets of the humans who'd broken free of the Potion, after the Tyrant herself. In truth, they needn't have worried about them. The six girls were found in a small room in the castle, staring vacantly into space. Upon noticing the Human soldiers entering the room, The Tyrant's Voice, once a young purple unicorn, slowly looked to the soldiers, and smiled. She said she was glad they'd made it, glad that they'd broken free when harmony itself was shattered by her will. She asked them to forgive those who had no part in the war, and asked them to end their misery. The last that was reported of the Hoofmaidens was that the last had committed suicide, despite the heavy security imposed on them. Everyone knew of them. Thus everyone read the report on their capture. There was quite literally not one human on the planet that didn't know about the mares, or what happened to them. Yet here sat one of them before him. How was it possible? Hadn't the Bitch done enough to them?
That stopped him as well. Newfoals couldn't swear, even in their own minds. They couldn't think of their life prior to conversion. They definitely couldn't think of the Solar Tyrant in any way besides "Our Beloved Ruler". And yet here he was, mind raging against the wrongness he was experiencing. Hating with all his being the one who had stolen his identity from him. Slowly, his shoulders relaxed. His mind cleared itself of fear. He wasn't converted. This was different. Something else was responsible for his change. Besides, humanity had beaten the Potion already, all he needed to do was get back home and they could turn him back again.
"Um, are you okay? You were panicking there for a moment. What's wrong, and what calmed you down?" The voice wasn't The Gaze, but a nurse that had recently entered the room in the midst of his panic attack. She was apparently ready to sedate him, if the needle of anesthetic was any clue. Taking a deep breath, James made his decision. He would find out where he was on his own. He would learn what was going on without drawing the entirety of the worlds attention to himself, and most importantly, he Would. Not. Panic.
"Sorry." The word felt strange coming out of his mouth, like he was talking through a muzzle. No, not the snout of an animal, the thing you put on a dog to stop it from biting. "I was, uh, just a bit confused. Last thing I.. remember was running from something in the forest. I tripped, hit a tree, and that's the last thing I remember. Waking up in a weird place kind of... made me panic. How did I end up here?"
The nurse took the explanation in stride, putting away the injection. "You can thank this young lady right here. She and her friend found you in the forest and bro-" The nurses explanation was cut off as another member of the Hoofmaidens literally flew through the doorway, making James jump a good foot in the air. Of course, it was only because the pegasus had startled him. Yea, definitely that. Nothing to do with the fact that she was The Tyrant's Wind. The one who would fly by impossibly fast and Potion world leaders as they walked to their cars. Definitely nothing to do with fear.
"Hey 'Shy, he up- Cool, your up! Nasty hit you musta' taken, if that busted snout is anything to go by. What happened, you run into a tree?"
"Um, yes, Dash. He did. I was actually just about to tell him how we-"
"Awesome! So we went into the forest, looking for Shy's chicken Elizibutt."
"Elizibeak"
"Right, Elizibeak, when..."
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"'Oh, dash, can you help me find my stupid chicken? She's too dumb to not wander into the horrid forest that will most likely end with her death in hundreds of horrible ways.' Seriously, how stupid is that thing?"
Rainbow Dash was not a happy camper. Once again she was roped into helping her friend find some lost animal that apparently didn't have enough survival sense to avoid the giant forest of death right outside of the town. Seriously, what about this place attracted the animals? It was so unnatural, everything moving on it's own, with no help from the local ponies. Clouds forming and dispersing with no guidance. The seasons changing in time with the rest of the world, but with no outside influence. Even the animals here had their own set of rules to play by. Namely, 'If I'm bigger than you, I can eat you'. And even that rule wasn't a guarantee from what she'd heard around town.
"Have you found anything? Oh dear, where could she be..." Meanwhile her friend, Fluttershy, continued to panic over the wellbeing of their feathered objective. It was the only reason Dash was out here. Seriously, she could be getting a full ten minute nap in right now. Ten minutes! Alas, she could never leave her friend to wander the Everfree by herself. She was going to pluck every feather off of that-
"Buck?" Her quarry looked up from whatever it was that had captured it's interest long enough for her to spot it, before ducking back into the bush.
"Shy! She's over here!" She yelled, trotting over to the bush to grab (not strangle, Flutter's would be upset) the dumb bird that had caused this wild chicken chase.
"Oh thank goodness!"
As she approached the dumb bir-chicken, Dash noticed it was pecking and scratching at something. It looked like somepony had grabbed some clothes for a minotaur and thrown them on some Earth pony stallion. "Weird"
Fluttershy arrived only moments later. "Oh there you are, Elizibeak, you shouldn't wander off like that. Thank you for... Sir? Oh.... oh dear...."
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"It was the weirdest thing I've ever seen. Like somepony'd decided 'Hey, here's some poor colt that's been knocked out in the forest, lets stuff him into these clothes and leave him here!' They even stuffed all your stuff into the pockets of the clothes, took your saddlebag, and left this weird bag in it's place. It was sitting right on your back. Can't imagine it would be comfortable to wander around with that." Dash looked quite proud of herself for her deductive skills. No doubt she'd figured out exactly what fate had befallen James. "If you need help giving those jerks a good one-two-three-four, let me know, 'kay? Just because somepony's a fan of fake monsters is no reason to do that do a colt."
"Uh, sure? Where did you put my... the things they put on me? And the bag? Oh, and what do you mean, fake monsters?"
"Human's, filly. Sheesh. The card even had a picture of one on it. I assumed you were like Bonnie in town, she's a big fan of 'em."
The nurse took over the explanation from there. "As for your things, they're in the patient's belongings storage room, and will be returned to you once you've been cleared to leave. Considering it seems to be light head trauma, coupled with exhaustion, it shouldn't be too long before you're cleared to leave." The nurse approached the bed, grabbing the clipboard with her hooves and turned to look at him again. "Before I get distracted again, what was your name? The cards said James Raymond, but as loath as I am to admit it, Miss Dash Is most likely correct in assuming it was a play name for a human character. So what is your real name?"
Only one name came to him. He couldn't use his real name, not without raising suspicion given his current form, so he was stuck falling back on his old nickname, one he'd been given during his gaming days. 'I'm going to catch hell from the guys back home if they ever catch wind of this...'
"Raider. My name is Raider. Thanks for taking care of me while I was out."
"It was no problem, Mr. Raider. Dr. Quick-fix will be by in a few moments to check you out. If everything seems fine, you may even be released today."
Wonderful. The sooner James got out of the hospital, the faster he could start hunting down answers. First things first, though. Where would he find maps of local geography and information on local governments