Distorted Fate

by Silvak


Chapter XLV: Core

"What... what in tarnation is that?" Applejack asked, as we looked upon the formation of a dimensional rift. Above the forest, clouds were swirling into a vortex as some purplish light was emitted from within it. Occasionally, lightning could be seen streaking through the clouds.

"That, is the beginning of a dimensional portal, thankfully of the rift variety," I answered.

"The rift variety?" Twilight asked.

"Dimensional rifts don't damage the barriers between dimensions, but dimensional breaches, like the ones I believe Celestia committed, do," I explained, as Celestia looked away for a moment.

"Does that mean we're being invaded now?" Fluttershy quietly asked with an 'eep' in the end.

At first I opened my mouth before a small revelation crossed my mind, causing me to shut it as all the ponies leaned in to hear whatever answer they were expecting. After a moment of thought, I answered, "I honestly can't say for certain. It might be a portal created by some organization, or it could be just the result of the world's weakened barriers. Though we might be able to tell once the rift reaches a later stage, as it's currently in an earlier phase. So we have time to make plans on how to handle this matter."

"In regards to a plan, do you have anything in mind on how to close a portal?" Twilight inquired.

"Well, I do have a way to close any dimensional portal... but it involves opening a dimensional rift."

"Wait, aren't we suppose to not open a rift?"

"Normally yes, but the only way to stop that portal is to cancel it out with a dimensional rift." As Twilight opened her mouth to ask another question, I raised a hoof as I said, "I know you have more questions Twilight, but for now I'll give everypony what we need to know. One common method to remove a dimensional portal is to disrupt it. This can be done either by disrupting it at the source or introducing another rift to it, at which the rift and the portal will end up canceling each other out."

"It fares well that thou hath a plan in treating this matter, but wouldst there be consequences to thy method?" Luna asked.

"That's the beauty of it, there is no risk for us once we pull it off. This tactic has been used enough times that there is data on that matter, and it was found to not cause damage to... dimensional... barriers..." I said before my words drifted off as a realization struck me.

"Aether? What's the matter?" Rarity questioned as the mares looked at me with concern.

"I just had an idea... This portal could be the answer to all our problems. Normally with a portal is disrupted, it releases an kind of dimensional backlash, which is normally felt as a force of energy but nothing more. However, since this world's barriers have been weaken... maybe this backlash could actually help to repair the damage. Though to be certain, I need to know where the rift is forming. Can anypony tell me where it is exactly?"

Looking at the rift again, Celestia answered, "It appears to be right above White Tail Woods."

Clapping my hooves together, I simply said, "Perfect."

"Perfect? That means it's near Ponyville!" Rainbow yelled as she glared at me.

Rolling my eyes at her, I explained, "It's perfect cause White Tail Woods might be near the greatest point of damage to the dimensional barriers. Not only did the first known explosion occurred there, but the forest was also my point of entry to this world. Along with the forming of the rift there, all facts point to the forest's location being the primary weak point in the barrier. If I'm correct, then if my plan works out, we might be able to repair the barrier enough that we don't have to worry about any accidental dimensional rifts or issues anymore."

"While it is a relief to have a possible solution to our problems, we still have one big problem. How are we going to generate a rift?" Twilight asked.

"That is where the Maralus shards come in... though... that means we have to reform them into a solid Maralus core. Is there a spell that could fix things?"

"Well, there is, but don't you remember how the Maralus shards react to magic?"

"Well, if what I remember about your research is correct, then you never tried that spell on the shards, and having a Maralus core would be better than a bunch of shards. So I say we have to give it a shot."


It wasn't long before the guards finally appeared with the shards as we all moved to a more secure location in the castle. From what I was told, this particular room was reserved for the practice of dangerous magical spells, though I insisted that the guards kept anypony away from the door as they stood guard outside. In the meantime I was picking at the shards with a pair of tweezers, positioning them on the floor to make the repairs go more smoothly once the spell is cast.

"Oh come on, can't we just cast the spell already?" Rainbow demanded as she floated around the room in boredom.

"Oh we could, but it might result in a misshaped core which wouldn't work as well as a proper one!" I yelled back at her. As Rarity shushed Rainbow, I finally arranged the shards in a circular pattern on the floor. They were placed in what I assumed where they would come together to form a perfect sphere, I hoped.

Walking over to the princesses, I said, "Okay... I think I arranged them so that the spell would work more easily, assuming that it doesn't cause them to blow up in our faces. So... Princess Luna, can you surround us in a barrier before Twilight casts the spell?"

Giving me a short nod, Luna lit her horn as a dark blue shield formed around everypony. With the barrier up, Twilight took it as her cue to act as she bit her lip, her horn lit up as well as I watched the shards become engulfed with her magical aura. At first, we only saw the shards shiver a bit (except for Fluttershy who hid behind her mane and behind Celestia), before they started to float into the air. Miraculously, the shards began coming together piece by piece, starting with the ones closest to the center.

"Seems like things are finally goin' our way for once, I reckon," Applejack said before I gave her a flat look. "What?"

"Never, ever, tempt fate, for it often bites you in the plot when you do," I berated before returning my attention to the shards.

"Um... everypony... the spell is beginning to feel a bit off," Twilight grunted as we begin to see sparks of electricity coming off the shards.

After giving Applejack a quick withering glare, I said, "Keep going, we have to see this through!"

Gritting her teeth, Twilight continued with the spell as more of the core is restored. However, just when the core was almost fully restored, it appeared that the energy build up had reached its peak. An explosion flashed before us. Thankfully, Luna's barrier kept the explosion from harming us, with exception to our ears, which were left ringing from the blast.

As smoke wafted throughout the room, I saw from the corner of my eye that the door was blown off its hinges. I sighed with relief at my foresight of telling the guards to keep everypony away from them.

As the smoke started to clear out of the room and our hearing was returning to normal, Rainbow said, "Well, that was a complete waste of time," before I smacked the back of her head. "Hey! What was that for!"

Giving her an annoyed look, I said, "Luna, can you lower the barrier please?" As Luna complied with my request, I walked into the smoking center of the room where the core had been forming. I blindly felt around for a shard or anything before I felt my hoof touch against something rather round. Grinning to myself, I carefully pushed it back towards the group to where after I exited the smoke I saw that it was a perfect blackish purple sphere.

"Princesses of Equestria and Elements of Harmony, I present to you a Maralus core," I announced as I picked up the core with my hooves to show to all the ponies. The sphere was larger than the width of my hoof, but it was smaller than that of an adult's.

"Finally some progress, but how shall we use the core to generate a rift?" Celestia asked.

Putting the core back down onto the floor, I said, "Well, thankfully I have seen some in action, though we might want to mount the core on something since we can't carry it with magic."

"We may hath just the mount for the core," Luna declared before she teleported, returning moments later with a staff that ended with an empty claw on the top. Using her magic, she brought the claw end to the core, where it mysteriously grabbed it, clenching it in its claw.

"That works, this is the part that Twilight would like," I said, smiling to myself as I saw Twilight's ears perk up as I grabbed the staff with my hooves, sitting on my rear as I kept it pointing up. "We're going to see if this core can still work in this world, by opening a rift. To do this, I'm going to vibrate the core; which, if it's properly formed will release a humming sound. Now listen carefully to the pitch of the humming, cause I will have to adjust the vibration till it reaches the ideal frequency. Once I reach that frequency, take note of that, for only when the humming as at that pitch can we begin the next step to creating a rift."

Lighting up my horn with my magic, I surrounded the core with my magical aura as I focused the telekinesis spell on it. Instantly the core started vibrating, releasing a soft hum. Grunting, I added more power to my spell, adjusting the focus of the spell as well, causing the hum's pitch to change. After a while, I finally found the right pitch.

"Okay... this is the pitch we are looking for. Now, I need somepony to pour their magic into the core to charge it. However, concentrate the flow of magic into the bottom of the core so that it can be released through the top. If we just pour magic into the core... well it might not end well," I said, to which Celestia gave me a nod before her own horn lit up.

As I kept up my own spell, I watched as waves of electricity pulsed through the core. As Celestia poured more and more magic, the pulsing quicked until I started to see the air above the core beginning to distort. "Keeping pouring more magic Princess Celestia," I ordered, as I watched the distortions grow stronger with each passing minute. It wasn't long before the distortions became visible to the rest of the ponies, who released a gasp of wonder at the unusual sight, until suddenly a small purplish glowing sphere appeared above the core.

Smiling, I said, "Everypony, this is how you use a Maralus core to produce a dimensional rift. You can stop your magic now Celestia." As Celestia's magic came to an end, the rift disappeared due to lack of a power source, allowing me to end my spell as well. "Now we can actually make a rift, we can stop that portal and hopefully fix the barrier."

"I'll have the chariots readied, but I will be the one creating the rift, by myself." Before anypony could say a thing, Celestia raised her hoof as she said, "I was the one that caused this problem, hence it is my burden to put an end to it."

Folding my hooves across my chest, I said, "If that's what you want princess, but don't let your guilt override your thinking. Once that portal is formed, you will still have to follow everything I say since I'm the only pony here who has any idea what to do."

Nodding, Celestia said, "Of course, I will follow your orders to the letter, my little filly," as she ended with a smile, that I just scowled at.

Okay, I'm so tempted to tell her to charge into a wall.