Unknown

by DeeperMystery

Prologue

Inside one of the hundreds upon thousands of possible universes that could exist, there is one where hundreds of galaxies do a slow but delicate dance through the emptiness. Within one of these galaxies, approximately halfway to the edge of the third arm, there are countless stars and nebulae. If one were to zoom in on one of these star clusters, there would be a specific constellation that they would be interested in. One of these stars was very unique, in that, not only was it an ice blue color, but it also was one of few stars that had seven planets circling it. 4 terrestrial, and 3 gaseous giants. The fourth planet, known by its inhabitants as Kohrahn, was currently in a state of war.

An enormous gorge ran across the majority of the main continent, splitting and weaving its way through, cracking the surface like a scar. Millions of soldiers from the two factions fighting have marched their way through this gorge, intent only on annihilating the other.

The soldiers currently marching inside the ravine were part of a resistance group, attempting to overthrow a tyrant king and his corrupt followers. The resistance comprised of Kohrahns, a proud race of fierce bipedal warriors, using simple metal weapons and brute force to dominate the battle field, Valshins, a race of small, quadruped creatures, using claws and prehensile tails to clamber over the various machinery and clockwork they produce and maintain, and the Ehdahna, a tall, graceful race of two-legged people, wielding powerful and mysterious magic to great effectiveness.

Giant metal behemoths burst from the rocky walls of the gorge, showering a division of such soldiers. Edahnans were quick to cast protective spells over their allies, while the Kohrahns yelled battle cries. The behemoths, unfazed by the taunts, climbed down the walls, almost like a cat would stalk a mouse. Sword- and axe-bearing warriors charged the scorpion-like monsters, blows simply glancing off the iron shells. Massive, razor-sharp claws sliced through the ranks of Kohrahns, spilling what seemed like gallons of blood.

One young Edahnan began charging a powerful lightning spell, hoping to short circuit the beast. The behemoths regarded the Edahnan with their cold gazes, and one broke away from the pack, scooping up the mage before the spell was complete. The massive flux of mana he had held snapped, sending burning tendrils of rogue magic along his body, like a whip made of fire. A slight whirring sound came from the claw, and it tightened its grip, easily cutting the body of the mage in half. The behemoth then unceremoniously dropped the body, confident he was out of the fight, and continued on its murderous rampage.

The mage lay in a pool of growing blood, desperately holding onto what little life he had remaining. He watched the blood-soaked behemoth through his golden eyes, as Valshins desperately climbed the machinery, trying to shut down the blood-thirsty device. A female Edahnan came into the first’s view, and began working up a healing spell. He wouldn’t be able to walk again, but at least he’d live.

Suddenly, the behemoth made a grinding sound as its magically powered innards were pulled apart by Valshin hands. The machine violently exploded, sending shrapnel in every direction.

‘These machines really are harbingers of death,’ the war-mage thought. He glanced over to the medic, only to find her headless corpse falling next to him. His eyes widened as her staff fell into his puddle of expanding blood. The energy crystal on the top was anything but fragile. But every spell caster knew that the powerful magical artifacts were easily compromised, and extremely deadly when it was. No one knew what horrors could come out of a compromised energy crystal.

Summoning the last bits of physical strength, the Edahnan mage reached out and picked up the once-clear gem. It had already begun to turn black with corruption. He then began doing the only thing he could do from stopping an eldritch abomination: overload it. An overloaded crystal was better than a merciless horror. He pulled as hard as he could on his dwindling magical reserves, squeezing out every last drop, and poured it into the crystal. The gem slowly began glowing brighter and brighter, as magic was being forced in beyond its capacity.

The mage held the brilliant gem close to his chest, knowing this was his last moments. Time seemed to slow down and the world fell away. Sighing, he let go of his magical hold on the gem.

An intense light exploded out from his hands, engulfing him in a wave of pure energy. The wave vaporized skin and bone, in an ever-expanding circle. Very few soldiers saw the wave coming, and those who did had no time to react. The wave consumed everything around it, ripping through the metal behemoths, melting rock into slag, burning away corpses in seconds.

The lingering blast wave faded into nothingness after a few seconds, leaving a large crater in the ground. The massive explosion could be felt for miles, and left no survivors. An eerie silence came over the scorched landscape, a few motes of dust and mana dancing in the light of the setting star. There was no sound, no movement. Nothing.

---

Pinkie Pie regarded the foe in front of her, eyes narrowing in thought. Her opponent simply glared back, not wanting to betray even the slightest bit of weakness. Pinkie scratched her chin with a hoof, and thought diligently. She opened her mouth to say something, but whether it was an insult or a battle cry, the world would never know as she closed her mouth and thought some more. She then opened her mouth once more and said one word to her opponent.

“King.” She sat back with a smile on her face, certain this was the end of her foe. But her foe just smiled.

“Go fish.”

“Augh!” Pinkie exclaimed, pulling a card off of the top of the deck. Rainbow Dash chuckled as she looked at her own hand, deep in thought. Twilight rolled her eyes at her friends’ antics, and continued reading her book.

It was a beautiful day, thanks to the weather team, and the six ponies were enjoying the summer day outside with a picnic. Rarity was talking to Fluttershy about fashion, gossip, and stallions, while the shyer of the two simply nodded and smiled, content with just listening to the white mare. Applejack was in a tug of war contest with Winona, and Pinkie and Rainbow Dash were playing cards and trying to pull the others into playing a game. All in all, it was a perfect day.

A bright flash lit up the sky, drawing the attention of everyone. Twilight and Rarity felt an enormous flux of magical power, bigger than they’ve ever felt before. A massive blast was heard and felt by the six, coming from the center of town. They looked at each other for a brief second, before sprinting off into town.

Dozens of ponies were already circled around a large, shallow crater in the ground when they showed up, black smoke and soot billowing into the air. Luckily, the only damage was to the cobblestones, somehow missing both the citizens and the buildings nearby. Applejack and Rainbow started ushering the townsfolk back away from the crater while Twilight began scanning it with magic.

“Do you notice anything?” Fluttershy asked in her quiet voice. The unicorn simply shook her head.

“There was a massive spike in magic, but it’s gone now. I’ve never seen magic like this before, though. It’s almost like it’s…raw or something.” The pegasus cocked an eyebrow, not understanding magic in the slightest.

Before Twilight could explain, however, a collective gasp from the crowd pulled her attention back to the crater. Inside, at the very bottom, a single pony lay, dozens of cuts oozing blood. Twilight’s eyes widened as brief calculations told her that he shouldn’t be alive. And yet…

Rainbow zipped inside the crater and picked up the limp stallion, carefully depositing him on the stones. Fluttershy was already there, her hooves placed against the stallion’s brown coat. Her eyes narrowed in concentration as she checked his vital signs.

“There’s a pulse,” she said to all who could hear her, “but it’s really faint.” Twilight nodded.

“Rainbow, take him to the hospital. Be fast, but be careful. Tell the nurses what happened.” The cyan pegasus gave a swift salute before gently scooping the stallion up again and rocketing off towards the hospital, leaving a rainbow contrail in her wake. Twilight then turned to the rest of her friends.

“Fluttershy, I want you to ask the birds nearby if they saw anything important. And maybe ask a few other animals while you’re at it.” Fluttershy nodded, a serious expression on her face. “Pinkie, I want you to ask the townsfolk the same question, especially anypony who was in this area.”

“Okie dokie lokie!”

“Applejack, I’d like you to meet with the mayor and prepare a speech to calm down the townsfolk. They may think that this sort of thing could happen again, and I’d like to assure them that it’s very unlikely.”

“On it.”

“Ok, Rarity, I know your magic isn’t designed for this per se, but I’d like your help in scanning this crater for anything out of the ordinary.” Rarity trotted up to the edge, her horn already glowing. Twilight looked off in the distance in the direction of the hospital, a single thought on the forefront of her mind.

Who was that stallion?

---

Rainbow trotted in a circle, pacing impatiently. She had no idea who the stallion was, but she somehow felt responsible for his well-being. She stopped and looked up at the clock for the umpteenth time. It had been almost thirty minutes since the nurses and doctors took the brown stallion inside the operating room.

The sound of a door closing made her snap her head around. Nurse Redheart was walking out of the room, a clipboard in her mouth. She gently set the clipboard down and turned to the pegasus.

“How is he?” Rainbow interrupted before the nurse could say anything.

“He’s…I’m not actually sure. He had dozens of lacerations, burn marks, and, oddly enough, a large cut around his abdomen.” Rainbow had a blank look on her face.

“Uhh, normal speak please?”

“He’s in bad shape. And in a coma.”

“Oh.” Rainbow’s shoulders visibly drooped.

“It’s not your fault,” the nurse said, placing a comforting hoof on the other mare. “He was already like this. You haven’t made him any worse.” Rainbow put on a small smile.

“Thanks.” She began to walk out the door, when a thought came to mind.

“Can…can I see him?” she asked, turning to look over her shoulder. The nurse simply smiled, and gestured with her hoof.

The stallion was indeed in bad shape. Several transfusion bags hung from a rack, a heart monitor beeping in the background. Large bandages covered his forelegs, along with the top of his head and a much larger one surrounding his gut. His breathing was steady, though shallow.

“Damn,” Rainbow whispered. “Do you think he’ll wake up?”

“We don’t know. We could try magical effects, but we don’t have any idea of why he’s in a coma in the first place. None of these cuts seem to have come from the blast. Almost like they were there before it happened.” Rainbow nodded, then turned back to studying the stallion.

He had dark brown, almost black hair that sat in a jumbled mess on his head. A horn came out from his forehead, something that Rainbow hadn’t noticed until now.

‘A unicorn, huh? Well, Twilight’s had several spells go wonky on her, so…’

Rainbow voiced her thought aloud, but the nurse shook her head.

“There’s almost no magical residue on him. If it was a spell of any kind, other unicorns would be able to sense it. Even if someone else cast the spell.” Rainbow frowned in thought.

Where the hell did you come from?