Magi Chronicles: Fires of Equestria

by Xeadin

Chapter 15 -- Recall

It seemed like a good, long moment for Asura—the surge of pain rushing through his own body, and the throbbing sensation that he felt in his waist. His hazy vision caught a glimpse of Celestia’s room. His body felt like it was supported by a cloud. Despite being a flat mattress on the floor, Celestia’s bed felt comforting. The silk blankets that sat on top of it tickled his skin, alleviating most of the pain that surged within.

It was the first time he had, actually, felt fear. At one point, he, instinctually, felt angry, but quickly melted away into panic once again. He felt naked without the elements empowering his soul. The rock he had possession of did not grant enough power, which further aided in his insecurity. He had help from his fellow comrades and of the Equestrians, yet something still bothered him.

The lingering presence of the rogue magic clung to him like a tumor. As long as he had the stone in hand, the effects of the magic did not bother him. He knew that once he would let go of the stone, the swirling energies would invade him. He was not about to let himself become any more vulnerable than he already had.

Celestia sat down next to him, rubbing his waist with a soft, wet rag and cleansed as much of the wound as she could. The cold water stung, yet the comfort of the bed eased his pain. Once the rag was out of the way, Celestia gazed upon the wound. The wound expelled no amount of blood, yet it was still deep. His skin around the wound throbbed with the rhythm of his heartbeat. To him, it felt surreal and unnerving.

Cassandra knelt on her knees, and held up his head with the palm of her hand—hidden by her feathery appendages. She held a glass of water in her other hand, and slowly tipped it towards his mouth. He held his lips tight against the glass, and a stream of water entered his mouth. He drank a modest amount from the glass, letting it flow down through his body. Cassandra took the glass away and gently lowered his head on to the soft velvet pillow.

“It’s going to be alright, sir,” she said, her soothing melody suppressed his racing thoughts.

Asura breathed in heavily. “I know. It’s, already, beginning to feel better.” He glanced toward Cassandra and Celestia. “Thank you, once again.”

They both smiled back.

He still felt the repercussions of the attack and felt fearful that his next encounters might not turn out the same way. Still, he felt a little more confident that he had others to support him whenever he veered out of line. It was a dumb decision for him to take initiative on his own terms, yet he had, quite possibly, saved the princesses from a potentially fatal outcome. As a guardian, such risks are meant to be taken, but without the governing power of the elements by his side, he had to be a little more careful on where he made such sacrifices.

There was something within him that made him vex in a strange manner. It was a partial tug on his consciousness—a question, that had been yanking on him since he had first woken up in Equestria. He contemplated on the circumstances of his escape prior to his arrival, and came to that overbearing question: why Equestria? Was there something on his colleague’s minds that made them decide that this was the best place for him to seek shelter from the growing darkness that loomed over the rest of the civilization?

As he thought about those questions, something else came to mind. Why did the energies of Equestria suddenly try to invade him? How come these energies weren’t affecting him while he held the stone? It was, certainly, strange that Equestria’s magical presence would have a delayed effect. Something odd was at work, and it was unnerving for him to try and figure out what that was. Maybe the magic of Equestria would point him toward the intended direction of his answers—an obscure clue that would help to unravel the veil of secrecy that was locked within the deep vaults of the Divide.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized that a choice would have to be made. Either he would have to endure the absence of the elements and continue searching for his answers in the blind—taking into account greater risks of his own life and the lives of others; or, he would have to embrace the unknown energies of this new world—to embrace the Elements of Harmony, willingly. It would not come without consequences, but the more he thought about it, the more desperate the situation became.

The consequences of his actions would come to no fault compared to what was coming. If the Rygoliths were to come at his most vulnerable stage, there would be no way to defend himself or his friends—let alone Equestria. They did have a form of defense that, surely, outrivaled his team of highly-trained operatives; unfortunately, they were not prepared for the Rygolith’s brute force that they dispelled against their adversaries. Equestria would fall within one fell swoop of the iron fist of Kor.

Perhaps he could be wrong. He barely knew much, if anything, about the princesses—let alone the Elements of Harmony. They did have profound courage, despite having a weakness for seeing brutal conflicts. He found it strange that they had met Paleia once before—his most trusted mentor and advisor. Had they used their powers and ended up at the Halls of Aniliath? Paleia had taught him all about the Precursor traditions, ever since he was at an early age. He had become stronger than she had ever dreamed. He had fully embraced the Elements of Nature with a welcoming hand, and felt the balance of the Divide churning within its confines. It was striking, and unnerving, to know that they could read his mind and sense his feelings, even though he had never encountered them before. Could Equestria be his true calling?

He had to take a leap of faith at some point. He, desperately, needed to regain his lost strength in order for him to move forward. He took the stone out from his pocket and placed it right next to Celestia’s hoof. “I need you to keep this away from me for now.”

Celestia looked down, confused about his claim. “Why now?”

Luna knelt down to him. “Did thou not tell us that our magic would hurt thee?”

Asura nodded. “Yes, it will. I think there might be something that it may be trying to tell me—a message, perhaps.”

Luna and Celestia looked at each other. Celestia carried the rock over to her. She seemed a little hesitant to just keep it away from him, after all this time with him guarding it at every waking minute.

There was a slight tingling sensation within his chest. He could, easily, brush it off without worry. It felt strange that the pain did not intensify right after letting go of the stone from his grasp. Something told him that it would suddenly try and flow through him all at once. He prepared himself for the worst. He began to tense his muscles, in an attempt to agitate the magic, to jump-start the process. Within a few moments of shifting his weight around, the tingling began to intensify.

At first, it felt like hundreds of appendages were stroking every inch of his body. It was hard for him to suppress the awkward sensation, but he was surprised that the magic would assault him like this. Maybe he had, already, taken a fair amount inside of him when he had woken up earlier. Before long, the sensation grew to a pinching internal pain. ‘Okay, here we go. Nice and steady.’

His arms and legs twitched with each stroke of pain that shot through his body. It felt like shockwaves that matched the rhythm of his heartbeat. The fact that his heart rate shot after felling the first of the few painful strokes meant that he was going to have a tough time recovering himself later on. He took a deep breath and crossed his arms together, lying flat on Celestia’s bed.

The struggle became more intense—the pain felt like a fire had sparked inside of him. Soon, his tingling extremities became engulfed in the aching wildfire. He clenched his fists as hard as he could, bracing the soft silk blanket that Celestia had placed upon him. To her surprise, when she touched his forehead, he didn’t feel hot—instead, he felt frigid cold, like he did when they first found him.

His breathing became even more arduous, expelling each breath that parted Celestia’s hair. He began to groan as the rogue energies started to take over once again—this time, he was giving it a chance to manifest his spirit. Surviving physical pain seemed like an ordeal to overcome, yet it was the least of his problems. Surviving spiritual pain would prove to be excruciatingly, and exceedingly, painful.

Cassandra held on to Asura’s arm. She sensed his distress from the intense discomfort. She was surprised to find that he felt cold—almost too cold. He was of Icinian descent, yet this phenomenon was way beyond her medical expertise. She gently glided her other free hand across the top of his forehead, in which he responded with a small groan. “It’s going to be alright, sir,” she said, calmly.

Randan stood near the doorway out in the hall. He stood before Shining Armor, showing signs of growing concern. Randan crossed his arms and held his chin up with one hand.

Shining Armor shook his head to move a few strands of hair away from his eyes. “I’m getting awful worried about these ‘aggressors’ you guys keep talking about. Are they always this brutal?”

Randan shot a still glance. “They weren’t always like that.” He lowered his eyes toward the floor. “According to what I’ve been told, they used to be our allies, until someone took control and declared a coup against his own people. From there, things went downhill. Our relations got worse and we had no choice but to accept their declaration of war.”

“Must be tough. I’m hopeful you guys will find out how to push through.”

“We already have a way through,” Randan turned his head toward the doorway. “Trouble is, I don’t know if he’ll even be able to resolve it in time. Whatever he’s looking for in those old books that he’s read, I don’t know if we’ll even get a fighting chance once judgment arrives.”

“Well, passion has a way of biting one pony in the flank.”

“You said it.” Randan almost chuckled at that remark. ”Let’s hope I can be proven wrong, and pray that all of this prevails.”

Their attention was split by Asura’s sudden yelp of pain.

~~~~~~

“Oohh! If only I could get my hooves on one of those bad guys, I’d kick’em all the way out of Equestria!” Rainbow Dash furiously exclaimed.

“Ah hear ya on that, sugarcube,” Applejack said. “But we gotta let these folks handle th’ problem first before we go in an’ mettle in their affairs.”

“But we can’t just sit around and do nothing about it, Applejack! We’re the Elements of Harmony, and we have to protect Equestria from anything that poses a threat! From what they’ve done to him, it’s obvious that they’re enough of a threat as is!”

“Rainbow Dash has a point,” Twilight said. “What if his civil defense force isn’t enough against their adversary? There’s got to be something that we can do.”

“But Twilight, what if our elements won’t work against ‘em? Ah mean, they come from a different world th’n ours.”

“Don’t be silly, Applejack,” Rarity said, gallantly walking up between Applejack and Rainbow Dash. “The Elements of Harmony should be able to work on just about anything that crosses paths between us and Equestria. Surely, you don’t think that we’ll be up against anything worse than, say, Discord, right?”

Applejack grimaced at the thought. “That’s just it, Rarity. What if they’re worse th’n that? We don’t know what they’ll be like.”

They heard a familiar and ominous voice just above them. “Did somepony call my name?”

Twilight growled lightly. “Discord, we’re having an important discussion right now, and we’d like it if we weren’t disturbed.”

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous, Twilight Sparkle. I only came to listen in on what was being discussed,” Discord chuckled, appearing on the finished oak table next to them in a flash. The mischievous draconequus was only about as tall as the glass of water that sat near the end of the table. “After all, I do enjoy taking part in a little chit-chat now and then.”

Twilight rolled her eyes, sighing in disgust.

“Oh, Twilight,” Fluttershy calmly spoke. “Don’t be too hard on him. He just wants to join in on the conversation.”

Discord ran a claw inside both of his ears. “Now, I heard you talking about some sort of ‘adversary?’” He rubbed both hands together, grinning wistfully. “Mind spoiling the details to dear Discord?”

Applejack cleared her throat. “As we were sayin’, we don’t know if our elements’ll have any effect on’em.”

“On who?” Discord twisted his head around with a curious look on his face.

Fluttershy flew over next to the desk. “Oh, Discord. I don’t think you’ve met him, but there’s this person, named Asura, that came from another world.”

Discord gasped in surprise. “Another world?” He fell flat on the table, laughing manically. “Well, why didn’t you say so, dear Fluttershy?” As soon as he stopped laughing, he stood up and snapped his lion claws. In a flash, he appeared next to Fluttershy in his normal size. His horns just about touched the ceiling of the room.

Rainbow Dash whispered to Applejack. “I almost liked him when he was small.” Applejack smirked in response.

“Well, ladies,” he said, stretching his limbs and unfurling his long, snaky body. It was somewhat unusual for him to be this bubbly. “Do go on. I am dubiously interested in hearing all about this ’Asura.’” He fell to the floor on his stomach and crossed his legs. He supported his head up with his lion paw. “So, you don’t think your Elements of Harmony will work against this individual?”

“That’s not who we’re talking about right now,” Rainbow Dash said, shooting an angry glare at him. “We’re talking about his enemy.”

He let out a bitter chuckle. “Oh, things just keep getting better and better.”

“Well, yes,” Twilight scowled. “Except that one of his enemies’ assailants actually tried to murder him!”

Rainbow Dash growled menacingly when Twilight said those words.

“Oh my,” Discord’s gleeful expression flipped to a somber tone. “That seems, rather, unfortunate—something out there that will, actually, hurt somepony.”

“Yes, well,” Rarity said. “If we’re going to have any chance of success, I’d say we should give the elements a chance. While Applejack may be right, we should, at least, help him out and his fellow friends.”

“Well, I’d agree to that,” Fluttershy waved her hoof in the air.

“I’m all in!” Rainbow Dash stuck out her hoof toward the center of the circle. Fluttershy softly placed hers on Rainbow’s hoof. Rarity stuck her hoof out.

“Oh, I’d like to help out with that!” Pinkie Pie bounced up and down with glee, and stuck out her hoof out to the gathering.

“Aw, pony feathers… Ah guess Ah’m in, as well.”

Twilight stuck her hoof out. “It’s settled then.”

They were all astonished to see Discord’s hand in the pack as well. “Well, if this seems dire enough, would it not help to add in a little chaos to the mix?”

They all looked at each other in surprise. Twilight grinned at the thought. “You know what? That doesn’t seem like a bad idea. Maybe we could benefit with a little creative chaos this time.”

Discord deviously chuckled at Twilight’s idea.

“But!” Twilight interrupted. “We still hold true to our promise, and so do you. You know what happens when you step out of line, right?”

Discord stopped for a moment. He shook his head in agreement.

Pinkie Pie glared at him, curiously. “You Pinkie promise?”

He sighed. “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” He snapped his eagle talons and a cupcake appeared in his hand, and, indubitably, shoved it into his eye.

Pinkie giggled happily. They all raised their hooves in the air, including Discord.

“Alright, everypony,” Twilight said assertively. “Let’s go help him and his friends out in any way we can!”

Her friends cheered, and Discord chortled in glee. Their cheerful moment was broken when they heard Asura’s scream through the hallway.

Applejack’s eyes widened. “Uh oh. That doesn’t sound good.”

Fluttershy shivered. “Oh, that poor thing!”

“I take it that’s Asura?” Discord inquired. “He doesn’t sound too happy by the looks of things.”

“I don’t think he is,” Twilight shook her head in worry. “C’mon, girls!” She raced out through the doorway and made her way up the flight of stairs to the next floor, her friends following close by. Discord, simply, snapped his fingers and appeared next to where Shining Armor once stood.

~~~~~~

Randan quickly approached the gathering around Celestia's bed. Asura had his arms clenched around his chest, fighting the extreme pain that had invaded his entire body. Both Cassandra and Celestia held him in a comforting grasp, attempting to ease the pain that swelled to astonishing levels. Without the presence of the stone, he felt naked-- helpless against the onslaught of Equestria's magic.

Randan, worriedly, peered over Cassandra, getting a better view of what was happening. "What's happening to him?"

Celestia replied. "Our world's magic is infesting his spirit. He seems adamant in accepting Equestria's power."

Randan nodded. Another shout from Asura sent shivers down his spine. Was this kind of sacrifice necessary? What would happen if he failed to attain what he was looking for? He knew that Asura had studied extensively through his Precursor peers, but not knowing the certainty that had loomed over him and his allies made the sinking feeling inside his gut even more prominent. Would he be ready to take on the role of Commander if Asura succumbed to his own peril?

It was a frightening prospect, but he knew Asura well enough that he had earned his trust long ago. Asura was breathing rapidly, and his mind began to cloud up in a dark haze. The pain almost became too great for him to handle. The fear of losing this battle would be the end of him, but the uncertainty of his success would prove to be an even greater ordeal.

Celestia was surprised to see Discord looming over the gathering. His flowing body perfectly arching over her gave her a slight sense of insecurity, but also of interest. He pulled on his shaggy goatee. "And what ails this poor creature, Celestia?" he pondered.

"He is an outsider to our world's energy. He is simply attempting to adjust to our climate."

He chuckled lightly. "Well, he seems to be having a hard time doing so. Maybe all he needs is another layer of a gentle touch." He snapped his lion claws. Upon doing so, he yelled in surprise, backing himself away from the gathering. His mouth was agape and his eyes went wide. "Good heavens! Why did you not tell me he had his own magic??"

Celestia curiously looked at Discord, and Twilight snickered slightly. Celestia looked back at Asura. To her surprise, his breathing began to lighten, and his bouts of pain subsided. Small moans escaped from each breath, as his head laid slump in hers and Cassandra's arms. They gently laid his head down on to the pillow.

Luna lit up her horn, and gauged Asura's condition. She was, quaintly, surprised that his consciousness was still intact. "Sister, he is alright." She closed her eyes and began to prod her way to his sub-conscious spirit. If he were to attempt to answer any questions that had been knocking on his mind since his arrival, they would be able to draw similar conclusions. After all, it was strange for the magic of Equestria to be acting in this manner.

Celestia lit up her horn and connected to Luna's spirit. She felt Asura's mind flowing against her spirit, gently wrapping her energy around his. She felt Discord's presence. "Discord?" she said. "Would you care to join us?"

Discord perused his thoughts, dragging his eagle talons across his chin. "Well, I suppose a quick peek wouldn't hurt." He stretched out his hands, hearing the cracks of his weathered bones. He held out a paw just above Asura's head, and felt the boy's energy flow through his own.

---

The void felt empty. Not a single thing could be seen within the vast darkness that loomed around him. Asura stood in the middle of a dark and vastly unfamiliar place-- a place where the Halls of Aniliath once stood. The disappearance and death of Brimoy, the architect of the Divide, brought about a sudden change to the entire landscape that used to be their sacred forums. Now, it was nothing more than a cosmic wasteland of emptiness.

The only thing that existed, that he could see, was the swirling masses of the elemental essences. They seemed to be within arm's reach, yet every attempt to grab a piece of the essence was all in vain. It felt like he could not move, as if the air around him held a firm resistance against his own soul. The ethereal wasteland of multicolored plasmatic waves flowed effortlessly-- it was a peaceful place, yet it also served as a grueling reminder of the hardships of being a Precursor.

Being a Precursor guardian was an even more difficult hardship. The amount of knowledge bestowed upon him in order to preserve their way of life was a remarkable feat. Paleia had led the teachings of her peers to show honor and respect to the world around them. When it came down to Asura to learn from her, she taught him much more than her normal scholars. She went through and taught him about all of the elements, the interconnection between them and the world that they share, how the elements are shared between different forms of life, and how each world was intertwined by the fate of the stirring elemental chaos that Cosmos sought to protect.

As he floated through the cosmic soup, he noticed a small shaft of light peering through the dark empty space. He attempted to try and make his way to the light, yet he was still held back by the strange force. Oddly, he was moving in the direction of the light, but the progress was agonizingly slow. It felt like the essence around him was flowing much faster than he was. He needed to figure out what was happening.

He attempted to speak out towards the light, but he only found that any attempts to talk were futile. Nothing could be heard-- not one sound could be heard in the ethereal void. It was hopeless. He felt confident that the light he saw could be one of the last refuges of the Divide. He had to make his way over there, somehow. A strange thought had come to his mind. It felt like he had seen this at some point before. He couldn't point out that strange feeling, but it felt prominently like a past memory. It did explain the unusual sensation of his inability to move around, yet it felt more like a dream. In dreams, one could move about freely like a ghost.

The closer he got to the light, the more distinct the shape became. It looked like a radiant marble doorway of the same ethereal essence that flowed around him. It hit him when he recognized the doorway-- it was a threshold to the deeper banks of the collective memories of the Precursors and their ancient ancestors. This was part of the knowledge that Paleia had given him when he learned, extensively, about the ancestral heritage of the Throne of Aniliath. Cosmos, himself, built the throne as a focus to collect memories and thoughts of those who held direct ties and descendence to the House of Aniliath.

Aniliath was a name both familiar and distant. She was one of the celestial gatherers to the universal council. Several other members had gathered in the council to hold meetings and to discuss of the progress of their universal empires. Aniliath was his wife, and she led the Precursors on their crusade to accomplish his dreams.

The doorway came within reach, and not before long did it open-- just as predicted. Beyond the doorway was a darker corridor. Solid walls of hewn bedrock stretched to what seemed like infinity. The darkness was only swallowed up by even more darkness. It was a strange atmosphere, and no sooner could he start to hear voices echoing from further down the corridor. There was a faint glow just in front of him, yet it was well beyond his reach.

The voices seemed quiet, yet intimidating. For the better part of several minutes of him being adrift in the dark hallway, the voices became more prominent. The glowing light revealed a large chamber basked in a light blue radiance. It looked like an amphitheater completely encircled by tall pedestals crowned with pits of blue flame. There were several figures that occupied the chamber. One of them was, unmistakably, Cosmos himself.

The chamber was the communal forum where the gods and goddesses of power met and collaborated their efforts and discoveries of their advancing creations. Of those individuals that stood within the forum, a lone pony-like figure stood gallantly with a long, ragged white beard, a long tattered robe hiding its deep blue body, and a tall, pointed cap with bells that hung off of its brim. He recognized the being to be Starswirl, the Bearded, after Celestia had shown him a picture of the wise unicorn.

There were two other pony-like figures that stood next to Starswirl. One was as dark as the night sky and had a mane that sparkled with glittering starlight. The other had a light mixture of red, orange, and blue on its coat, and its mane was a cloudy combination of all three colors. 'Representatives of Starswirl?' he pondered for a long moment.

Before he let his mind wander any further, he was torn out of his thoughts by Luna's sudden outburst. “Mother? Father??"

The other pony’s attention did not phase. They continued to stare toward the center of the chamber. A large marble altar spanned across the very center of the meeting space. It almost looked like a roundtable. A small glass-like ball hovered just several inches from the smooth marble surface, emanating a soft white glow that reflected its light off of the glossy surface. It was, almost, like the subtle glow of moonlight.

Celestia arrived just behind as well, and... ‘What in the name of Aniliath is that thing?’ His puzzling gaze loomed upon the tall draconequus that had made its appearance behind Celestia. It appeared to have the physical qualities of many different animals—magically sewn together to create a living construct of… chaos.

Luna continued to gawk at the sight of her parents, and Celestia gasped in astonishment. “Mother!” She ran up to the figures, awaiting the heartwarming gaze as the figures continue to stare without a shift in attention. Celestia fell right through the ponies—her embrace only hugged through air. The incorporeal images phased through her body, and Luna could only gaze in surprise.

Celestia got back up and brushed herself off. “Mother?” She waved her hoof in front of the lighter alicorn with the cloudy multicolored mane. The mare’s gaze simply shot through the princess’s waving hoof, as if she did not exist.

“What happened to mother?” Luna inquired, taking a few steps forward.

Asura spoke. “It’s a memory from long ago.”

Both Luna and Celestia shift their gazes to Asura, almost immediately understanding his words. It did explain why their parents did not pay any attention to them. Several other figures had approached the table, as did the two alicorns.

“Is this thine memory, Asura?”

“No, it’s not. It came from a repository that had been passed down through generations. I had been given the chance to study the repository, but had lost some of the memories over time. The fact that this has resurfaced means that I can remember what to look for.”

Several of the robed figures raised their hands toward the glass ball. Its color became a vibrant blue. Within moments, rings of light encircled around between the glass orb and the edges of the chamber. The rings held countless numbers of stars, planetoids, and cloudy nebulas. It was a universal atlas—they were the world-builders.

The rings of the planetoids shifted around and spun in random directions. Cosmos stood closest to the marble table—both of his hands working in tandem with a strange magical field. The field altered the positions of the many rings that surrounded the orb, almost like a holographic screen. Luna and Celestia gazed at the mesmerizing sight—the fact that there was this many worlds beyond Equestria were more than they could have ever dreamed. It was, also, a truly remarkable sight to see that their parents had taken participation in this group.

“What is this?” Luna said, bewildered by the bizarre scene that unfolded before her.

“This is the World Forum—a gathering of the World-Builders of the civilization's beginnings.”

“Our parents were a part of the World-Builders?” Celestia inquired.

“It appears so.”

“That must explain why we did not see them as often. We are, most, intrigued by this discovery,” Luna said.

The spinning rings came to a halt. Several stars and planets radiated their presence and stood out from all the others. These bright points of light represented themselves above the figures around the table. An image of a planet appeared above the alicorns—a representation of Equestria.

“Fellow creators and ambassadors of the far realms,” Cosmos spoke, his deep voice echoing throughout the chamber and within the halls. He carried an air of authority before him. Everyone else around the table bowed. “We have come together once again to attribute to our creations. Whether it is out of spite or in pleasure, our creations shall continue to prosper.” He let down his hands, and the planetoid rings disappeared in a flash, leaving only the images to hover about the representatives that stood before the table.

“I have called all of you here for a matter of grave importance. Many of you may have felt the tremors of the Dimensional Divide tugging against your creations.”

The other figures nodded.

“The Dimensional Divide is collapsing.”

There were a few gasps, while other wildly talked amongst their neighboring creators.

“Cosmos!” one of the figures erupted. “What do you mean the Divide is collapsing? The last time we held a meeting, you had said everything was fine!” The small crowd roared in agreement. Only the alicorns remained silent, listening contently to every word that was being said.

“What does this mean for our creations? Will we have to rebuild what it destroys? Can you imagine how much hard work we have put ourselves through to accomplish all of this?”

“We demand an explanation!”

The crowd roared furiously with each other. The alicorns still held their tongue, gazing amongst their concerned neighbors.

“What have we done to deserve such punishment from the Divide?”

Cosmos cleared his throat. He held an air of contempt. “A lack of attention is the curse of the Divide’s instability.”

One of the figures lashed out. “You caused this to happen??”

“How dare you! We have put all our hard work into our creations, and you have let this happen to us?”

At this point, the air filled with ethereal anger and fear. The robed figures argued amongst each other, sharing curses at one another. The hot atmosphere was enough to put Luna and Celestia on edge. The alicorns, though slightly concerned, still shared no opinions to their infuriated neighbors.

An explosion of energy burst forth from the center of the table and fanned out across the entirety of the chamber.

“SILENCE!!!”

Cosmos’s booming voice rang through the hallway, rivaling that of Luna’s Royal Canterlot Voice.

“Need I remind you that this was created to allow us all to do our work!!? I simply cannot, and will not, carry on if you are all unwilling and incapable of controlling yourselves!!” The heated atmosphere quickly dissipated as soon as his words were made clear. Everyone was still worried about the implications. “I will agree with you that my negligence to the Dimensional Divide has become greater, but we must remember that the Divide has always been shattering itself apart since it had been forged into existence.”

“What do you suggest we do?”

Cosmos almost sighed, as if troubled by his only option that he had. “We must seal the breach.”

“That’s suicide!”

“We’ll likely kill ourselves if we do that!”

“There has to be another way!”

The crowd spoke to one another, but not in frustration. They felt a notion dread creep through the hall.

The dark alicorn tapped its hoof on the marble table. “Perhaps, it is a necessary sacrifice to keep the Divide from collapsing,” he spoke, carrying his harmonic voice through the chamber. “If what he presents to us is our only option, perhaps the Divide is in an, otherwise, irreversible state that he, himself, cannot fix on his own. If it has been longing to separate since it has been forged to existence, should we not take the opportunity to save our creations from the perils of our own downfall?”

The crowd whispered to one another.

“I admire your insight, Starlight,” Cosmos said. “Your courage and devotion to your people have set a shining example for the rest of us. If anyone else here is, equally, encouraged to take their oath and protect our creations from the hands of destruction, lend us your prayers.” He gazed amongst the rest of the group. “For those of you who choose not to make the sacrifice, I bestow upon you our oath of protection. If you choose to stay behind, you will have a greater burden placed upon your shoulders.”

Starswirl approached the alicorns from behind. “If it makes all the difference, I will lend a hoof to your aid.” The two alicorns turned around to face Starswirl in bewilderment. Cosmos raised a brow in surprise.

The light alicorn spoke in a melodic tone. “Starswirl, you know that there will be no return if you do this,” she said.

“Morning Glory, Starlight. You are both the pinnacles of Equestrian might. I cannot let either one of you give yourselves up so willingly. Both of you have an important role to fulfill, and I’d hate for your children to follow the foolish footsteps that I have taken.” He turned around to face Cosmos. “It is Cosmos and I that must make amends to the coming chaos. I, myself, have brought this burden upon us. I am, as much, guilty as he is for letting the Divide split apart like so.”

Both Starlight and Morning Glory gazed upon each other.

“As a true friend of Cosmos, and being a remarkable inspiration to Equestria, I myself shall take the oath to preserve what we have worked hard on. You have much more to offer this world that I will ever hope to achieve in my lifetime.”

Starlight and Morning Glory acknowledged Starswirl’s words. He was not a direct contributor to the creation of the worlds, but he was a wonderful apprentice and mentor, and Cosmos recognized those words of wisdom.

‘In order to achieve immortality, you must first learn to embrace mortality willingly.’

“Morning Glory, Starlight. I hope that your successors will find somepony that will carry on the burdens of my life’s work. I have come to the end of my time.” Starswirl’s decision was well-timed.

“So that’s what happened to Starswirl,” Celestia whispered.

Starswirl slowly walked over towards Cosmos. At the same time, a few of the robed figures followed suit and stood next to him, in an arc. Only the two alicorns and three robed figures remained out of the arc.

Those within the arc had closed their eyes, and faced the ceiling. The energies that were encased within the glass ball began to radiate. The ball illuminated itself in a brilliant flash of white light. An arc of brilliance jutted forth from the ball and surrounded Cosmos and the group around him. Starswirl had his horn illuminated, accepting the aural bubble. A great humming could be heard surrounding the chamber—the same buzzing that Celestia and Luna heard when they first encountered Paleia at the Halls of Aniliath.

The strength of the energies surrounding the table became greatly intense, despite being only a memory. It felt as if gravity had taken a greater presence, and was forcing down Asura. The buzzing became more prominent, and the howling elemental energies began to drown out of focus. A bright flash grabbed his attention, as the center of the chamber was illuminated with a shaft of light that struck through the bedrock ceiling. Nothing could be seen within the column. The entire air filled with the commotion of the intense energies and the unbearable buzzing that soon invaded their minds.

It was as if the whole room had gone blank. A loud explosion could be heard ringing through his head. The radiating energies slowly expanded towards him and the princesses. They were the first to be enveloped by the strange maelstrom, then the strange draconequus figure. As the swirling mass inched closer, he attempted to back away get a good, long look at the swirling mass and to gauge whether he could see anything from within. It only took a few more moments…

---

Cassandra was slightly spooked by the sudden re-emergence of Celestia, Luna, and Discord. Randan sat on the couch, gauging the princess’ state of astonishment.

“What happened?” he asked.

Celestia continued to breathe heavily. Discord could only shake his head wildly, attempting to straighten out the doves that were, literally, fluttering around his head.

Cassandra leaned forward and wrapped her hand around the top of Asura’s head. She held her other hand on top of his chest, feeling for any heartbeat or deep breaths. She did feel a faint heartbeat, and his breathing was light. All of a sudden, she jerked backwards in fright, as he gasped for a fresh breath. His eyes snapped open, taking in the bedroom that came into sight.

The pain that had, originally, surrounded him subsided. He took a good few minutes to recover from his excursion to the far memory banks of his mind. Somehow, the magic of Equestria had pulled out memories that had been lost in time. He did not feel any different, spiritually, but physically he felt greatly rejuvenated.

He, gently, raised himself upright, sitting in the middle of the bed. He rubbed his chest to feel the wound that had marked him. To his surprise, he did not feel any gash. He lifted his shirt to find that the wound had fully healed. Cassandra did not notice, and was left baffled.

He felt the presence of the stone nearby. Oddly, it was set on a table on the other side of the couch. It was a strange feeling, and one he could not fully understand.

Celestia leaned in front of Asura. “Are you alright?”

Asura nodded. “Yes. I, actually, feel much better. Whatever Equestria’s magic had done made me remember more of the past than I had already known—our past, lost in time.” He gazed upon the princesses. "I think our worlds are more connected than we had first realized."

There were still a few questions, but at least he had a good start. It would only be a matter of time before fate would find itself marching at the front door.

Comments

[Nerfyy]

a question
this fic is in the The Hero ... Discord? Group
Discord isnt even tagged
has he a bigger role in this fic? or is he even in it? :3
just wanted to ask before im going to read it

[Xeadin]

4132039 Discord is considered a side character in this story. He makes his appearance in Chapter 15, and will continue to appear in later chapters.