Viator Erratus

by Viator

Chapter 1

Somehow the crystal pylon he had been working on had attracted lightning and exploded, Viator could remember that much. But he wasn't dead and he wasn't under a pile of rubble, so where was he? At first he couldn't see anything at all when he looked around, but gradually his eyesight adapted to the dark and he could see that he was outdoors in a forest, in the middle of the night, and that there was a full moon. Nothing he couldn't tell with his other senses. The magical ambience of the surroundings suggested he was in Everfree Forest, which made sense, the place attracted rogue magic like a magnet.

He got up from the pile of rubble he was laying on. It felt like stones from the astronomy tower, and he could still smell the magical explosion on them so he guessed he must have brought them with him in the teleport.

Sloppy.

Well, in his defense he had been unconscious at the time. And in a bit of a hurry. There were no fragments of the crystal in the rubble that he could sense, though, and not another pony anywhere nearby. Nor could he quite sense where in Everfree Forest he was. Curious. He thought he had been practically everywhere there by now between all the teleport experiments that had sent him there.

The clouds parted and the clearing he had landed in was momentarily bathed in a beautiful silver light, which reflected in the heart shaped lake in front of him. Curiouser. He had seen all of Everfree Forest from the air several times and he was sure he would have remembered such a distinct shape for a lake. Maybe it was new? He didn't put it past the area to spontaneously develop new lakes. Checking to see he wasn't in a patch of Poison Joke or worse he started stretching his legs.

He had no idea where in Everfree he was and it was the middle of the night. Not an ideal situation, especially since it was - he noticed - unusually cold and windy for a summer day. Just as if to make matters even worse a light drizzling rain started to fall.

Attempting a simple spell to get his bearings Viator discovered something that made him forget the bad weather - he couldn't do magic. When he tried to focus all he got was a sharp pain in the head, right under the horn that forced him to stop trying. It wasn't all that alarming in itself. Magical backlash of the kind was fairly typical when standing too close to an exploding crystal pylon and for a moment he found the thought of being used to standing near exploding crystals amusing; that is until he remembered that he was still in the middle of an unfamiliar part of Everfree Forest in the night, and that he was now without most of his magic until he could get several hours of rest.

Gak.

This was not a good place to rest. Perhaps if he moved on he could gain a familiar path and get to the Everfree research station? Then again, if he stayed close to where he had arrived the rescuers would find him quicker... Provided that his teleport had managed to leave a clear enough trace for anypony to follow of course. He decided it was better to find his own way home. If he could find one of the larger paths he could make his way back to Ponyville on hoof before morning, and then he could spend the day in bed. The promise of a warm bed and a sleep in was comforting, and he set off, picking a direction at random.

Before long, however, he became aware of a louder noise than that of his own stumbling through the undergrowth. What was louder than a pony crashing through the trees? There were a lot of large creatures in Everfree forest that could be dangerous to a pony without magic, and he decided to cover behind an overgrown rock to observe the source of the noise. Something was definitely heading through the woods, making a straight line for... for where he had arrived, actually. Finally rescuers! He could hear their voices approaching, and saw the light of several light spells through the trees. There was something uncanny about the approaching ponies though, and he remained hidden.

Four ponies appeared from a thick gathering of bushes, unceremoniously pushing their way through by way of telekinesis. They were all in uniforms similar to the Equestrian Guard but of an unfamiliar model. They were darker, more rugged looking, and with dark cloaks.

The one in the front was obviously an officer, wearing the largest plume and barking an order here, an order there and walking in an efficient, military fashion. Behind him to the left and right were a pair of unicorn guards, athletic and stern, alertly looking around with their horns casting beams of light around them. Bringing up to the rear was another unicorn, not very military looking at all despite the guard helmet and cape. There was something very familiar about him that caused Viator to shudder.

The group stopped and the unicorn at the back walked up to the officer, speaking in a somewhat strained, monotone voice.
"The arrival point should be just through that bunch of trees, but it's curious... I still can't make out an origin, it-"
The officer interrupted him.
"You're not here to speculate. Let's move."
The pony on the flank facing Viator turned to the officer and nodded.
"Aye-aye, sir."

As he turned, the cone of light from his horn fell briefly on the unicorn with the monotone voice and Viator froze. The stallion was a very familiar purple colour, and as he turned and raised his hoof to shield his eyes from the light, the cape slid off his flank and revealed his cutie mark and it dawned on Viator why he had such a familiar magical aura. The cutie mark was a magic wand conjuring a crescent moon from a top hat. It was his own cutie mark and it was his own magical aura he felt.

For some inexplicable reason he was in the presence of himself.

Author's Note:

Yes, very cliché but let's see where we can take this...