Chapter 1
"Uh-oh..."
"WHAT?!"
"But that's not possible!!"
Nothing. That was the only way to describe it. It was a mixed feeling of weightless and pressure, like floating underwater. In this atmosphere, the mind cannot remain conscious, and all function ceases almost instantly. It was because of this that no one could observe it, or retain it if they came back. Anything with intelligence that would find their way there almost never came back. A mind that cannot remain conscious is a mind that is lost. Without the mind, the body cannot function, and without the body, the soul has no vessel. Essentially, life stops living. Consequently, all those who returned to the living, breathing, waking world had tried to named or describe this place in vain. Purgatory, the eternal abyss, the void, hell, heaven, the afterlife-- not one describe it properly. Ironically, it was the living that came close to describing it. It also happened to be the only one to stick. Since then, any those who had traveled here and made it back had "near-death experiences." Even then, it could not completely describe it, for this place was more than the fine line between life and the afterlife. As much as the ones returning and those who have not been, it could never be simplified into terms so basic. If the intricacy could be described through something so simple as word of mouth, then all meaning of the place would be lost.
Almost no one ever made it back,
And those that do never came back in one piece...
Chapter I
Everything invaded her senses all at once. The sudden tidal wave of senses brought the pony to her knees. Her head throbbed mercilessly. She had the sudden need to breath and did so in ragged, short and infrequent bursts. Her body ached terribly and felt like lead. Colors became too vibrant, making eyelids clamp shut. The scents she could smell and taste on her tongue were incredibly acrid and bitter. Nerve receptors quickly shut themselves off in a desperate attempt to withstand the tsunami.
"Twilight, jus' what th' hay happened?!" The sound fell sharply on her ears, folding back in pain. A ringing quickly replaced it, though more sounds could be understood.
"I-I don't know! Maybe something went wrong!"
"Uh... guys? The bad guy's still alive!"
The pony's hearing and breathing slowly came under control, though the pain still pounded in her head. She made an audible groan of discomfort as a heavy hoof rested against her temple. "Where in Tartarus am I?"Her eyelids squinted open revealing several surprised looking mares. None of them looked familiar to her and yet all were similar expressions of apprehension. Her body still ached, but she needed... confirmation? Was that it? It had to be, but for what? So many questions...
"H-hey," she groaned reaching out. "Can you-" She stopped as her extremity came into focus. What lay before her was something completely foreign to her.
"WAH!" the enemy squealed leaping backward. She stared wide eyed at the strange looking appendage. it looked and felt too weird. She began to hyperventilate as questions began pouring out. "Wh-what is this? Where am I? Who are you?!" Her panic stricken voice escalated, but her eyes never left the arm where her hoof was supposed to be.
Twilight Sparkle's brow furrowed in contemplation. Silence fell over the six mares eyeing the startled, bloodstained mare.
"D-did it work?" whispered Fluttershy. Her eyes were tightly shut.
"I... uh..." Rarity was at a loss for words. "I'm... not sure...?"
Fluttershy peeked from her makeshift hiding place and wanted to shriek, but fear trapped it in her throat. She merely shivered and hoped that it didn't look at her.
Pinkie Pie's face twisted into confusion and trepidation. She didn't need her Pinkie sense to tell her that something was wrong, not like using-her-element-to-defeat-her-wrong, but more like something-is-definitely-not-right-with-this-picture. Did she leave the oven on? No, she shut it off this morning. Did she remember to feed Gummy? Yes, also taken care of this morning. Her mental checklist complete, she analyzed the situation. Best friends find the bad guy. Bad guy says stuff. Elements activate. Then... "Hmmm..." she contemplated. Was it the super-meanie-mcmeanie-pants-villain? It had to be, but what was it? On gut feeling and blind courage, she took a few steps towards the azure mare. Twilight stood silently watching both mares closely.
"H... hey,' she hesitantly called out putting on a small weak smile. She could feel Rainbow Dash's 'what-the-hay-are-you-doing?!' stare boring a hole in the back of her head, but she didn't care. "What's your name?"
"Huh?" the azure mare pulled her attention from her alien appendage to find a pink mare in front of her.
"What's your name?" she repeated.
"Oh... Oh! It's-!" the azure mare could not finish that sentence. "Uh... it's..." The meaning escaped her. She looked down, her mind desperately searching for an answer.
"Don't cha have a name?" Pinkie asked humorously. She still felt terrified addressing this mare, but she needed to be brave.
"N-no..." the azure mare admitted looking away ashamedly to Pinkie's surprise.
"Oh..." was all Pinkie could reply with. Twilight decided to make a mental note of it. She then made her way past Pinkie and stopped when she was directly above the mare. She ignored to her best ability to ignore the... substance that stained the mare's coat while also trying to project the same air that her mentor had. She knew she had succeeded when the mare below shrank back.
"Do you remember anything?" she inquired coldly.
"Uh..." the azure mare mumbled under her gaze.
"Anything. Anything at all?" She lowered her head to eye level of the frightened mare.
"No... Should I?" she replied cautiously.
Twilight sighed and raised her head. "Wait here, and don't move," she instructed before turning away. She motioned for the pink pony to follow as the rest of the group huddled together. The azure mare was curious to know what they were talking about but she didn't want to make the alicorn more ang-- "Wait! She's an alicorn?!" Sure enough, she was indeed an alicorn. New terror swelled within her, but she wasn't sure why. In the end, she remained still, silently pondering.
It was all too confusing. She knew things, but at the same time didn't know anything. She knew that she could speak, smell, touch, taste and see. She knew what an alicorn was, what ponies were, and that she herself was a pony. At the same time though, there were so many more questions than answers. She couldn't remember anything. There was a blank spot taking up what would be her memory. Why? How?! How could she know so much and remember so little?
Meanwhile, the gathered ponies exchanged varying expressions. Rainbow Dash spoke up first whispering, "Don't tell me you believe her, Twi..."
Twilight closed her eyes, causing the rest of the group to focus on her. "I don't know, but if I do know anything, it's that the elements had some sort of effect." She opened her eyes to most of her friends wearing skeptical looks or opening their mouths to say something. "We can talk about it later. Right now, we need to get her someplace where she can't cause anymore harm." The ponies nodded in agreement. "I can keep her in the library for no-"
"Nuh-uh! No way!" Rainbow interrupted. Twilight gave her tired look of annoyance. "We are not taking her back to Ponyville! You heard what the princess said! She-"
"We'll talk about it later," Twilight restated, emphasizing each syllable. "Right now, the only place that we can keep her under watch is in the library." Rainbow prepared to argue, but stopped after the fierce glare that Twilight gave her.
Dash shivered in angry frustration. Her rage was clearly visible and it contrasted greatly to Twilight's current façade. "Fine!" she growled.
The huddle disbanded as Twilight walked back to the mare. The azure mare remained as low to the ground as possible. "Can you move?" The mare paused but slowly stood. Standing on the... thing was awkward. She met the alicorn's gaze and shrank back.
"I-I think so..."
"Good. Follow us, and please don't try to escape," Twilight turned and began walking towards a tree line.
"Tree line?" She began to observe her surroundings for the first time. She stood in the center of a grassy knoll that seemed to stretch on forever. In the distance, she could see some dark grey clouds, but her attention was brought back to the began of the forest. Looking at it caused her to shudder. Her train of thought was derailed by colorful maned Pegasus landing directly in front of her. The look in her deep red eyes were filled with intense contempt.
"Listen, you..." Rainbow Dash began in a hushed growl. "Don't even think of trying anything funny or else-"
"Are ya comin' or not?" Applejack hollered from the front. Dash glanced back for a moment, but looked back at the azure mare. She took to the skies with a huff. Taking a cautious first step, the mare began walking steadily behind.
The tense air was cut by a shrill war cry, as Rainbow Dash slammed head first into the azure mare. they both tumbled into the dirt. Dash quickly collected herself from the recoil, and jumped atop the off-guard mare. She pinned her down with all her might.
"DROP THE WEAPON!" she shouted angrily, forcing pressure around the throat.
"What?! I don-" Her sentence was cut short as she felt a pair of hooves close around her windpipe. She saw the same look as before amplified tenfold. Her ears began to ring and chest burned for air. Tears welled in her eyes and the ringing gradually increased.
There was an audible thump, and the ponies stared on in disbelief. Even though the sword had been dropped, Rainbow Dash did not release their prisoner. Quiet fear gripped the five friends watching Rainbow Dash strangle their prisoner. Eventually, Applejack broke from her daze and charged into Dash. The pegasus recovered, never taking her eyes off the sputtering azure mare. Before she could move, Applejack blocked her path.
"That's enough!" she shouted. Dash looked around her friend, feeling eager to finish, but was blocked again. "Let it go, Dash!"
Rainbow paused exchanging a silent conversation with the orange cowpony. Eventually, the blue pegasus relented. Nothing else passed between the two, because there was nothing more to be said.
Meanwhile, the azure mare gasped for more air, wincing at the pain around her throat. She noticed something off to her side. Lying in the dirt was... something. She recognized it and didn't. Was that what they were talking about? It had to be, but what was it? Why did she think she was holding it? "So many questions..." Before she could ask, it was enveloped by a reddish aura and lifted overhead. She followed it over to the alicorn whose horn was aglow. Her eyes were icy and unreadable. The gaze made her uncomfortable. She looked away, and quickly caught up with the rest of the group. As they entered the forest, the azure mare had a feeling that it would be a very long walk.
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A mind wipe and a transformation on two of the most corrupted things I've ever had the pleasure of beating the carp out of.*
Let's see where this is headed shall we?
Also as I sat typing this message a part of me was saying that the tree of harmony could be a reborn Soul Calibur.
*That's right I beat Nightmare, and by extension Soul Edge, so bad that he leaked fish.
Interesting
The story just getting interesting....
3703360
Very interesting idea , i wonder why this story hasn't gain more like?
Poor Nightmare and Soul Edge. I wonder if any of the Mane 6 will try and take the sword. After all it has corrupted far better creatures.
Kinda disjointed, but that seems to be what you were going for. Be nice to see were the next chapter takes us, hopefully we'll start to get some answers.
O...K. Random attempt at committing murder there at the end by Rainbow Dash. What the hell was that all about? She started to threaten the pony to not try anything, flew off in anger and annoyance, then immediately (I think) turned around and charged the pony and tried to suffocate her? What?
3769829
Evil sword being carried away by unsuspecting 'unicorn'
(Look at cover art)
Hmm...Is this story still alive or is it dead? Because I really want to know what happens next, because right now, I'm kinda confuse what's going on in it.
5380916
... Yeah... Me too. I'm gonna go back and probably re-edit the crap out of this. I haven't added a new chapter in a while, so... Be patient?
5381724
I see, well I don't mind waiting for a long while, As long as I know this story is still alive and what not....it is still alive, Yes-No?
5382463
Yeah... It's breathing.
5382935
Ah, that's good to know, it would be a shame to let it go to waste.
5384693 I think it went to waste. It was interesting too!
6242863 Yes, indeed. Quite sad, Yes-No?
Hmm...most intriguing!