Lost Fate

by Fluxxdog

Chapter 17: Infinite Confinement

Chapter 17: Infinite Confinement

“It’s a trap!” Applejack smiled as she understood what Cantrip was talking about.

“Yeah, excellent way of putting it. Any retaliation will be shunted and just break the spell rather than put somepony in the hospital again.”

Twilight looked over the assembly. Twenty-five markings inside the grid of lines. Some of the sigils looked familiar, but others were like small spell circles. “I get the layout of the assembly, but that central circle is meant to create a core. Like a magical power generator.”

“Correct. I’ll be using it to power the spell. If everything lines up like I plan, I can cast the spell until the energy runs out.”

“Forgive me if I misunderstand, darling,” interjected Rarity. She was hesitant about coming out here. It was a bit… dirty for her tastes. “I’m not as versed as Twilight in these matters, but you have to be in contact with the core, isn’t that right?”

Ink Nose read the reports. She knew the implications. He had to be inside the assembly. Once the junctions started linking, the energy would be potent and would likely rip him apart. “No, Cantrip! That could hurt you! Those links…”

“…will be absorbed by the circles and sigils. I’m not casting the spell from the assembly. The assembly powers the spells and wards, including the core. I’ll then use the core to do my searching.”

Lookout raised a hoof. “Um, question. When you look for it, aren’t you just going to get attacked again?”

Pinkie Pie popped up over her head. “Nope! He’s not gonna look for that not-scroll you guys stole, he’s gonna look for a way around it!”

Sledge just looked in disbelief. “Wait, you understand all that?”

Pinkie just smiled and bounced around. “It’s like a game of tag except you can’t tag the last pony you tagged but you don’t know who to tag next until the one you tag next tags you first then you can tag them but they’re not really tagging you and you run around until you find the one that actually can tag you and that’s the one that you can chase to the not-scroll!”

Everyone just blinked. Rainbow Dash said what everyone was thinking, “Is it creepier that she understood that so well or that we understood her?”

“Given that she thinks like me, I think it’s just cute!” A disembodied voice started gaining a body. Rainbow Dash freaked at the sight of two Pinkie Pies, even if it was obvious one was Discord. “The whole plan is actually a little dependent on things being silly.”

Cantrip smiled. “Discord! I was worried you wouldn’t make it!”

“Tut tut, I know I’m late, but I wouldn’t want to miss this party!” The two Pinkies threw lots of confetti in the air before Discord took his normal shape. “Celestia had me doing a little work first.”

Fluttershy looked at him. “Discord? What did you do?”

Discord just stammered, “Wha uh me? Why what would make you think I did anything?” Fluttershy just narrowed her eyes. “Oh all right. I kind of maybe perhaps accidently… turned Celestia’s throne into bubblegum right as she was sitting down.”

It was dead silent before ever just burst into laughter. As it calmed down, Rainbow Dash, “We’ll have to call her Bubble Butt from now on!” Everyone lost it.

As the laughter died down, Discord said, “Well, anyway, that’s why I’m late. Learned my lesson. I don’t want to clean gum out of a tail again.”

Cantrip wiped away a tear. “All right all right, let’s get in place. The sooner we start this the sooner we go home. Take your places.”

The process was simple. Twilight and her friends, the Crew, and Discord just had to focus their natural powers into each channel. Even the Earth Ponies and Pegasi could channel their natural magic with a little focus. Lookout was a little shaky, but she seemed strong enough.

It was a thing of magic. Not just in the practical sense, but the assembly was beautiful. Ink Nose saw a couple in practice in Canterlot and they were nothing like this. The lines were always their own individual colors, as this one started out. As Cantrip activated the circles and sigils, she saw the telltale spark that indicated the intersections were joining.

Then, everything changed. The light was white, but it look marbled, like it wasn’t pure white, but every color marbled together to make white. It was beautiful.

Then she noticed Cantrip had disappeared.

Then she noticed Slipwind, Discord, and Rarity had disappeared.

---

The world flashed in brilliant blackness.

“WHAT THE!? WHERE ARE WE?!” Rarity was panicked like never before.

“Welcome to the Gap! I’m glad to see you made it here Rarity.” She turned her head to the voice. It came quite clearly from Discord. “We need at least one person who’s level-headed. I thought Applejack would be the one. Cantrip is a little out there already. Slipwind is a tricky fellow. He should be able to keep us from getting stuck.”

She looked around. There was Cantrip, eyes glowing in the throes of spell fever, a state where unicorns focus all of their energy on maintaining their spell and lose connection to their surroundings. Slipwind was just kind of twirling around in empty space. “Woo hoo! This feels like flying but better!”

This did nothing to relax Rarity. “Let me try asking a different way! WHERE ARE WE?!”

“Come, come, Rarity, such a state doesn’t become you. You never teleported yourself so this might not feel familiar. The Gap is the void between your world and many others. When a unicorn teleports, they briefly come here for an infinitesimally small amount of time before returning. Cantrip thought we could circumvent the protection by not seeking things from the real world. The core allows us to stay here even longer. Well, allows you. I can break rules.”

Rarity was somehow calmed by this. “So, what are we going to do here?”

Cantrip started speaking in a nearl monotone voice. “Witness and analyze. I can channel the energies, but I need other minds to make sense of it.” He was clearly under duress, but the fever was subsiding.

“Very well, darling. So what are we looking for?”

Discord smiled. “There’s the rub, we don’t know. I’ve never been in the Gap this long, it is rather dull. But now there’s a chance to actually have some fun here! So, Cantrip? If you would, let’s get this party started!”

Comments

[Sunlight Blaze]

So we open this up with Cantrip having finished his little art project and...

“It’s a trap!” Applejack smiled as she understood what Cantrip was talking about.
“Yeah, excellent way of putting it. Any retaliation will be shunted and just break the spell rather than put somepony in the hospital again.”
Twilight looked over the assembly. Twenty-five markings inside the grid of lines. Some of the sigils looked familiar, but others were like small spell circles. “I get the layout of the assembly, but that central circle is meant to create a core. Like a magical power generator.”
“Correct. I’ll be using it to power the spell. If everything lines up like I plan, I can cast the spell until the energy runs out.”
“Forgive me if I misunderstand, darling,” interjected Rarity. She was hesitant about coming out here. It was a bit… dirty for her tastes. “I’m not as versed as Twilight in these matters, but you have to be in contact with the core, isn’t that right?”
Ink Nose read the reports. She knew the implications. He had to be inside the assembly. Once the junctions started linking, the energy would be potent and would likely rip him apart. “No, Cantrip! That could hurt you! Those links…”
“…will be absorbed by the circles and sigils. I’m not casting the spell from the assembly. The assembly powers the spells and wards, including the core. I’ll then use the core to do my searching.”

........Well, I feel like a complete douchebag....so Cantrip's sigil markings on this stone are to serve a purpose for when he casts the scrying spell again. So, this WAS relevant to the main plot. It would have been nice if you explained that in the previous chapter, when he was MAKING the fking thing!

So, basically, the spell assembly is going to protect him from being attacked while he searches for the scroll. (I barely understood Pinkie's comparison to a game of tag.)

So Discord shows up in the shape of a second Pinkie Pie.

“Tut tut, I know I’m late, but I wouldn’t want to miss this party!” The two Pinkies threw lots of confetti in the air before Discord took his normal shape. “Celestia had me doing a little work first.”
Fluttershy looked at him. “Discord? What did you do?”
Discord just stammered, “Wha uh me? Why what would make you think I did anything?” Fluttershy just narrowed her eyes. “Oh all right. I kind of maybe perhaps accidently… turned Celestia’s throne into bubblegum right as she was sitting down.”
It was dead silent before ever just burst into laughter. As it calmed down, Rainbow Dash, “We’ll have to call her Bubble Butt from now on!” Everyone lost it.

Okay, THAT was funny!

So they all take their positions and begin the spell.

Then she noticed Cantrip had disappeared.
Then she noticed Slipwind, Discord, and Rarity had disappeared.

....Did something go wrong?

*reads the rest of the chapter*
So, they're in some kind of state of limbo between worlds so they can look for the scroll easier? Hmmm.......