It's Dangerous To Go Alone...
"So you want to learn how to use magic?"
Morning Glory looked up at the massive creature, still more than a little terrified. She'd... she'd told him everything. Why she wanted to go to another world, how she'd gotten here, how she'd heard about the secret entrance, why she couldn't go back the way she'd come... she'd even blabbed about how she'd disguised herself with a paper mache horn, snuck into Princess Celestia's School For Gifted Unicorns, and took the official entrance exam (and aced it, being the first filly of five to ever do so). By the time she'd finished, she was nearly in tears. It was over before it had even really started. This big bug-pony would turn Glory over to Celestia, and it would be the entrance exam incident, all over again...
---------------------------------
Princess Celestia, sweet, kind, and above all, patient and understanding Princess Celestia, had taken Morning Glory on a short walk, and the princess had very gently and delicately explained to her that, while the young filly definitely possessed (Almost) every quality that a pony needed to be a wizard, there was a very specific reason why it was a school for gifted unicorns, rather than just a school for the magically gifted in general: The school was intended for unicorns to teach other unicorns how to use magic. While Celestia would certainly like to have a curriculum that could teach magic to creatures other than unicorns, nopony knew how a pegasus or earth pony might use magic. In addition, the various other magic using creatures of the world had their own schools, located in their homelands, and most, if not all, of their wizards were more than willing to remain in the own nations, and most, if not all, of those willing to learn magic did not leave their homelands until their training was complete. Perhaps more to the point (And this was the reason why Glory had chosen not to hold a grudge against Celestia or any member of unicorn-kind), the number of non-unicorn ponies who had an avid interest in magic was exactly... one. Morning Glory herself.
Of course, plenty of ponies found magic interesting, and there were plenty of non-unicorns who were quite interested in magical theory (Zoology experts had to have at least a working understanding of biomancy to do their jobs, for example), but with the exception of Morning Glory, not a single one had expressed an interest in practical application. Nopony, asides from magically gifted unicorns, really ever actually WANTED to be a wizard. A school was a place where teachers taught students, yes, but teachers can only teach what is already known to individuals wishing to learn. Celestia had recommended that, if Glory truly wanted to be a wizard, she'd have to forge her own path, and there was no guarentee that she would ever get anywhere with it. However, the alicorn had also advised that Glory should also look into other interests. Celestia had also mentioned, in an off-hoof kind of way, that while a five year old filly having a detailed knowledge of magical theory that was leaps and bounds ahead of Twilight Sparkle was incredibly impressive, it wasn't healthy to spend all of her time buried in books. Glory might find more happiness and fulfillment trying new things, and looking into another field of interest...
But, as strange as it might sound, Morning Glory couldn't imagine herself as anything other than a wizard. And for all her kindness and gentleness, what Celestia said boiled down to was that Morning Glory could not be what she wanted most in the world to be...
----------------------------------------
Titan looked down at the little pony, and considered his options. He could easily just tell the young lady to go home: It wouldn't take long to open the door and shoo the filly outside. However, with the invasion in progress, there was no telling what might happen to her then. More importantly, once outside, the filly might make a scene, or just track down Celestia and then...
Yeah, that wasn't an option. Titan considered reasoning with her, telling her that it was unlikely that she'd be able to work magic, regardless of what she found out on other worlds. However, the tears welling up in her eyes suggested that Morning Glory had been hearing that all her life, and would probably throw a fit if he said anything of the sort. Besides, while Titan had done a lot of things in his life he wasn't proud of (Being a changeling means, almost by definition, racking up a painfully long list of such things before you turn twelve), and he wasn't going to add 'crushing the dreams of a small filly and making her cry' to the list.
...Besides, who was Titan to say it was impossible for her to be a wizard?
The world was a weird place. Changelings, given their nomadic nature, got to see more of it than most, so he had a pretty good idea of how weird that this world alone was. Maybe other worlds were weirder? Maybe there was magic out there somewhere for the little filly to find. If so, it wouldn't do for her to go on her journey alone. The idea of the little filly wandering off, alone, in a world with who knows what kind of dangers might be lurking, didn't sit well with Titan. Too many bad things were out in Equestria alone that ate little fillies for breakfast. Who knew what might be waiting on other worlds.
Clearing his throat, he said, "I'll level with you, little lady. My name's Titan, and I'm not supposed to be here either. I'm looking to go to another world myself. I'd... be willing to escort you to whichever world you want to visit, but only if its one that we can both agree would be a good choice, and that it will be safe for us. Deal?" Titan extended a hoof, his expression serious. Moment of truth time...
The filly, after a moment's hesitation, wiped her eyes, took his hoof, then said, "Deal." Looking a little confused, she then asked, "But how will we know that it will be safe?"
Titan chuckled. One of the benefits of having compound eyes was that he could see a great deal more around him than most other creatures. "Look around, young lady," he said, "and tell me what you see."
-------------------------------------------
Morning Glory looked around, taking in the room properly for the first time.
The room itself was fairly nondescript, obviously intended to be a storeroom, rectangular in shape, with the opposite end of the room a long ways off. In fact, she might have sworn that the room was miles long, far larger than Canterlot Castle itself could contain. But that would be impossible, unless...
Her eyes narrowed as she took in her surroundings and stated, "This room is located inside of a pocket dimension."
She heard a chuckle behind her, and heard Titan say, "Good guess, young lady. Yes, I expect that to be the case: There's no other way a room this big could fit inside the palace with nopony noticing something was off. But that's not the most important thing. Look again."
She looked around, and this time, took note of the surroundings, noticing the mirrors against the walls. Each mirror was a plain looking rectangle in an undecorated frame. Next to each one was a clipboard hanging from a nail, holding several sheets of paper with writing clearly visible on each one. Glory put two and two together...
"Princess Celestia made notes on where each of these mirrors go?"
Chuckling again, Titan said, "Exactly. I think that, since she couldn't permanently close these portals, she made notes on where each one went, and what you can expect to find on the other side. That way, if someone wandered inside of this place from another world, she'd have an easier time working out what world they came from, and would also have an easier time sending unwanted visitors back. It would also make it easier to return of these worlds if she needed to."
The giant walked over to one of the mirrors, picked up the clipboad, and brought it over for her to read. Written, in fine, flowing script, was the following...
"World three nine four seven one."
"Magic levels: Practically non-existent."
"Transformative Effect: None."
"Native wildlife: Non-existent, although ruins are present, suggesting that the region the mirror is connected to might have once housed a thriving civilization."
"Opening/Closing Cycle: Mirror opens at sunset, closes at sunrise on the Equestrian side, yet is always open on the other side. I noted that seemingly no time passes while you are on the other side, suggesting an extreme time dilation effect. An accurate ratio between our world and this one, given the extreme nature of the differential, is impossible to determine."
"Notes: No living creatures, animals or plants, in fact even the ground itself seems dead. Further analysis suggests that this annihilation of life goes all the way to the microscopic level and as far down as the bedrock. The soil is far too alkaline to support life native to Equestria, else I would have nurtured a few plants to return life to the area. Scorched craters, visible fire damage to the buildings still mostly intact, and a few relics that may have been weapons of some sort, suggest that this region was the site of a terrible battle, possibly within the last two hundred years. If so, the residents were either wiped out entirely, or were forced to evacuate in the aftermath. I hope it was the latter, and that they were able to find something better than what was left of their homes. The thought that it might be otherwise keeps me awake some nights. Something like this could happen to Equestria one day, if the magic of friendship is ever truly forgotten. The world is cloaked in endless night, lit only by surprisingly bright stars, and is bitterly cold to the point that even I could not stay long without a heavy coat. There is a strong likelihood that this world is completely dead, beyond all hope of recovery. Do not enter without taking the precautions listed on the next page, including the non-magical weaponry recommended: There may be no living things present, but the ruins contained strange metal golems, all of which were armed for battle. They all seemed to be inert, but it is better not to take any risks."
On the next page was a list of precautions that should be taken if one intended to visit. It was a very long list, taking up all of the space on the page... and it was all in very small writing. From what it seemed, even touching the ground with your bare hooves might hurt you...
After a few moments, Titan said, "Not a good place to visit, but I think you get the idea: Celestia made very detailed notes, so while it might take a little hoof-work, and a little bit of reading, we shouldn't have any problems finding a fairly safe world that will meet our needs."
With a giggle, Morning Glory asked, "Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's start looking!"
Titan gently picked Glory up, then placed the filly on his back, then said, "You don't have to tell me twice." With that, he walked over to the next mirror, and began reading the notes Celestia had left.
--------------------------------------
As the two searched for the mirror they needed, outside of the pocket dimension that composed Celesita's secret storehouse the changeling invasion escalated quickly, then ended abruptly. While the love sphere of doom did a thorough job of cleaning the city of changelings, it passed harmlessly and unnoticed by Celestia's secret room. Why that would be is difficult to say, save that there may have been interference caused by the fact that the room was not truly a part of the castle... or something else had protected the two of them...
------------------------------------
Glory had not truly realized just how major an undertaking this was going to be. There were hundreds of mirrors here, and each one led to a world. Some worlds were weirder than others. One mirror went directly to a room filled with strange metal golems which did nothing but scream at you, according to the notes. Another was home to a race of mighty thunder monkeys (Were the monkeys that controlled thunder, or were they monkeys made of thunder? There was no way to tell: Celestia didn't go into much detail, but advised avoiding that world if at all possible). There was a world where everything was made of candy. A fun place to visit, Celestia had advised, but you had to be careful what you ate, since everything being made of candy included ponies... even yourself. There was even one that lead to... A ROOM WITH A MOOSE!!! Celestia had, for some reason, found that room terrifying, and had placed a large number of magical barriers over that mirror, in order to prevent anypony from entering on accident... or its sole occupant from leaving. What was so bad about the room, Celestia did not say, but had only written that she would never look at walnuts the same way again...
"Here we go," Titan said, having finished his study of the latest clipboard. He held up the clipboard to Morning Glory, then waited as she read it aloud.
"World eight six four nine one seven."
"Magic Levels: Extremely High. All lifeforms present can use magic to some degree. At least seventy known categories of magic are reported to exist, and each one is subdivided into multiple schools."
"Transformative Effect: When I walked through, I became a sort of bipedal creature. I later learned that this creature was called a 'hyu-man'. Difficult to describe, and is in no way native to Equestria. Be prepared to walk on your hind legs, and to handle things with your forelegs, while on the other side. While a strange state, adjusting was surprisingly easy, and I was walking like a native within an hour."
"Native Wildlife: Abundant and diverse. Vast numbers of creatures, both sapient and not, can be found in this world. Most were friendly, once they found that I was not hostile. 'Hyu-mans' do not seem to be very popular with other sapient creatures, although polite ones are tolerated."
"Opening/Closing Cycle: Closed for twenty-five days, then opens and remains open for three days afterwards. On the other side, this coincides with the 'lunar cycle', and the event called the 'full moon' signals that the portal is open. No dilation effect, time moves at a one-to-one ratio."
"Notes: As mentioned, the life forms present are abundant, vary widely, and remain friendly so long as one does nothing to provoke or antagonize them. The vast majority of the creatures on the other side seem to be locked in war with the 'hyu-mans', but are willing to give polite visitors the benefit of the doubt. I did not encounter any other 'hyu-mans' during my stay, but the stories I've heard about them were... worrying. It is natural, during an extended wars, to demonize the enemy, but there's usually a grain of truth in such tales. Some of the atrocities mentioned were sufficient make me want to keep 'hyu-man-ah-tea' in general a long distance away."
"Thankfully, the mirror is connected to a place called the 'Maou's Palace', which is as far from the nearest 'hyu-man' settlements as one can get without crossing the nearest ocean. The lord of the castle, the 'Maou' (A title given to the ruler of the non-'hyu-man' creatures on this world), was quite friendly, although there was initially some friction when he first thought that I was a true 'hyu-man'. He mistook me, initially, for something called a 'yuusha' (A word I found later means 'chosen one', or something along those lines. Ironic, given what I later discovered). Later inquiries revealed that this entity was some sort of assassin, sent by the 'hyu-mans', that would show up from time to time, butchering every creature in his path, intent upon attempting to slay the lord of the palace... and often succeeding. An unstoppable warrior who could not be bargained with or reasoned with, and did not seem to feel pity or remorse, often aided by a team of other 'hyu-mans' with a similar temperament. Very frightening, especially given the seemingly indiscriminate nature of the carnage that was described. Still, one only appeared once a century, and it would be decades before the next one was expected."
"I was only able to visit this world a few times before I moved on to my next attempt at reaching the correct world, but the lord of the castle and his subjects were great company, although the omnivorous, and sometimes purely carnivorous, nature of some of his subjects left me a little quesy at times. Still, one cannot help the way one was made, only how one behaves, and even the most avid carnivore treated me respectfully during my stay. World is safe, provided one is cautious, courteous, and considerate. WARNING: DO NOT WEAR ANYTHING MADE OF LEATHER!!! IN FACT, DON"T EVEN TOUCH IT!!! JUST TAKE MY WORD FOR IT: YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW WHERE IT COMES FROM!!!"
"Sounds like a good place to start," Morning Glory said, after she finished. Friendly natives, everyone can do magic, and they'd be able to meet right away with a powerful political figure who Celestia herself thought was a nice fellow... this entire trip was going to be a cakewalk!
"Agreed." Chuckling, Titan touched the mirror, and noted that his hoof passed through without resistance. "And we're just in time: The portal is open. Let's go and see if this 'Maou' fellow is as friendly as Celestia says he was."
With no further discussion, they stepped through the portal...
---------------------------------
Sadly, they did not know that Celestia's last visit to the world beyond was more than four centuries past. A lot can happen in that time...
Of course, it might have helped if someone had not removed the dates on Celestia's notes... or removed the second page.
Maou: Japanese word, means great demon, demon king, overlord, demon lord, the villain. Often the final boss of old-school JRPG games, such as many of the Dragon Quest games.
Yuusha: A superhuman paragon, the chosen one, the fated, destined, world saving dude. The main hero, typically of fantasy JRPG games, anime, and manga.
Both terms have been used to the point of becoming cliches in Japan, but while they may have different names, they still see use in the USA (Diablo = Maou, Nephilim heroes = Yuusha, for example).
But what does a hero look like from the opposite side? A lone figure, or one heading a team, who walks directly up to a head of state and murders him in cold blood can only be considered one thing: An assassin.
A Room With A Moose: I will leave you to your moosey fate.
Thunder Monkeys: Hail To The King
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NEW CHAPTER UP!!!
what world was World three nine four seven one, or just regular post nuclear- purge?
I guess you could say the first world was...
Totally Annihilated!
5089739
I assume good ol' nuclear purge.
Yes, but how much is a lot?
That first world reminded me of the world the White Witch originally came from in the Chronicles of Narnia. Different, of course, but that's where my mind immediately went.
Looking forward to seeing what happens next.
5089739
Not nuclear, no. However, something was there that wiped out all of the life on that planet, and made it to where nothing else could ever live there again. Since the details aren't really related to the plot, I guess I could give an explanation...
There were two cultures on that world, and both of them were at war. Both of them were unable to understand one another (Well, they could have, but were unwilling to try. It was just easier to fight each other). Over the course of several thousand years, the war escalated, and escalated. Finally, it reached a tipping point...
There was magic there, once, and someone developed a device that could 'pull' in magic from the world around it. It was something akin to the Warlock's Wheel. If you read Larry Niven, you might recognize it, but for those who do not, its basically a simple device that burns through magic energy quickly: It's a disc that spins perpetually at ever increasing speeds, and is made immune to damage caused by friction heat or wind resistance. With no upper limit, it just goes faster and faster until all the magic is used up. Magic was a finite resource, so such a device would ultimately break down when all the magic in a region was used up. This particular device simply took the magic and used it to generate light. The problem is, unlike the works of Niven, nature abhorred a vacuum in this particular world, and due to an oversight in the spells powering it, the range of the 'pull' increased as the device pulled in more magic. Magic kept flowing in to fill the gap, and the device grew stronger and stronger, with no means of turning it off (Another oversight) as it drew in more power. Soon, all magic in the world was consumed. Like Equestria, everything, including the sun and moon, ran on magic, and unlike Equestria, all living things needed magic to live. As such, when the magic was finally used up, everything left on that world died, down to the bacterial and viral level. If any of the residents there managed to escape, whatever means of escape they used, being magically based, would have closed forever when the magic went away.
5090065 ouch, and the golems were what they were using when resourses begun to run out?
5090087
Magitek: Scientific creations using a magical power source. When the magic went away, they lost power. If they ever came in contact with magic again...
I love getting references in stories. It makes me feel smart.
Am I supposed to be getting a Disgaea vide from this world that Titan is going to break?
5090918
A JRPG world in general vibe
I rather like the idea of this secret room with mirrors and extensive notes on each, sounds fascinating.
Oh, no... Is this Shin-Magami Tensei world? Or a world similar to it?
5091286 Ah. Sucks to be the king if he's good.
"Crushing's too good for him. First he'll spend a year in the incinerator. Year two: Cryogenic refrigeration wing. Then TEN years in the chamber I built where all the robots scream at you. THEN I'll kill him."
5093284
Exactly. Glad someone got the reference
5092376
More like the Dragon Quest games. You know the kind: Hero goes on quest, quest ends with battle against the evil demon lord who is the most evil of evils. Hero slays demon lord. Much rejoicing ensues. Everything is awesome until the demon lord comes back. Lather, rinse, repeat.
5093744 I don't know why but I'm getting Castlevania from this. I'm not entirely sure why.
5093963
Might be a little bit of that, too
5093965 Does that mean the "Protagonist" becomes the demon lord in the end and everything goes 3D?
For that dead world, I can only think of the planet being a Necron Cryptworld that had been sentenced to Exterminatus by the Imperium. I mean, completely dead world, metallic beings equipped for battle, and so on.
The Enrichment Center once again reminds you that android hell is a real place where you will be sent at the first sign of defiance.
EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!
I imagine Glory being a technomancer.
I imagine Glory being a technomancer.
5090065 i quick challenge for you , how do you think world three nine four seven one, could be terraformed to restore life again, maybe there isnt life, but the resourse and minerals are still there, the real problem would be to give an orbit to the planet, maybe strike it with alittle platetoid andputting on optimal distance for the star´s gravity, and then pump it up with commets to restore water levels, then i think nont magical life can be generated in time. if not we canalways fill it with algae.
what would be your method and opinion on this BN?
5093744 do you still update this fic? I like it but don't want to read all the current chapters and then find that the story is dead and then get all butthurt over it.
5180589
Celestia, welcome to android hell.
5093284
oh, this reminded me of a video game, where the protagonist is a "HUE-man". able to change color to use different abilities:
Yellow: can become intangible to avoid moving obstacles. (but he can't move when intangible, so he can't go through doors)
Blue: can conjure ice blocks with several uses.
Red: can shoot fireballs.
Well, this trip is doomed