The Forgotten Void Dweller

by Kaffeina

Prologue Arc: Who Am I

The Void is a strange and very odd place. Many things lay in her expanse, from Void Dwellers to various mythical creatures or items. Yet, the strangest of these things, is a Voidling. Creatures born from the collapse of one world, and the devouring of another. Voidlings are mindless, only eating worlds in an attempt to restore what was once theirs, always failing, always destroying.

Or... They're supposed to.

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Swirling void ripped through the air, devastating the matter it past. Worlds fell apart and stars died. Entire galaxies were torn asunder, as is the way of the Apocalypse. Consume, Destroy, Enhance~

My kind ripped through, consuming that which was not destroyed, or that which they could consume before it was destroyed. That is our way, that is our will. It is through this we will rise. Consume. Destroy. Enhance~

I was nothing, I was something, I was everything. This is how I felt and how I am. It is what we were, are, am, is. This is what the others have become, yet, I have begun to feel something other than the Ra'lltik'cor. The Hunger. This is new, yet none have seen before. Consume, Destroy, Enhance~

I am yet finding my people to be increasingly difficult, they do not speak, they do not think. I no longer can speak with them, I no longer feel the hunger. I do not remember, what has made me this way. No longer to I feel to consume, I feel, I believe I feel what my people, once they were, call Ik'tor'gashel. I can think, I do not feel I should be here any longer. Consum-

My thoughts vanished, as I remember naught but darkness until I arrived at my new place of residence. When next I opened what I remember as eyes, the world spun before clearing itself into brilliant lights, of which I have seen little before. Nearly blinding, I closed my eyes in rapid attempt to protect myself from the brightness.

Loud noises rang through the air and I had to put my… hands, over my… ears, to attempt and stifle the loudness. Despite my lack of knowledge, I could remember what every body part was, or most of them at least.

After the brightness vanished, and the noises ceased, I opened my eyes. The moment I did so, I had to squint. It was not nearly as blindingly colorful or light as it had before, yet it still hurt to completely open my eyes. The surroundings I found were both new and familiar, as if I had been here a long time ago, before I could remember.

I slowly rose to my feet, bracing myself against a nearby tree. I felt something in the air, though I could not tell you what it was, brushing against my skin. I brushed it off and began my shaky walk towards the buildings I could see in the distance. Various colors glared back at me as I shifted through the town. Many of the buildings I encountered were the same style, aside from a few.

Perhaps most interesting was the house that was almost like a gingerbread one. I shifted back a bit when I approached due to the waves of sugar rolling off the building and into the air. The air near this building tasted sweeter, and I wondered what could be inside, what could cause this. Small pastel ponies were scattered across the room, some of which I recognized and whose names I knew. Clutching my head, I braced myself against the wall as broken memories shifted through my mind..

In an instant I remembered, this was Sugarcube Corner but… a pink blur flashed through the room. A few seconds later, it appeared in front of me. “Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie! You’re new to Ponyville, or are you? Well, new to OUR Ponyville! I’ll throw you a party in a minute!” she buzzed off with a blur and I stood there, somewhat taken aback.

“As usual, Pinkie,” I laughed. A splitting headache drove itself like a wedge in my mind. I knew I remembered things like these happening before, but, I couldn’t see them in my head. Those memories were just out of reach, it was like trying to hold water in a strainer. All I managed to grab was a split second, a flash, of a party where Pinkie was. The headache receded and I looked at the room. Pinkie flashed through like a blur, once more.

The room’s setting changed slightly as party supplies and decorations sprouted up across the room and Pinkie stopped, staring at a higher up spot. “Here,” I finally said, walking over and grabbed her decorations. Reaching my arms up, I stuck the streamer to the wall and looked back at the pony. She grinned happily and I smiled back.

Even if I couldn’t remember myself, maybe I could remember them. Immediately, I placed the other streamer and joined the party planner in decorating. It almost certainly went a bit slower like this, but Pinkie seemed to be enjoying it. While she was focused, I placed one of her own cupcakes on her muzzle. Quickly returning to my decorating I was surprised, a few minutes later, when she greeted people to the party with the cupcake still precariously balanced on her face.

People filed into the room and grins filled their faces. Pinkie got everyone in and seated, paying special attention to five mares and a baby dragon. My headache spiked again, memories swirling and shifting in my head but never truly forming what I needed. All I could manage to see were the same ponies in a library, chatting idly.

Shaking my head and clearing my mind I turned towards Pinkie as a massive cake rolled out of the kitchen, somehow fitting through the door. Once rolled to the center of the room, she leapt up onto a table and the ponies across the room, and the baby dragon, cheered loudly. Pinkie’s grin split wide and she spoke, “Welcome our new friend to Ponyville!” She yelled.

I smiled along with everyone else and greeted people as they greeted me. Hiding my worries away, I joined the party. With everyone else, I played Pin The Tail On the Pinkie, and Guess What, and Chutes & Ladders. Each time we played, Pinkie won. No one seemed to be jealous, in fact, they all cheered when she won. I plastered a grin on my face and congratulated her as well. Perhaps everything was moving a bit fast, perhaps I should I feel more… shocked? Yet, I felt at ease here. Like it was a… home? Yes, that’s it.

It took hours and hours but the party finally began dwindling as the sun began drifting past the horizon and was quickly replaced by the moon. The grey-white orb sat at the height of the sky, shining and giving light to ponies as they made their way home, some a bit tipsy after Pinkie had ‘Spiked’ the punch, and actually spiked it with alcohol. I was moving towards the door when Pinkie finally blocked me.

“Where are you going, silly?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” I answered.

“Then don’t go, you can’t go if you don’t know where you’re going,” she argued and I felt a small smile creep onto my face.

“Yes, but this isn’t my home,” I responded.

“Then we’ll make it your home!” she answered, a grin on her face, “And once you do, we’ll have a Welcome Home! Party!”

I chuckled lightly and tried to ignore the splitting headache that latched onto my mind. A swirl of color and I was left to the black. In a panic, I worried if I was back in the Void, back to being a Voidling, when a surge of color interrupted my worries.

“Where are you going?” a pink blur asked.

“Home, if I can find it,” I heard my own voice answered, though a bit less hoarse.

“Well… Why not make here home? At least until you find your old one,” was the pink blur’s answer. I watched as it cleared, revealing… Pinkie Pie. She looked much the same as she did when I had seen her. A grin was across her face in the typical Pinkie fashion.

“...Why here?” I asked.

“You’ve already been here awhile and we’re your friends!” Pinkie answered, “Besides, is your heart out there?” she gestured towards the door, “Or in here with us?” she waved a hoof at her and her friends, smiling at a table across the room. They seemed to be enjoying themselves.

“Home is where the heart is,” I answered the pink mare softly as I followed her back across the room.

“Now, I have to plan your Welcome Home party!” she squealed in delight.

The me I could hear chuckled and I was left to the black again. I felt myself rush upwards and light blasted me as I finally opened my eyes. Above me, Pinkie Pie and her friends, my friends?, were close and had worried expressions. A small pony with a red plus on her flank spoke as I sat up. “Good, you’re awake,” she said, nodding to the others. “He’s fine, just make sure he rests.”

“Are you okay?” Pinkie chirped up, encompassing me in a hug, “We can’t lose a friend the first day we meet him!”

I smiled and hugged the mare back, “I’m much better now, thanks Pinkie.”

“No problem, um… What is your name?” she looked extremely confused.

The others gasped and the rather elegant looking mare gasped louder, “Pinkie Pie! You can’t meet someone new, especially a gentleman, and not ask his name, or even not know it after such a party!”

I laughed softly, “Its fine, Miss Rarity. My name is…” I felt a new headache spike, pushing the one already in my head to extreme levels. Clutching my head, Pinkie’s face contorted with worry. The others made to hold me up and I grabbed a chair. The headache suddenly vanished and I remembered something very, very important.

“Oh my goodness, dear, are you alright?” Rarity asked, looking hesitant to do anything else.

“I’m much better now, truly. Better than I have been in awhile. My name is…” I fought another headache as it tried to spike, “My name is Magnus. Nice to meet you.”