Alphanumeta

by Blackdust

The first 'day'...

Author's Note:

This is a really old story of mine that I just refound in my draft box to myself! Has alot of headcannon. Be prepared to yell at me.

Now I wonder who that could be? Taurion thought as he headed to his front door, preparing an illusion to throw at whoever it was that decided to wake him up at this unnightly hour of the day.

"Taurion Anderson Zan, I know you're about to throw an illusion so don't even bother." a frighteningly familiar said from the other side of the door. And only one pony knew he even had a middle name. Roseshield of the demons. Reaper of the shadows. Killer of Shadowmane. The true Element of Fear.

"R-Roseshield?" Taurion asked, scared that if he was wrong then somepony managed to defeat him. That was a scary thought all on it's own as not even his illusions had helped him defeat Roseshield. He, Taurion, who's name alone would calm riots at the crystal castle in the small village, who's forest he dwelled in like the old zebra, Potion Master Zecora, who had passed about three centuries ago. He himself only recently inherited the Potion Masters hut and utensils.

"Tis I, Taurion. You can calm that heart of yours, old friend, for I am not here for 'that' just yet." was the voices response.

"Then when does the hermit grow his plants?" Taurion countered with their usual coded riddle.

"Never. Why would the snail need salt for a tomato?" Roseshield replied completing the riddle without missing a beat.

Taurion released a breath he didn't realize he had been holding and said, "Because he hates the lies..." then opened the door for his friend and his future soul captor.

"The lies of his wife? What happened? I know it's early, or late depending on your outlook, but still... What happened? Surely-" Roseshield rambled as he started roaming his old friends hut, and stopped at a particularly odd looking potion. "What's this thing gonna do?"

"If it works like I hope, it'll change me destiny, my mark, my capabilities, my memories... Everything to whatever I want... To whenever I want..." Taurion replied, staring off into the distance at a life where he could do what he wished, when he wished, how he wished. And he wouldn't need others to help him with things.

"You want magic? I can teach you magic! You just need to stay here and let me teach you word and hoof magic!" Roseshield shouted at the one pony he thought he could trust.

"It won't be the same! I need to levitate! I want more than just what I can do!" Taurion shouted back, preparing to jump at Roseshield if he tried to grab the potion.

"You want more?! You sound like a changeling! No. Worse. You sound so much like Sombra I might be here for 'that' after all." Roseshield said, taking a threatening step towards the foolish unicorn in front of him.

"I want to cast levitation spells! I want to be able to open doors with my magic instead of my mouth! I don't want to depend on others to write my letters! Damn you to tartarus, I want more than what I can do!" Taurion shouted back at him.

"Then work for it! Don't take the easy route! There is no glory or honor in this path, you insolent cur!"

"Says the bastard with enough magic to equal the very alicorn of reality!"

"So you have been doing your research. You're too smart for this fragment of time! But I won't let you drink this until time starts to unravel. You are needed not in the future, but the past..." Roseshield said, instantly calming down. This sudden change in emotion gave Taurion pause.

"What do you mean? That I'm needed not for the future but the past? That I am out of my time frame?" Taurion asked, refusing to accept the obvious answer that the pony in front of him was saying.

"In a nutshell? Yes. But really, it's more complicated than that. Time is an alicorn itself. Nopony is sure if they are a mare or a stallion. But what we know, is that it's an alicorn. The same goes for the Alicorn of Reality. The first ponies were alicorns. Of that, we can agree. But as to what happened to cause the fracture into the races we know today, is what most will argue tirelessly over. We're not even sure if there are still alicorns for the things we take for granted."

"Like what? The four winds?"

"Yes. The four winds, the land you walk on, the water you drink, and the fires you're guided by. I believe they are still out there, but weakened. Maybe even shattered amongst the various races. The pegsi and griffons for the winds. The unicorns and dragons for fire. The changelings and draconequui for water. And the Earth ponies and Yaks for earth. What we believe is what makes us stronger or weaker in our element."

This of course made Taurion curious as to whether Roseshield was right or not. He usually was, but even he said believe. Which he almost never used unless he was uncertain. And when he was uncertain, it was a 50/50 shot for him being right. He looked at the potion. Maybe I shouldn't change myself, but my time frame... Rather than be in this current time, I should go back a few centuries... And find out for sure if he's right.

"Don't bother." Roseshield said, listening to his thoughts.

"Why not? You wanna know right? Well I can find out... All I need is a sip of that potion," Taurion said, nodding towards the potion.

"Not until time starts to unravel can you go back in time. It's a rule. The last pony to try that became possessed by a demon trapped in a temporal bubble," Roseshield said, drawing a small sigil on the ground, but not fully drawing it. Just enough for Taurion to see what he meant. And it screamed at him to run. To escape. To stay away from it. And the pony that drew it. The shudder did not, however, go unnoticed by the unicorn.

"It was you trying to return..." Roseshield said in disbelief.

To be continued...