Realms of Existence

by GMBlackjack

IV - Passing Moments

Twilight once again woke up to the frigid feel of Yakyakistan air blowing through the flap of her thermal tent. The thing had never managed to stay closed an entire night, despite her best efforts. With a groan, she conjured up her winter garb and stepped outside, careful to close the tent flap so Spike could continue sleeping.

The night sky was brilliant – the stars flickered their light down on the snow, and the Aurora was at full strength, dancing across the sky towards the horizon. Not as brilliant as the lights at the north pole, but the magnetic phenomenon was still breathtaking to behold.

She walked in the multicolored light, trudging through the deep snow, taking the view in as she went. It was beautiful, serene, almost perfect…. Would be perfect, if there was not one blemish on the snowy horizon, made of six blue pillars standing tall, a reminder that her friends were still gone. Had been gone for almost an entire week.

Twilight teleported herself to the temple, the area kept free of snow by a dozen mini-suns kept in place by Sunset’s magic. Their warmth was welcoming, though their dimming was a reminder that they’d just need to be recreated come morning. Which was in an hour or two, she judged from the stars’ positions.

She walked over to the tables covered in artifacts – all of which were either more spheres or Aztrot relics that didn’t match the design of the temple whatsoever. It was as if the Aztrot had just found this place and made it their own.

Which brought up the question of who built the temple and how? It was more advanced than anything anypony – or yak – had ever seen! It was decades, perhaps even centuries, more advanced than anything they had at their disposal!

How?

She combed through the artifacts again – all Aztrot living implements, things found at all the ancient sites all over the world. Though they were strangely far north, which raised a few questions, but the Aztrot were known for spreading over large distances. However, they usually kept records – and little to none were found at this site. There was no evidence that there had even been an archive building anywhere near the temple, and all Aztrot communities had a record hall. Plenty of regular building space had been uncovered, just adding to the mystery.

She shook her head. It was an ancient puzzle and the lives of her friends hinged on it. They’d had no luck whatsoever in repairing the temple, the pillar never reaffixing correctly, the wiring just too complex for any of them to figure out. The closest anypony had gotten was making the pillars spark violently, nothing more.

She walked to the central podium, looking intently at the heptagon-shaped hole. She growled. “Why? What’s the point?”

“You probably don’t want the answer to that question.”

Twilight yelped in surprise, taking a few moments to realize whom it was. “Pinkie!? You scared me!”

“Yeah. Sorry about that.” She smirked. “Saw you awake. Thought you could use some company.”

“Thanks.” Twilight said. “I’m just… It’s hard. I don’t even know if they’re still alive.”

“They’re our friends Twilight! Do you think they’d ever give up?”

“No…”

“Then don’t lose your faith! We’ll open a portal and find our friends!”

Twilight sighed. “At this rate, that may take months, even years. The best mages cannot figure out how the portal was activated… We can’t fix it… And the Aztrot aren’t here to be answer questions!”

“Twilight.” Pinkie said. “We’ll figure it out. We just have to stay determined.”

Twilight nodded slowly. “You’re right Pinkie. I… I know that. Still hard, but thank you.”

“It’s what I do.”

The two mares sat, looking at the sky in silence for some time. Eventually, the sun rose, blanketing the snowy landscape in brilliant beams of sunlight. The team began to wake up, tent flaps opening by the dozen. Ponies and yaks once again started studying the temple, discussing amongst themselves what they thought of during the night, and all in all working together as a good, functional team. It made Twilight smile – Yaks and ponies didn’t usually get along well, but here they were, trying to solve an ancient mystery together.

Rarity trotted up to Twilight and Pinkie, yawning. “What are you two doing up so early?”

“Talking.” Twilight said, looking at Rarity. “You sure you don’t need to go back to your boutique?”

“Darling, wouldn’t dream of it. I’m sure it’s running just fine without me – it’s not like Ponyville needs a lot of clothing. Though I do feel sorry for Coco, poor thing is overworked as it is.”

Twilight nodded. “Of course. Pinkie, you don’t have to-“

“I’ve missed two birthdays. But… This is more important.”

Twilight beamed. “Thank you girls. You are all that’s holding me together right now.”

“Same…” Rarity admitted.

The three hoofbumped and set to another day of work. Rarity went to the table to organize artifacts, cataloguing every trait she could think of. Twilight met up with the mages and scientists to discuss theory while Pinkie went around with a tray of warm baked goods on her head for everyone to take as they wished.

Sunset stood atop one of the pillars, looking down at the bundled up ponies and furry yaks below. She frowned. There wasn’t much progress here. They had learned a few interesting things on the first two days, but beyond that… Nothing much had turned up. They still hadn’t translated the writing on the steps, nobody had even the slightest idea where to start with it. They were sitting in this snowy place, freezing to death, finding nothing new…

The mini-suns went out, Sunset re-casting them over the course of the next fifteen minutes, using a lot of her energy in the process. Breathing heavy, she leapt off the pillar.

Back in Twilight’s tent, Spike woke up with a powerful belch. A letter appeared in his hand, addressed to Twilight. He quickly realized that it was day, running out in a mild panic. “Twilight! Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“You needed your sleep.” She said, a smirk on her face. “What do you have there?”

Spike handed it to her, and she read diligently.

Twilight,

We found the following image under a bookshelf in Yearling’s vault. Considering where you are, we thought it best to send it to you.

-Moondancer.

Affixed to the letter was a photo – dirty, colorless, and faded, but still decipherable. It depicted a vast, sprawling desert with a few cacti here and there. A temple composed of seven identical pillars stood atop the sands, their height basking the desert in shadow.

“Another temple…?”

~~~

“Don’t worry Mistletoe, it’ll all be ok!”

“Just try not to focus on the pain!”

Mistletoe cried, holding her broken leg. Her parents glanced to each other, trying to balance her on a disc and move her as fast as possible through the halls of New Mareu. It was a tricky proposition, but they managed to rush through the chaos, creating doorway after doorway in a rush to get their filly to the right mare.

They slid her into a perfectly cubical room fashioned out of a purple crystal. They paid no attention to the books, scrolls, and magic crystals littered around, caring only to find the mare that lived here.

“Starlight!”

“Hm?” Starlight said, looking up from her book. “Oh.” She said, seeing the filly’s broken leg. “Let me fix that…” She trotted over to the whimpering filly, casting a mending spell on the broken leg. Mistletoe screamed in pain the moment the bone snapped into position. The pain ceased immediately after that.

“There you go, good as new.” Starlight said. “How did you ponies survive without me?”

Mistletoe’s parents thanked Starlight profusely, creating flowers from the air for her. “Thanks?” Starlight said, taking them in her telekinesis. “You really didn’t have to…”

“You saved our daughter.”

“Broken legs will heal eventually.” Starlight said. “But thanks anyway.”

They left shortly thereafter. Starlight chucked the flowers in the ever-growing pile of gifts she had received ever since the Ponies of New Mareu had discovered magic spells could heal all the injuries they kept getting. Using the Power to shape biological tissue had never gone well, and doing such a thing outside of a life-threatening emergency was banned in any case. Starlight had discovered first-hoof why the practice was considered diabolical, for she had been given a stallion to heal yesterday who’d had the Power used on him. It had been one of the most horrifying things she had ever seen, his mouth on the side of his head, while his tail was embedded into his leg, blood vessels flowing along the outside.

She had managed to help him, but he left with a faraway look in his eyes. She knew she would never forget those eyes…

Starlight turned back to her book - a New Mareu history book from the library, one of the rooms where using the Power wasn’t allowed since the objects within couldn’t be recreated. Starlight was let in regularly and allowed to borrow books since she had never been able to tap into the Power effectively – she did manage to eventually stand up hours after Applejack and Rainbow Dash that first day, but could hardly do anything beyond that.

No, instead, she was a new sort of guardian for New Maeru. None of the unicorns could craft spells of any kind – save Overglobe, and Starlight had to teach her. As a result, Starlight was unique, the only mage the ponies of New Mareu had, filling a hole their guardians couldn’t. So what if she had stopped training with Trekker? The ponies still loved her, and she was useful.

Plus, she didn’t like Trekker very much.

Starlight put down the book, sighing. Who was she kidding; her inability to use the Power bothered her. She had a latent inflection on the level of Applejack, and yet the earth pony was already making doors in walls, and all Starlight could do was keep from dying when a bowling ball was thrown at her head.

She frowned, deciding she should go take a walk. That almost always meant getting lost in New Maeru, but she had discovered that sometimes it was good to be lost in a safe place. She marched out of her private room and began her walk. A few ponies waved to her as she passed by, letting her know she was becoming part of the community. It was a nice feeling, she had to admit. A bit like how she felt when she moved to Ponyville, now that she thought about it.

A wave of sadness hit her and she drooped. She was trapped here – maybe forever – likely never to see any of her friends again. Trixie, Twilight, Pinkie, Discord, Thorax, Sunburst…

She shook her head – Twilight was probably hard at work fixing the portal. There was no reason to be worried about them; they were safe. Starlight, Rainbow, and Applejack were the ones in danger.

Starlight hoped they weren’t presumed dead.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she bumped into something large and furry.

“Ahuizotl.” She glared.

“Ah, fancy meeting you here.” He chuckled. “Last I knew you were on medic duty, staying where everypony could find you.”

“I can take walks. And breaks.” She said. She recognized where they stood, the grand hall outside Overglobe’s office. “Talking to Overglobe again are we?”

Ahuizotl grinned. “Jealous?”

“Suspicious.”

“Ah well, such is as it will be. You continue thinking what you think while I get what I want.”

Starlight bristled. “You want too much.”

“And yet, try as you might, you don’t see how I plan to get it or how to stop me.” He chuckled. “You’re cute when you're angry.”

Starlight twitched. “I am going to grill you one of these days.”

“You are welcome to try. Until next time, Starlight Glimmer.” He bounded off, a piece of parchment in his hand.

Starlight groaned – she hated him and his hammyness. She poked her head through the doors. “Overglobe?”

“Yes?” She said, looking at the writings on the walls.

“You do realize he’s selfish and cares only for himself right?”

“Oh definitely, he makes no attempt to hide his self-centeredness.” Overglobe tore her gaze away from the writings and stared Starlight right in the eye. “It’s just that right now being my ally is a good thing for him.”

Starlight sighed. “He will backstab you.”

“Not if I do it first.”

Starlight took a step back. “…Wow. You’re good at this.”

“There’s a reason I’m in charge.” She said, rubbing her hoof over the ancient inscriptions. “So much history here…”

“Has he been useful in the translations?”

“Extremely so. But nothing new today, just more of the same. Our ancestors found the temples, believed them to be gifts from the gods, and migrated much of their population through the portal to the Realms.” She shook her head. “Nothing but legends beyond that. Take this one for instance.” She cleared her throat.

Once the world was in turmoil. Demons ran free and peace was unknown. Everypony lived in fear of their lives, hundreds dying daily.

The world was about to end.

But heroes rose from the ashes, an alicorn, two earth ponies, two pegasi, and two unicorns banded together. Using their impressive powers and knowledge of the Realms they banished all the Demons and paved the way for our society to form. The Seven passed to us one of their god-given blessings, a Seven-Sided Chest. Our king watched over it his entire life, using it to remind all of the day Demons used to rule the earth.

As for the Seven, none know exactly what happened to them. Many think they went to live normal lives, while others suggest they undertook adventures in far away lands. It is prophesied that one day, seven more heroes will rise to vanquish a completely new threat. We await their coming.

Starlight remembered something Twilight mentioned. Two earth ponies… Two pegasi… Two unicorns… An alicorn… That can’t be a coincidence… However, she didn’t vocalize her thoughts. She just shrugged. ”Interesting - what’s it mean?”

“No clue.” Overglobe said. “But it’s an important part of our culture.”

“Ours has something similar.” Starlight said. “Our history books start in the age of Demons – before the unicorn, Pegasus, and earth pony tribes existed the world was overrun with monsters. From what I understand the Mesoponies were the first to come out of the darkness, but I’m not a history buff.”

“Mmm…”

Starlight took the hum as a signal to leave. Overglobe was a mysterious mare who appreciated her space. Starlight wasn’t sure if she liked the mare or not.

Starlight stepped out onto a balcony, watching a few of the guardians shape New Mareu, keeping it safe from the random globes. She remembered that Rainbow and Applejack were out there training today. She wondered what they were doing…

~~~

Rainbow Dash grinned, her wings holding up a sphere the size of her house back home. “Ha! Look at that!”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Raw power doesn’t do it Rainbow, haven’t you been listening?”

“Yeah yeah, but come on, doesn’t this-“ She suddenly found herself pressed into her own sphere. “Hey! What gives!?”

“Increased the gravity of your sphere.” Trekker said, looking down at her disapprovingly. “You lost focus. Had a dark sphere appeared, you would be dead now.”

“Yeah, yeah…” Rainbow Dash said. “I’ve never seen one of those black-“

Trekker raised a hoof and transformed a very distant brick globe into something featureless and black. It twisted the fabric of reality around it, distorting the appearance of the spheres behind it, and furthermore devouring all the spheres around it in an instant. Rainbow Dash and Applejack felt it pull on them as well, forcing them to use the Power to maintain their stationary position.

Trekker made it dissapear, then glaced at Rainbow Dash, indicating she should respond.

“Th-Those can just appear?” She said.

“Yes. They are one of the greatest threats our world has to offer. Luckily they are rare.”

Applejack nodded. “Very lucky. We woulda died had one of those shown up when we arrived…”

“You have the skills to deflect them now, as long as you remain aware.” Trekker looked into the clearing he had just created with the dark sphere. “While not perfect or skilled enough to be guardians of the settlement yet, you should be able to survive out here on your own. Though I have my doubts.”

“We’ll keep our guard up.” Applejack said. “Well… Ah will.”

“Yes.” Trekker turned to Rainbow Dash. “You have enough power to become a guardian. I would consider enrolling in the Academy once I am done cementing the basics into your head.”

“I… I’m honored.” Rainbow Dash said. She had long since given up on him complimenting her in any way, much less suggesting she was ready for big things. “But… I have a home. This isn’t it.”

“You may be stuck here.” Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to respond but Trekker’s look told her not to interrupt. “You do not need to decide now. Just think it, and your future.”

A high-pitched and unstable voice rang through the area. “Her future? Oh that’s rich! Considering you didn’t let me choose!”

Trekker’s eyes went wide. “Get down!”

All the globes in the nearby vicinity exploded. The three ponies diverted the light and energy around them with the Power, keeping themselves from intense burns.

“Oh look at that, they really are skilled!” The voice giggled. “Looks like you really found someone you could be proud of!”

“Daughter or student?” Applejack hissed to Trekker.

“Both.”

“That ain’t good. How bad’s her grudge?”

“Lethal and insane.”

“Mighta warned us about her… How do we fight her? We can’t see her!”

“Are you talking about me?” The mare in question asked, her location still unknown. “Silly, trying to plan against Implode Baskets! That-“

Rainbow Dash burst into laughter.

“…What’s so funny?”

“That name.” Rainbow Dash said. “Implode. Baskets. That just sounds ridiculous!”

“Rainbow Dash don’t antagonize her…” Applejack hissed, to no avail.

“I mean, what do implosions and baskets even have to do with each other?”

Implode was silent for a few seconds. “I am going to hurt you. I won’t stop. Even after you’re dead.”

“Try it missy.” Rainbow Dash dared her.

Implode dropped the rectangular shape she had created with an image of the distance on it. She was feet away from Rainbow Dash. “Okay.” She said, her smile splitting her face. She was a very red Pegasus, with yellow and orange tints in the mane, and powerful bloodshot eyes. Her left eye twitched as she created a ball of fire next to her. The ball of fire ejected a cone-shaped blast into Rainbow Dash at point blank range, sending her flying.

“Aw, that felt-“ Implode held up a hoof, stopping Trekker’s energy beam attack mindlessly. “-good.”

“What is your deal?” Applejack yelled, creating her own pony-sized sphere of fire and tossing it.

“Daddy issues.” She said, blowing the fireball away with her breath. “I was a gifted youth…”

Trekker hit her with a steel pole, sending her downwards. “No.”

“What? Don’t want them to know?” She growled. “I’m your daughter damnit!”

“You-“

“Blah, blah, heard the whole disownment thing before. Give it a rest for once.” She dodged several dozen of Trekker’s pillar-shaped attacks. “You’ve done it enough times.”

Trekker just glared at her, silent.

“You never could handle it.” She spread her wings, releasing pure light from them. Trekker intercepted the light with ease, but Implode took the opportunity to entrap him inside a concrete globe – that he promptly shattered.

“I hate you.” She growled. “You just can’t be hurt! You just stand there and take everything! Why can’t you let me win anything!?”

“There is no winning.” Trekker said.

At that moment Implode felt a rope tighten around her neck, making her gag. “Now Rainbow!” Applejack yelled, holding fast on her lasso.

From nowhere, Rainbow Dash charged with a burst of rainbow power, unleashing a Rainboom right in Implode’s face. She screamed in pain, drifting away from the explosion. “The Tartarus was that!? That wasn’t the Power!”

“Nope. But this is.” Rainbow Dash smirked, lifting her wings and generating a gigantic globe of coal. She ignited it, focusing its energy forward in a cone shaped explosion that completely engulfed.

“Oh yeah! I’m awesome! Totally awesome!”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Don’t get cocky…”

“So…” Implode coughed, holding her legs in pain, her mane heavily singed. “She’s got raw Power.” Her eyes focused, generating a dozen needles around Rainbow Dash’s neck, each one long enough to pierce all the way through. Rainbow Dash forced herself to be motionless.

Implode was about to make another remark when something appeared in front of the blue Pegasus. It was silver, spiky, flowing, and had a single limb.

Wait… Two limbs. It waved one of them, removing the needles from around Rainbow Dash’s neck. “Rainbow Dash, I presume?” He spoke in a synthetic voice. “Fluttershy sent me.”

“Wait, Fluttershy? How?”

“I’ll explain in a minute. Right now you appear to have a problem.” He rotated, directing one of his limbs towards Implode.

“The freak are you?”

“Sperion.” He waved a limb, and suddenly Implode’s wings disappeared. She began to scramble in a panic – she needed those! How had he gotten rid of them? The Power couldn’t do that so cleanly…

Sperion cuffed her hooves together with a silvery material he created from the air. “There we go, she’s all yours.”

Trekker narrowed his eyes. “…Thank you… Sperion.” The compliment came out with an undertone of distaste.

“Glad to help.” He turned to Applejack. “Applejack then?”

“Yeah.”

“Good. All I have to go off of are names here, sadly. And while you think pony names and appearances would match up, that’s not always the case. Starlight?”

“Back at New Mareu.” Applejack cocked her head. “You said you were sent by Fluttershy?”

“Oh yes, I found her in the Realm of Life.” He waved a limb. “Helped her find her inner strength. She asked me to check in on you. She’s fine herself, living in a tree cabin last I saw, waiting for me to come back with news.”

“She got stuck too?” Rainbow asked.

“Ah, yes, unfortunately. I take it this means you haven’t had any luck returning either?”

“Nah.” Applejack said. “We’re stuck livin’ here, waitng.” She frowned. “Can you take us to her? Or her to us?”

He paused for a moment. “Sorry. My curse is only applicable to me. I am doomed to wander the Realms in a never-ending circle, no choice really. I’ll be gone in a few dozen hours.”

“Sorry to hear that.”

Rainbow Dash smirked. “Well, any friend of Flutters’s is a friend of mine, no matter how weird they look.”

Sperion let out his synthetic laugh.

“…Or sound.”

Sperion laughed again.

“…Anyway, you need to show us what awesome stuff you can do! And what you know!”

“Starlight’d love to meetcha!” Applejack added.

“And I’d love to meet her!” He paused. “Stars, it’s been a while since I entered a settlement here…”

“Why?”

Sperion didn’t answer the question. It was as if he didn’t hear it.

Trekker watched the silvery being slowly, eyes narrow. He didn’t like unknowns. And they just kept showing up.

~~~

Fluttershy’s little cabin was now a twenty-story mansion filled to the brim with animals. She flew down the many floors, saying hello to all the birds, frogs, snakes, rabbits, butterflies, mushroom dogs, spore clouds, and mood grasses. It was even bigger and more diverse than her tree back home, and it had much more variety to it as well, thanks in no small part to her newfound abilities.

Fluttershy had to admit, the Realm of Life was lovely – and here she had the ability not only to build her own house, but mend any animal’s wound just by Staring at it – no more complex healing processes that took weeks to work, just a small tweak of life itself.

She feared using it at first, but once she saved a six-legged squirrel’s life with the ‘inflection’ she found it wasn’t something to fear, it was something to use, to help the animals. She could bring life! It was such a warm and happy feeling. The animals loved her, more so than they did even at home. More and more came in every hour – there was no day or night here, so she had no idea what day it was, but Fluttershy assumed she had been here for well over a week.

“Lou, Roy, share that mouse.” She chided. “You both have the same stomach so you won’t go hungry if you only get half a meal.”

Lou and Roy hissed, but obliged.

Fluttershy stuck her head through the fine-laced window, fixing her gaze outside. She had told the Tree of Life to grow away from the house, creating a rather large clearing with a ground – a pasture of sorts. She could see cows, giant flies, some of those black worms, and even a few dinosaurs roaming around out there.

And a pony.

Her wings shot up in alarm and she flew out quickly – a pony! Another pony to talk to! She just had to make sure the predators in the pasture didn’t try to eat them. Luckily, a certain dragonfly tiger saw her coming and backed off. Fluttershy landed, looking at the brown Pegasus closely. His wings were injured, so she Stared at them and healed them, almost without thinking. “There you go, good as new! Um, who are you?”

She frowned. There was something wrong with his eyes. They looked… shallow. And he had no cutie mark, despite being a full grown stallion.

Fluttershy paused. “Mister?”

He grunted, flapping his wings and smiling, walking closer to her.

“Well… come on in.” She said, frowning. He understood, but he understood her, not the words she was speaking. The understanding of an animal.

“Oh my…” She said. “What happened to you?”

He said something about breaking his wings in a flying accident.

Fluttershy shuddered – it felt so wrong to talk to him, a stallion, like he was an animal.

He ravenously dug into the grass Fluttershy had grown as a carpet, then curled up and started sleeping without another sound. He hadn’t been antagonistic, predatory, violent, or dominating…

But he still scared her.

He was wrong.

Comments

[mastermenthe]

Ah, an actual pony? No... A magical pony that got de-magicked into an actual pony.

[Cross Lament]

7937733 Pre-sapient ancestral pony? o_O

[mastermenthe]

7939225
yup it makes sense, the pony claimed something happened to its wing but has no wings now, and speaks in animal tongue. getting demagicked that thorougly would remove the wings and forcefully devolve away any magically borne traits including sophoncy.

[GMBlackjack]

7940090

Er, go back a minute there. He still has wings. He's still a pegasus. Granted, his wings were injured when he showed up, but he still has them.

-GM, master of bacons.

[mastermenthe]

7940383
woops, there was only one description and i mussed it.

[GMBlackjack]

7940392

No big deal, but remember, sometimes small details are important later.

-GM, master of gaster.

[mastermenthe]

7940398

-GM, master of gaster.

https://m.soundcloud.com/the-great-anansi/dark-darker-yet-darker
https://m.soundcloud.com/mokkaamusic/your-best-friend

[GMBlackjack]

7940422
Ah I do so love it when people notice my signature. XD

-GM, master of all these squares make a circle.

[ferret]

I'm guessing artificial pony, like somepony 'inflected' a squirrel into a pony, or tree bark into a pony, possibly as a way to try to find companionship, but all they got was just another animal. Flutters needs to find the pony who created this one, so they can start making real ponies the old fashioned way.

[My name is R]

Ponies and yaks once again stated studying the temple
Started?
I am enjoying the story so far.