Meta Gamer in Equestria: Odyssey

by reflective vagrant

Chapter 28. Truth be Told, Part 6.

"Even the elder royal sisters Celestia and Luna aren't old enough to have been present for the first war, as it predates what we have properly recorded in modern history books. It isn't even in folklore, save as a tail Discord taunted ponies with, and was believed to be lying about back during a dark time before our nation was founded."

The princess lit up her horn and showed me a moving image to illustrate what Sunburst was saying.

"The details given to us have been cross referenced with multiple sources are diverse and complicated, but it does basically describe what you claim the darker of your world's desires may be, though amplified: The desire to draw upon as many natural resources to fuel the war efforts on other realms, with no regard to the health of this world."

The images showed vague outlines of humanoids ripping trees out of the ground and throwing them through some portal. Outlines of ponies and other creatures fought as best they could, but were quickly squashed in town meetings and other gathering places.

"By the time the races rallied together for the cause, it was too late. We couldn't organize our troops, and the invading forces overwhelmed our predecessors, enslaved them, and forced them to be a part of the workforce that was draining the life from our world."

The illustration shifted in tone, showing the natives being forced to cut down trees, mine the earth, and pluck the fishes that were still in rivers and seas out until fewer and fewer were left to repopulate.

"But then a small group of invaders and other beings that had fled the worlds ravaged by the war, both mortal and nigh-immortal, rebelled. They started in secret to give the natives a chance to coordinate and counter attack without being discovered until they were ready."

Images of secret meetings being held and hidden from guards, and rebels being granted shelter and hidden showed, tools, information and sheer numbers being gathered in secret.

"While he did not lead the rebellion, as that brave mortal's name has long been lost to history, Discord was among those that switched sides. Where it not for the efforts of Discord and the others that chose to rebel against their masters, our world would have been long dead many millennia ago."

Images of rebel forces driving the invaders back to their portals played. What looked like the outline of a leader among them jumped through the portal with a small band of soldiers of many of the races, fighting on what looked to be another world on the other side, keeping the last portal from being jammed open. Meanwhile, what I could only guess were nature shamans like Zecora along side less nature focused mages of old closed those portals with Discord's help.

"With the rifts sealed, no outsider could invade so easily again, nor could they spy on our world while the rifts were closed."

The image faded and the princess took her turn to speak.

"The invading forces were particularly difficult to push back because they wielded a kind of magic far more potent than Æther or the Animus Mundi that had never been used on Equis before. They worshiped exalted beings known as 'gods'-" The one remaining guard spat at the ground at this word "-and a select few of their followers were able to harness the 'Quintessence' of these beings to force their demands on Equis."

I had to use my luck charm to keep composure as I felt the negative feeling they had towards deities. While I wasn't the most forthright about showing off my faith, and fell short in many ways, I did have it. It was actually an integral part of who I was under the surface. I had to wonder if I ever uttered anything out of reflex that would have angered them, and if I might slip in the future.

"Quintessence has since left its mark on Equis. A select few individuals have managed to harness it during times of great trial in the past, while Discord is capable of using it easily and Alicorns like myself wound up being able to tap into it alongside our Æther to a degree. But the details of its existence are guarded by family lines that have been sworn to keep its power from being abused and to be ready if the gods ever returned to Equis. Sharp Sentinel is a member of one of these families."

Sunburst switched out with the princess again. "Which is why we went on high alert when you came crashing down in your meteor in the woods. It was positively radiating with so much Quintessence that anypony with monitoring equipment on at the time within the borders of Equestria or its surrounding nations would have noticed. Without that alarm bell, we would have been caught off guard when the rifts opened. Your well timed arrival gave us the time we needed to prepare and face the invaders head on."

Fluttershy chimed in, giving me a bit of a surprise. "Which brings us to why you were sent here. According to this adorable little foul that came with you-" She raised the owl in her hooves slightly. "-One of these... 'exalted beings' known as Bane began learning how to break some of the less well maintained seals on the rifts open. One of the more empathetic exalted beings wanted us to be left alone, feeling we had earned our freedom. So he issued a challenge to Bane."

Sunburst grabbed two of the platters on the table with his glowing horn, and clanged them together, while also pushing all others aside. "A formal struggle between only the two of them and their forces, ensuring only the two gods could fight over our world and that other gods would acknowledge that only the victor had any claim to the world. Each participating god can send armies through whatever rifts they can open and a single champion. The condition for Bane winning is the taking over of our world before his presence is expunged. Otherwise, Equis is declared off limits.

"If what Luna has extracted from your familiar's volunteered Astral Judgement wasn't staged, each exalted being was granted a single condition that they imposed on the challenge. The one that sent you insisted any invading military must be composed completely of mortals. Bane then countered by insisting that whatever champion they send to represent them must not be one of their followers, presumably believing he could buy off someone unfaithful. And thus you were plucked from your home world, though the little owl was not told why you were picked specifically."

"By technicality, you are the champion sent to oppose Bane's presence, but all the god that sent you intended to do was to alert us so that we can fight our own battle. The owl was once a powerful celestial and a servant of this god. He was bound to you as your familiar to exploit a loophole in the agreement and sent on a one way trip to aid us in tactical awareness, should you manage to come close enough to one of our nation's alicorn leaders. Beyond that, he had no interest in sending an army of his own and actually used the meteor he sent you in to reinforce the seal of a rift that was about to burst, even though he could have potentially claimed it as his own."

* * *

I must have been sitting there, almost numb as I asked them to repeat parts of that several times. It was a lot of information to be dumped on me all at once. I wasn't needed anymore for the war effort, and I was allowed to simply live my life as I pleased. They said they honestly had no idea how to send me home, but were more than willing to do what they could to help me adjust and would inform me if an opportunity to go home arose.

Even so, one growing fear lingered in the back of my mind as I processed all of this. I was sent by a supposed "god" to this world, and Moss had a single level of cleric to his build. Clerics drew their powers from the gods they worshiped.

At some point I found myself staring at the owl that was doing its best to rest. I could only think of one thing as I stared at it. "I don't care if we're bound to each other or that Moss was a cleric. I'm never going to worship your god."

Looking back, I realize now that I used the link between us to talk to it telepathically. In response, it opened its eyes, looked over to me weakly and telepathically responded in kind. "That's more than alright. He wouldn't want your worship, nor does he need it for this mission. And for formalities: Oghma sends his apologies for forcing this on you."

---

A proper freakout at the telepathic bond and subsequent prompt ending of the meeting, plus a few hours later, I was back at Fluttershy's cottage, sitting at the table with Tempest. Scraps was unusually calm as Fluttershy showed him how she wrapped her front forehoof differently than she would paws. Usually when they played doctor, he was still wiggling in his seat.

"It's a lot to take in, isn't it?" Tempest slid a cup of coco to me. "You might never be able to get home."

It was the first time she tried to break the ice and act nice as I listened to her. "I wasn't allowed to say anything until you met with them. But to lose something dear to you like that. To have it torn away and live among those that still have it. As much as I don't like you, I can relate to that."

"That's actually not what's bothering me. I wasn't too attached to anything at home, and at this point I was kinda expecting something like that anyway."

I took the coco and sipped. "What's bothering me is things that don't add up. How did my owl's... boss know you guys were still... 'watching over the rifts?' How did he know how to write the spell books in modern equestrian? Why did the message trigger when I was close to an alicorn, when alicorns didn't even exist the last time the rifts were open? I thought outsiders couldn't see through the rifts while they were closed. It isn't making sense."

I looked up at Tempest but she only stared back at me for a long while. With a twitch of her ear, she finally responded in a flat tone, "I guess it doesn't make any sense. I'll file some papers with Starlight in the morning about that."

I didn't have another "good" good luck charm that day, but I managed to interpret the twitch well enough without it.

I reciprocated her flat tone, "Another thing that doesn't make sense is why you were allowed an exception to specifically take Fluttershy and me under your charge and nopony else before finishing your trainee year with Scraps. It's almost like somepony high up wanted you to keep tabs on me because there were still a few unknowns left. Maybe even take me out if I were to prove a threat."

Another twitch to her cheek followed my statement as she reached her hoof out for her own coco. With a subtle confirmation that wasn't a confirmation between our eyes, she gave a genuine laugh and took a brief sip of her coco.

"Don't be ridiculous," she finally responded, "I can honestly say I was never given any order to take you out."

She chugged the rest of her steaming hot coco down in one gulp, not even flinching from the heat, slammed the mug down on the table, and smiled at the look of shock I had on my face from it. Her tone went back to that familiar darkness I knew her for. "I'd do it of my own free will if I saw fit."

Her tone shifted back to a begrudged acceptance. "I was just asked to make up for what I did to you and balance out Fluttershy's timid nature with my own. As long as you behave, you won't have to see my... extra bad side again. That's my promise to you."

I looked at Fluttershy finally warming up to Scraps, having established ground rules. New developments always seemed to give me some sort of curve ball, but I started to feel like my patience was paying off. I was getting some semblance of a home again. It felt kinda nice, in spite of all the confusion.

"So, friends?"

She had pored another cup and was chugging it a little slower as she raised an eyebrow in response. She went back to finishing her cup and made me wait for an answer.

"Not even in the pits of Tartarus, Moss." She got up and put her cup in the sink. "I said you won't have to see my bad side. That doesn't mean I have to like you."

Author's Note:

(Technically yes. The message would have also triggered if he came close to Flurry Heart first.)

A lot of you may have noticed the change in the story name. That's because I'm extending it to a series. Think of it as back when the first Star Wars was first released, it was just called "Star Wars," but eventually, it became "Star Wars: A New Hope" as the series expanded. Odyssey is the most appropriate title I could think of for this part of it.

Comments

[DerpTape]

Ok, since it has been shown that not only is he not a threat, but he had no say whatsoever in coming here, AND his arrival was intended as an early warning . . . Why is Tempest being such a rhymes with witch to him. Only thing I can think of is self loathing (especially since he went out of his way to reduce her sentencing, which may have stung her not insignificant pride).