Princess of Infinity

by Echo 27

III: Xechasménos

All around them was a tremendous pressure, forcing itself down upon them until Celestia wondered if they were to be crushed underneath the unseen weight. A great roaring of movement rushed past her and she wondered if the sound would be enough to deafen her forever. She found herself blind, moving forward by sheer will alone against what felt to be an unrelenting rush of water that poured down upon her and threatened to sweep her away, but nevertheless she pushed on, forcing her feet forward even though she feared the moment when she was pushed aside and thrown into the nothingness that surrounded her. A squeeze of her hand and she knew Ford to still be beside her, likely struggling even more than she. Together they moved onwards inch by merest inch, reaching out for the moment when the unforgiving torrent would finally cease-

There came a flash of light and she cried out in alarm, suddenly falling to her knees as the chaos reached its crescendo and suddenly fell flat, the noise and the pressure ceasing as though it was a spigot that had been twisted shut. She fell to the ground and gasped for air, her lungs begging for fresh air that would continue to grant her life. Her head pulsed, her body ached, yet still she lived.

“What just happened?” Ford panted, his breathing heavy and ragged. “Were we attacked by something?”

“The threshold granted us entry into its realm. It must have debated whether or not we were worthy of it.”

“You speak as if it were a living thing.”

“I could not speak of it any other way. Would you?” she asked.

“I… am not so certain any longer,” Ford grunted, trying to rise to his feet and struggling mightily. “Where are we?”

Celestia’s eyes adjusted to the world around her and she found herself uncertain of where exactly she now stood. Above her appeared as neither stone, wood, nor sky, and below her was neither earth nor rock, or even water. The world was dimly lit by a white light far beneath her feet, reaching through the miasma and glistening upon her face as though clouded by water. She felt out and found the ground beneath her solid like glass, though gentle and soft against the skin. All around her were formless vapors and mist that twisted about and moved as though by an unseen puppeteer, manipulating and bringing motion into the emptiness. She gazed out to the horizon and yet could not find it, the expanse of soft blue and middling light seeming to go on endlessly into the world in a long, flat plain that was of nothing she could find words for.

“What is this place?” Ford asked aloud, helping his wife to her feet whilst his eyes continued to survey their surroundings and finding it none to his liking. “I have never seen such a place, even in my dreams. There is nothing here, just an endless plateau.”

“It feels old. Like it was once something, but has been pushed aside. Like all its use and meaning has been taken from it,” she remarked. “Perhaps its meaning is simply for us.”

“Perhaps- the gateway!” Ford rushed back and found the gateway behind them, its door closed and darkened with no tendrils reaching out alongside the whispers that had now ceased. He reached forward and tried to grasp it, tugging at the hinges and found it immovable. “We are stuck! It cannot open!”

“Then all we can do is continue forward,” Celestia surmised. “Calm your fears, Ford. We have not been deceived or thrown into danger. If this gateway is shut, then the other one that dwells within this place must have opened in kind.”

“But where even is it? We need to find it, immediately!”

“I do not…” Celestia watched the vapors contort and twist themselves as though beckoning her forward, and her eyes pierced through the cloud to find wrought iron and metal just beyond. “It is right before us, I believe.”

“Really? Are you certain?”

“Look. Just to my right, you can see the thing flickering again. I would say it is only a mile’s distance away.”

Ford scrutinized it, his gaze peering out and finding their next goal. “It is strange… why so close? Surely it cannot be that easy.”

“Perhaps not. But how else are we to find out if unless by going forward?”

“Before we continue, let us pause a moment,” Ford said, stepping before her and appearing pensive. “Sit with me for a time.”

“I am not tired. If you need rest, then I can certainly accommodate.” Celestia felt rankled, but did not wish to wear him out this soon into their journey.

“I do not need rest, but rather answers. I want to ask you what we just saw. I know you know, Celestia.”

She should have thought of that. Walking among gods and greater beings was a thing she had done time and time again, though to Ford it would be a moment of great importance. She should not have assumed it would seem so commonplace to him. “I will try as best as I can,” she said gently, “but be aware what I say may not fully be revealed to you. The difference between us is greater than you may understand.”

“Is that derision?” Ford felt slighted and she bit her lip to avoid anger. What else would he feel? No person wishes to be talked down to.

“It is honesty. There are some things that have been hidden to Man, and no words of mine would be enough to reveal them to you. Even I have limitations put upon me,” she replied.

“Then tell me what you can. Firstly, the Guardian of that Palace, the Sanctelior. Just what was he? When I looked upon him I was grieved and terrified merely by the sight of him! If he had not called out to me, I wouldn’t have dared even speak to him.”

“He is an Amrionara. A greater being than you or even I, but a servant nonetheless. I knew two of them long ago when I was still a young girl.”

“A greater being?” Ford’s face exposed his puzzlement. “I know the Alicorns are immortal, but you speak of that thing as though it were above you.”

“He is. An Amrionara is something mighty, and much mightier than I. The Alicorns fell and were divided long before even I was born, but the Amrionara retained their glory and continued their service. If he had wished to do so, he could have killed both of us before we even knew we were dead.”

Ford seemed to understand some of it, but much of her words remained yet beyond him. “So how I spoke to him was likely dangerous,” he guessed.

“Yes. Thankfully, he found us worthy. Rest assured, though: if I had not defended you, your life would have ended in that very moment.” Celestia was glad to see his fire lessen at her words.

“Well, then. Perhaps I should keep my tongue to myself for now,” he said.

“The moment is over now. And now you know.”

“Something about that encounter bothers me, though. Sombra is assuredly within this universe somewhere, but the Sanctelior certainly seems more than capable of fighting him off. Why let Sombra enter?”

“I don’t know.” The problem had confounded Celestia as well, and her best philosophies and arguments were not enough to quell her misgivings. “The Amrionara are strange. They have no will beyond that of their master, and since I do not know whose master the Sanctelior swears allegiance to, I cannot guess their intention. Tavan perhaps, but he is bound away… Adfereadh perhaps, or maybe Golaus. Even then it explains nothing-”

“Celestia, please! You are leaving me in the dark!” Ford pleaded. “You’re speaking of things I know nothing about- have mercy, I do not have the capacity or the lifespan to understand what you do.”

It was not entirely true, and Celestia found herself pondering that instead. “You might. At least now you might. And only for a time.”

“Celestia, I beg you. You’re speaking in riddles and I don’t understand. If you want me to keep up with you I need to be able to understand.”

“The Sanctelior’s blessing. His powers are in relation to time- the ones we saw guarding the way are likely mortal Men like yourself that were found unworthy of entry, so he killed them and used them to keep watch over the Palace. He keeps them in a statis, stuck in time forever.” Celestia tried to temper herself, thinking of ways to make it plain to her husband. “His gift is that you are immortal now just as I am. For as long as it takes for us to find Sombra, you could live on, and on- and on, until the very heart of all worlds gave its final breath.”

Of all her words that she had spoken, those simple ones seemed to truly sink in. “I’m immortal..?” he whispered.

“Not in the sense of what a Philosopher’s Stone would grant you, nor the gift of the Alicorns,” she told him. “It is a blessing from a great being- granted so you can aid me in the completion of our task.”

Ford’s mind was already boggled enough, and now facing his immortality, he found himself rather stunned. “Why? What would cause him to do such a thing? Does he already know how long this journey will take, and so he gives us all the time we would ever need?”

“Perhaps. I do not know, Ford, an Amrionara is beyond even me. What he sees and hears I cannot. All I know is that his blessing is upon you, and that means you have nothing to fear from time and its clutches.”

It was too much for one man to take in all at once, and Celestia could see it would be some time for Ford to truly grasp what had come upon him, and that legends would speak his name for millennia beyond millennia because of this moment. But, for now, he was able to understand the basics, and that was enough to help him continue on.

“We should still hurry on,” he said. “If Sombra is already in here with us, then he has a head start, we don’t know how long it was before we arrived, but somewhere around ten years or less-”

“I fear it could be much worse than that,” she said gently, hardly eager to tell him. “Ford, we are in an entirely different universe, separate from the one you and I were born in. To us, we have only been here for a few moments. But to Sombra? Even if he arrived only a few meager hours before us, there is no reason for us to believe he even stepped foot here. The gateway could have spat him out elsewhere- thousands of years in the future, or generations in the past. He could have already been within this universe since its birth.”

The news somehow sunk in and Ford was left appalled by its presence. “We could have already lost, then!” he breathed. “Sombra could have easily found the Stone and already be wielding it!”

“Yes, that could very well be true,” Celestia replied. “And if he has, then I wonder why he has not yet acted?”

“Or maybe he already has, and we just haven’t seen it yet,” Ford said. “Maybe he’s already destroyed this world and marched on to the next, going wherever the gateway throws him next!”

“He has not been here,” Celestia said comfortingly. “If he had been, you would know. This place is void of- well, everything. If Sombra had desecrated this place, then you would see his foul reek in every corner of it.”

“I would rather never see it spread to anywhere,” Ford resolved. “If the gateway is not far, then we shouldn’t hesitate. Let’s keep after him.”

One thing Celestia admired deeply of her husband was his resolve. When he had made up his mind, far be it from anyone to dissuade him of his intent. She doubted that any thing which walked upon the earth would be enough to sway him once he had made his decision. “Let’s keep going,” she said, and the two journeyed onwards through the mist and towards the gateway that flashed just beyond them.

As they continued forward, Celestia found herself marveling at the strangeness of the place they traveled through. There was no sky, no solid earth, no grass or water or any recognizable element of any kind that she could perceive. The vapor felt dry on her skin, and no matter how deeply she peered, the source of the light far beneath her feet could not be seen. It was a strange place even empty of the void.

“Wait.” Celestia felt a tug on her arm and she stopped, the gateway just a few yards from them now.

“Ford!”

“Answer me this,” he said fiercely, “The Sanctelior said I was doomed. Doomed, Celestia- not a good word to hear when referenced to someone. He said that if I was allowed to come into this place with you, then you’d be doomed just as I was. What did that mean?”

“Ford, I really don’t know. His words are still beyond me.”

“Does he mean that I’m going to kill you?” he challenged.

“Ford, that is a heavy thing to ponder-”

“Answer me!” The distress in his voice startled her, and she looked to see the beginnings of tears starting to form in his hardened eyes.

She took his face in his hands and brought it to hers, holding him until she felt the struggle begin to lessen within his heart. “You would not. Not you, not ever- not even if all the riches and treasures of the world were offered to you, would you ever do such a thing,” she said firmly. “I know you. I know you better than anyone who has dwelled in any realm of any world, and I know that you would not dare.”

“But if something goes wrong,” he said, “If I am to betray you, please just-”

“Don’t say it!” her words cut through the empty air and raked away the mists. “It will not happen, not ever. You will not betray me, and I will not take your life. We will make it through together, and that is how it shall always be.” She looked into his eyes, her strength welling up and seeping into his weakness. “Believe me, my beloved. Such wickedness is far beneath you.”

Ford’s horrors still lingered in his mind but the crisis had passed, and he nodded with all the certainty he could muster. “Then let us be on our way,” he said gruffly.

Together, the two passed through the threshold and felt the tendrils of light bring them forward and beyond.

Author's Note:

We're just getting started. I did not call this realm a place of infinity lightly. The journey has only just begun, my friend.

New additions to the soundtrack here: Boop

As always, comments and corrections below. Enjoy.

Comments

[Jarvy Jared]

Sped through the other Celestia and Ford stories and loved them. Really looking forward to seeing where this one goes!

Out of curiosity, do you have the entire story written, and are posting chapters intervally? Or do you have only bits and pieces, or chapters, completed here and there, and do further writing after each post?

[Echo 27]

9697591
Several chapters already written. Will post weekly to help me stay ahead of the game.