Worlds Reset

by TheMajorTechie

The sky is yours.

Author's Note:

Shorter chapter for now. There's a decent chance that I might need to pull off a timeskip, or maybe a series of events one-after-another as the burnt pony heals in the next chapter. Otherwise, the chapter would probably be mostly filler.

Also, I'm dropping the chapter illustrations. They don't really add much at all to the story itself.

Anyway, enjoy the first chapter in several months!

A gleaming cityscape rippled overhead as Amber pranced through the bustling streets. Sights and sounds came from every direction; ponies rambled to each other of their daily lives, street vendors advertised their goods, yelling as loud as their bodies allowed to catch everypony's attention.

Hm, the mare pondered, lifting a hoof to her chin as she took in her new surroundings, A bit too busy. I should tone it down a bit...

The skyscrapers rumbled for a moment before seemingly liquifying, morphing into featureless globs of color before reforming into neatly-decorated suburban homes. Likewise, the bustling street market had all but vanished as well-- all the ponies, of course, being nothing but illusions and spellcraft in the first place, simply disappeared without a trace.

Amber smiled, closing her eyes as she felt a cool breeze blow over her.

That's better.

She took a deep breath and set off to explore her new surroundings once again. Light chirps and tweets seemed to come from every sapling the mare passed by, and even the occasional songbird would come out of its nest to accompany Amber with its musical tones.

The bubble rippled over itself, and the illusion vanished. It was really the most she could do at the moment anyway-- magic here didn't work even remotely the same, and outside of summoning a few small things here and there, the most Amber had been able to do were some convincing illusions that wrapped around herself.

A single, piercing scream echoed in from somewhere beyond the bubble. Amber whirled around, fear setting in as the scream grew louder by the second.

The bubble walls, her eyes widened. someone's outside.

The mare rushed over the empty plane, sparks and smoke streaming across her body as she drew closer to whatever it was that made the noise. A rush of air rippled over her as she grew closer to the bubble wall, blowing the smoke away from her face the closer she drew. There was clearly somepony there-- or at least, what was left of them, based on the rising plume of smoke and flame.

Amber's steps slowed as she reached the wall. Her eyes set on the charred pony just beyond the bubble, then to the empty expanse that made up the horizon. They had managed to breach a small hole in the bubble wall; just enough to stick their hooves inside, and enough to let in a trickle of whatever corrosive air there was outside. Wincing, she poked a hoof out of her bubble, immediately retracting it with a yelp as it began to burn.

"J-just hold on a moment!" Amber shouted to the screaming pony, her eyes darting about for anything she could potentially use.

"Oh, horseapples," the mare grumbled, groaning in frustration. "Alright, here goes nothing!"

She lunged through the bubble walls, her coat and mane immediately igniting with a flash of sparks and smoke. Clenching her teeth through the pain, Amber began to drag the other pony into the bubble by what little remained of their mane. Grunting, she felt cool air wash over her once again as she entered the bubble. She dropped the burnt pony on the ground, the hole in her bubble sealing behind her.

"Hey," she muttered, "Hey, you alright there?"

The burnt pony only groaned in response, their eyes still tightly shut.

"Here, c'mon," Amber sighed, dragging the pony deeper into the bubble. "Let's get you fixed up a bit."

---

The burnt pony shuddered, curling tighter as Amber sprayed water at them. Coughing, they opened a weary eye, wiping the dripping water away from their eyes. Another round of coughs rattled their singed frame.

"Sorry I can't do much else for you. I'm still kinda learning the ropes of the new magic myself, so all I was really able to do was speed up the healing process a little for your burns."

The burnt pony stopped mid-cough, turning to glare at Amber. A few patches of singed hair floated to the blank ground.

"Hm? Sorry, did it sting back there with the water? It's... It's really the most I could do right now."

She paused, lighting her horn. A fleck of light materialized before her, growing outward into a small case. A first-aid kit really could only do so much, but Amber didn't quite trust herself yet with even trying anything bigger. It wasn't like any of her illusions from earlier would've been any help, either.

The burnt pony only leaned over in response while Amber pulled out a bottle of alcohol and some gauze, staring past Amber at the sprawling landscape around them.

"Sfae," their hoarse voice gurgled, "Oo mfaef a sfaef pfafe?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't understand you with how badly you're still injured. Are you able to write with your burns?"

The burnt pony shot another glare at Amber, shaking their head. A crackle of crimson aura arced up their horn before fizzling with a puff of smoke.

"Hey, let yourself recover a little. If you want to learn how the magic here works, then you're gonna need to heal up first, alright?"

The burnt pony nodded, dislodging more soot from their body. Though, even if Amber did teach them what she knew of the new magic, how far could they really go with a body like that? Just from looks alone, even the simplest new spell she knew would probably knock them out cold. It was better to avoid taking the risk for now. She could summon in some food for the two of them, and maybe try and figure out a healing spell of some kind, but that would be for a little later. The amount of stress everything had been putting her through was far worse than any sort of homework she ever got from school, and some rest was what both she and this other pony needed for now-- under her own sky.

Comments

[Thunderous]

Noicely done. This is a good chapter.