Theory of nothing

by Elidjz

Whispers

"Sometimes I stare back" The abyss.

---

The whispering was soft and indecipherable. It was just there both loud enough for me to hear and soft enough that I could still hear everything around me. My body also felt very numb, I could still feel what I touched. It just felt strange and hard to describe.

The glow on my amulet had fully disappeared and along with that the feeling of power that it had given me. It had now been remplaced with a feeling of dread. My blood on it was gone, absorbed by the amulet. And now it was pouring through its eye. A tiny trickle of the crimson liquid coming out of it, running down on my hoof that was currently holding the amulet.

The tiny trickle of blood soon also stopped. And the whispering along with it. I became aware of my surroundings once again. There was some whistling and the sound skittering. I took the amulet off and held it in my hoof. And then the thump of something landing beside me. I looked to my left. Cosmo had jumped down and now sat beside me. He looked tinier than before and now had five eyes instead of three.

"I'm scared." He tilted his head and stared curiously at me, but did not seem fazed. Tears were now pouring out of my eyes. Cosmo though did not seem bothered by it. But he was listening to me.

I then started crying. Cosmo pulled me against his chest, allowing me to cry on it. "I can see why you're scared, but why are you sorry?" I sobbed for a few seconds before answering.

"I-It's my fault tha-at you're here or that I'm here. I thought I was great I was great and that nothing could touch me." I sobbed some more. "But no I was not c-careful and not only was I pulled here, but almost died multiple times. The o-only reason I'm still alive is because of this" I pointed at my armor. "and this." I then pointed at the amulet.

"I thought you were annoying be-because you didn't seem to care, but it was I that didn't care. I kept talking in the third person." Cosmo put a hand on the back of my head and started caressing it. It was awkward because of the helmet, but I didn't care. "And all because of some delusions of grandeur that I've had. Tw... Someone else taught me a lesson and instead of learning anything or changing my way, I tried to get my vengeance."

I then pointed at my missing ear. "You can see where that got me." Cosmo said nothing, he still smiled but it was softer. His eyes showed a bit more compassion. "I thought you were annoying because you didn't seem to care about anything happening around us. But I was the annoying one."

He then lifted me up and put me on his back. Then he started moving up, jumping gracefully from platform to platform. "True." He simply said before he started humming. "But I may have been a bit harsh." The shadowy beings got out of our way and started leaving the room. Some started waving at us and then pointed at a hole on a wall. They then went through it.

"Want to follow them?" Cosmo asked. I simply nodded. He then kept on talking. "I told you I was very old, ancient would be more accurate. I'm used to being blunt and only find the most extreme of situations humorous." We reached the hole into the wall and he took a look inside. He then carefully dropped me on the ground. One of the shadowy beings stood there, I think the first one that I saw, motioning for us to follow. "I'm also used to being summoned by, well, proficient and experienced. The last time I was summoned by accident was very long ago." He hummed a bit more.

"Actually, I haven't been summoned in a long time, period. I've never been good at interacting with anything with a shorter lifespan than me. Not the first time that I've been told that I seemed uncaring or rude or whatever." He then sighed. "It's the way I was brought up."

"I think I understand. Ponies get taught to be ponies, griffons are brought up to be griffons, yaks learn to yaks..." We walked through a tunnel for a short while. When we reached a hole in the ceiling, with makeshift stairs built there ,we went up. "My parents taught me magic tricks. And after watching a few magic shows I knew what I wanted to become." The stairs led to an old basement. We exited the basement and entered a fairly clean staircase. "I let it get up to my head." We followed the shadowy being up the stairs, before it went into the second floor. We followed suit.

"We are molded by our experiences and surroundings. We both had a different upbringing." Cosmo nodded thoughtfully at my words before speaking. "It's not the first time that I had this kind of discussion." We followed the being into an empty living room with plenty of windows. We stared outside. It showed us the empty streets outside. The horizon however showed multiple fires and plumes of smoke both obscuring and illuminating the dark sky.

"It's a shame that I've never cared enough to remember any of them."

"...."

I put the amulet back on, as holding it in my hoof was awkward. The shadowy being, seemingly unaware or not caring of what we had been talking, pointed outside. I quickly found what he had pointed at.

A big stadium that stood not too far away from here. Once the shadowy being saw that we had seen the stadium, it quickly skittered towards a ladder easily climbing up it with its six thin legs. Cosmo simply jumped up. It was a bit harder for me to climb up the ladder, as it clearly wasn't made for ponies. It led to the roof.

There were a whole bunch of makeshift bridges and platforms connecting all of the buildings with each other. Either connecting the roofs with each other or simply going through holes in the walls. The being walked onto one of the bridges and started walking towards the stadium. I could from time to time spot other shadowy beings heading the stadium, from the corner of my eyes.

After having crossed seven bridges and walked through two buildings, we met another being. This one had the lower body of a serpent, both of its hands were covered in bandages and two short deer-like horns on its goat-like head. It also had a satchel ,with a big red cross on it,on its shoulder. It pulled some bandages out of its bag and pointed at my ear. I hesitantly nodded.

It then very swiftly pulled my helmet off and quickly bandaged my ear. I flinched a bit and felt a bit of pain, but it didn't last long. I felt a bit of relief once it was done. The shadowy being also cleaned whatever blood hadn't dried off. It then joined us as we moved towards the stadium.

---

The stadium was one of the more dilapidated buildings in the area. It did not even have any doors. The rest of the building was in the same state. Missing and broken doors, old torn posters, holes in the walls and all kinds of trash littering the ground.

This building also seemed to be the only one to be inhabited. As I could see dozens, if not hundreds of shadowy beings moving around. Multiple of them were running a bar, others were happily painting all kinds of strange and nonsensical drawings on the walls. Some were sleeping on hammocks and broken beds situated on the weirdest of places.

The serpent bodied being went on its own way, while the six legged on motioned to continue following it. So we followed it. It entered an old office. There were a bunch of writing and painting utensils laying on the ground and on shelves. It then picked a piece of paper and started writing on it. On it was written 'Hi I'm' The name was unreadable to me. We greeted him back by introducing ourselves by name. 'Why are you here?' It wrote. I quickly explained how I had botched a spell, leaving some details out.

'Hmmm' It was slightly ridiculous that it had written it. 'Maybe we can help each other' "How?" I immediately asked. 'You know those things we just fought...' I nodded. 'Well there trying to kill us all and we don't really like that idea.' "I can understand why you wouldn't like that." He scribbled some more. 'You help us beat them and we help you reach that "rift'' as you called it.'

"How do I help you?" I asked curiously. I had no idea what to do or why it would even ask me. 'Very few actually care or know about what's happening. I'm one of the few that are trying to fight back. All of those others who fought alongside us were only there because I paid them. and I will soon run out of money.' It then took a clean piece of paper out and started writing again.

'I saw what you did there. A few others decided to join me. Like' He wrote another unreadable name. 'He's the one that bandaged your ear.' His mouthless face then shifted and twisted, just like Cosmo's face, as if he was smiling.

'And I need you to rouse the masses.'

Comments

[Prince Leviathan]

Trixie messes up a spell, Starts a Rebellion.

Must've been a Tuesday

[Elidjz]

11228842
A normal tuesday.