The Eternal Sphere

by Xarmar13

Norton

Six days had passed aboard Twilight’s ship. During that time, Twilight and the Liengods discussed their knowledge of Symbology and other scientific areas. The conversations allowed the Leingods to gradually relax around the Ponies.

Lyra had not been very cheerful since she learned about Sophia’s secret. For her powers to be nearly fully committed to keeping an infestation at bay without trying to eliminate it was a mystery. Another mystery would be why the girl’s powers were even acting against it in the first place. Normally, one would need to actively use their psychic powers to deal with an infestation but those powers were acting without the knowledge of the host. Lyra had never seen such a phenomenon in the thousand years she had been alive.

This was one mystery that was going to take some time to solve.

Peppita had kept the crew entertained by performing dances in the cafeteria. She mentioned that she could perform symbology by channeling it through her dances. Apparently, the circus performer had learned to use unusual symbols that were not commonly used but still fell into the attack, support, or healing categories.

She demonstrated this by invoking a large symbol on the ground while she danced. Once the symbol was complete, she unleashed it in the form of a healing wave that affected everyone in the room.

Twilight evaluated the ability and while it had its uses, it had far too much channel time and she could easily be interrupted if a foe were smart enough to attack her. If Peppita was going to come along on the journey, Twilight would need to find a way to improve her symbological efficiency.

Sophia was evaluated next. Twilight applauded her skills as a mage. The girl was able to cast her spells efficiently and on the move like she could, which would mean that she could be a useful tactical asset without being a burden on her allies.

Lyra, however, seemed to frown as she watched.

Twilight noticed her partner’s expression. “What’s the matter, Lyra?”

Lyra grumbled then sighed. “It’s not that I don’t think her casting skills are bad, but she has so much power in her and she’s unable to use it. So much potential and it’s being wasted on an internal war.”

“There’s not much I can do about that,” Twilight said. “The only ones who could help her in this situation are you and Sweetie Drops.”

“I can’t do anything to the infestation except burn it, which in this case would likely kill Sophia. I do have an idea though, but I want her to come to me, ready and willing to accept and commit to my offer. I just hope that she doesn’t drown in her own power if she does accept.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it too much, Lyra.” Twilight put a hand on her partner’s shoulder. “You’re one of the best trainers in Equestria. If anyone can teach her to control her powers, it’s you.” Lyra smiled in response.

An alarm blared briefly to alert the occupants of the ship before an announcement was made by the ship’s computer.

“We have arrived at the last known coordinates of the escape pod. We are currently holding orbit over Vanguard III, an underdeveloped planet. Please review to the Underdeveloped Planet Preservation Pact if transport to the surface is intended. Civilization level: equivalent to sixteenth-century Earth.”

Twilight frowned before she looked at Lyra. “Take Sophia and Peppita and head down to the surface. Gear Sophia for battle and use the replicator to make her a staff. I don’t know if the people down there have knowledge of Symbology so don’t cast spells while the natives are looking.

“One other thing, since we are trying to avoid using tech, and while I know that you can turn your armor into something fitting, you can’t use your energy blades down there. I’d suggest using the replicator to craft yourself a pair of wrist blades.”

Lyra nodded before getting up and taking the children to the ship’s armory, which Lyra purposefully avoided while giving a tour to the children earlier.

There, Sophia was outfitted in a black sleeveless suit, a blue short jacket with an armored mantle, a black knee-length skirt, and blue boots. She was given a blue rod with a crescent moon shape at the end colored in shades of blue, pink and yellow with a purple crystal orb in the center. For some reason, Sophia never truly felt comfortable using the staff, but it was the only weapon she knew how to use.

Lyra crafted a pair of leather armbands with retractable blades. She did cheat a little by enchanting the blades to extend to a longer length than the blades had any business being so she wouldn’t feel like her normal attack range was affected. While she wouldn’t be able to cut through her foes like before, she still had plenty of tricks available to her.

Peppita was fine with what she was wearing.

Once the trio was prepared, they headed to the transporter to head down to the planet in search of Fayt.

---

Earlier…

Fayt groaned as he opened his eyes and slowly sat up. Surprisingly, he felt well rested despite his recent stressful experiences.

He then recalled the strange dream he had before he woke up. He was in a place that resembled the evacuation facility and there was fire everywhere. His parents and Sophia were on the other side of a wall of fire while being in the line of fire of several Vendeeni troops. Just as they were about to fire at his family, however, a deep blue light flashed before his eyes before he saw Sophia, clad in blue armor and wielding energy blades on her wrists, rushing at the soldiers faster than he thought possible and cutting them down. After that, the blaze died down and he was soon embraced by his family and loved ones. That was the last thing he remembered before he woke up.

After assessing himself, he started scanning his surroundings. The room he was in appeared run down with wooden crates and barrels in one corner of the room with a table and two chairs next to the crates. There was a wooden bookshelf in another corner in front of him that contained less books and more plants, dishes and bottles; probably used as a pantry. To his right was another bookshelf that contained more books.

Fayt had to remind himself that he was on a planet with medieval technology.

A small child with maroon hair wearing a red shirt with sleeves that were too long for her and a green vest walked into the room and noticed that her guest was awake. Her ears were long and pointed.

She was carrying a tray with a pitcher and a cup. She placed the tray on the nearby table. “I’ll leave some water here, okay?” she said. She then hurried out of the room yelling for someone named “Niklas”.

A few moments later, an older boy, yet still a child, with the same ears as the girl walked into the room with the girl behind him. He wore a green shirt and a vest that matched his hair color, which was the same color as the girl’s hair. The resemblance told Fayt that the two were likely brother and sister.

“Are you feeling well? Does it hurt anywhere?” the boy asked.

“No, I’m not hurting anywhere,” Fayt responded.

“That’s a relief, my little sister, Meena,” he gestured to the girl next to him, “found you collapsed just outside our village. I carried you to our home.”

“I see, thank you both for rescuing me.”

“It was nothing, really.”

“Still, I should at least introduce myself, my name is Fayt Leingod.”

“I’m Niklas, and you have already met Meena.” Niklas paused for a moment before his expression tensed. “Your clothes and ears are different from anything we usually see around here. Are you one of Norton’s men?”

“Norton? Who’s that?”

“You don’t know Norton?” Fayt shook his head in response to Niklas’ question. The boy relaxed his posture. “In that case, never mind. My apologies for the odd question.”

After that, the siblings insisted that Fayt get more rest. Now that he thought about it, his muscles were feeling a little sore from his sudden burst of activity after taking it easy for a week.

Niklas left the room, leaving Fayt alone with Meena again. “He looks so young, yet so mature for his age,” he observed.

“He takes good care of me. After mommy and daddy vanished in a flash of light, Niklas promised to be the best big brother ever.” Tears fell from her eyes as memories of her parents resurfaced. She excused herself and walked out of the room.

With nothing else to do, Fayt returned to his slumber.

---

It was midday when Fayt woke up again. He got out of bed to stretch his muscles before he began exploring the village.

He noticed that his sword was missing, probably kept hidden by Niklas. He didn’t need it for exploring the area so he let the matter lie for the time being.

He learned that the village was called Whipple and the villagers were very wary of him. He also learned that the source of the village’s wariness was because their first encounter with a stranger ended up with the village being under the oppression of someone named Norton. Fayt couldn’t blame the villagers for how they felt.

Fayt noticed that Norton had left a sign in the middle of the village that detailed his demands in the form of a long list of “commandments” that would leave the mind reeling from trying to read all of them.

With nothing else to see, Fayt returned to Niklas and Meena’s house.

Fayt quickly spotted Meena looking at what appeared to be a music box. When he asked about it, Niklas entered the room and explained that the box came from their mother and was the only thing they had left to remember her. He also mentioned the box being broken.

Fayt figured that he could use the pod’s replicator to synthesize parts for the box if he returned to it. He did want to repay the siblings’ kindness, after all.

In order to traverse the forest again, however, Fayt needed his sword. With some reluctance, Niklas gave back the sword that he had confiscated from Fayt when he was unconscious.

Armed once more, Fayt left the village and entered the forest again, once again fighting off tiny slimes and irritating noblemen.

Thankfully, he was well rested this time and was in better condition to make the trek through the forest.

What came as a surprise to Fayt was when he returned to the escape pod and noticed the new state of the pod. The hull had been ripped apart and there were components and equipment missing from the wreckage. This could only mean that someone salvaged the pod parts.

This didn’t make sense though, there was no way for the residents of the planet to know what parts to salvage.

Fayt began to suspect that he wasn’t the only offworder on Vanguard III right now. He didn’t want to believe that to be the case but it was the only explanation that made sense in this situation. If the mysterious Norton, who the villagers mentioned made people disappear with a flash of light, really was an offworlder, then he was likely breaking the tenets of the UP3.

Speculation was getting him nowhere, so with nothing left for him to do, he returned to Whipple.

Niklas and Meena happily welcomed Fayt back to their house, relieved for his safety. Niklas mentioned that Norton’s gang was last seen in the forest where Fayt went and feared that he would end up encountering them.

“What can you tell me about Norton and his gang?” Fayt asked.

This made Niklas tense and lower his head before he took a deep breath and began, “I do not know everything myself. He…Norton appeared suddenly in our village about half a year past. He ordered the village to supply him with food. Of course, we refused at first. The village needs its supplies to survive the harsh winter. He was, in fact, ordering the village to die. But when people refused him, he called upon this mysterious light and those it touched disappeared, one after the other. Our family and friends have all disappeared, including our parents.

“We told our lord, but he dismissed the idea of people with such a power to be utter nonsense and refused to send aid. Some of the villagers have even joined Norton’s gang out of fear.”

Fayt suspected what that light might be, but needed a little more info to be sure. “You mentioned before about my clothes and ears.”

“Yes, Norton also wore clothes that were neither linen nor cotton like yours, it was why I feared you were associated with Norton before. Your ears were shaped like his as well.”

There was no doubt about it, Norton was not from this world. For him to strip the pod like he did, he would need to have knowledge of the equipment to do so.

The mysterious light was either Symbology or an energy weapon, or both.

It seemed dangerous, but he felt that he needed to have a talk with Norton. Even though he was convinced that that was a bad idea, Fayt had no other options on how to get off the planet since the distress beacon was disabled. If Norton had a means to get off the planet, it may be his only chance.

While Fayt assured Meena that he would get the music box parts, Niklas insisted that he didn’t need to do anything to repay them. However, Fayt was already determined to do just that.

Fayt, Niklas and Meena enjoyed a meal together. As they ate, Fayt noticed that Niklas seemed distant while his sister was bombarding Fayt with probing questions. Whenever Fayt said anything to Niklas, the boy was either startled from his thoughts, gave some noncommittal grunts, or paid no attention to Fayt.

After he finished, Niklas excused himself and left the house. Fayt kept Meena company for a few hours. It was evening but Niklas had not come back yet. The younger sister was worried that something had happened to him so Fayt decided to go looking around the village for Niklas.

He soon discovered that Niklas was nowhere to be found in the village and asked the villagers where he could have gone. Most kept silent while some gave harsh comments. At least one villager was nice enough to tell Fayt about the nearby ruins that Norton was staying at. That villager prayed that Niklas had not ventured to those ruins but it seemed to be the best place to find the boy at this point.

Fayt left the village and into the forest. The mentioned ruins were, thankfully, nearby so he entered the ruins in search of Niklas.

---

At the same time, Lyra, Peppita and Sophia had finally located the pod. Much to everyone’s surprise, the pod was stripped.

“That’s strange,” Peppita commented. “Do you think Fayt needed the parts for something?”

“I don’t think Fayt did this,” Sophia said with a shake of her head. “He’s fully aware of the UP3 and would never do something that would risk exposing advanced technology to an underdeveloped planet.”

“Regardless, we need to destroy the pod,” Lyra said. “We can’t leave the wreckage here for the natives to find.”

Lyra gathered her psionic powers and charged a large amount of energy. Sophia and Peppita moved behind the mare to brace for the coming blast.

A few moments later, the pod was engulfed in a raging maelstrom of psionic power and was quickly disintegrated.

“I wonder if I can do that,” Sophia thought. She learned that she had a lot of power within her but no way of letting it out at present. Seeing the display of power Lyra unleashed made Sophia curious about her own power and what she could be capable of.

The trio trekked through the forest, dealing with any aggressive lifeforms along the way. One nobleman ran up to Sophia whining, “What do you think you’re doing?” That creature was grabbed by Peppita’s cape and slammed into a tree before she summoned a trio of knives made of ice out of thin air and used her cape to smack the knives into the nobleman’s body. Sophia burned a few slimes with a Fire Bolt.

Their trek took them to the entrance of a ruin. They hid in some nearby foliage when they noticed someone else in the area. The man had blonde hair, wore tight black clothes, and had a pair of gauntlets designed as weapons. He looked around long enough to give the group a view of his ringed neck tattoo.

The man casually walked into the ruins and began searching for something. Lyra activated her Shadow Walk ability to become invisible and extended its effect onto Peppita and Sophia. The trio followed the man around the ruins.

In the first area, Lyra noted the number ‘2’ on one of the walls that was painted on it. Whether that was paint or blood, none of them preferred to know.

Beyond the first area, the trio watched as the man engaged noblemen as well as another humanoid creature that looked dressed as a thief wielding a knife. As Lyra figured, the man fought with his fists and feet. She also noticed that he had a style to his fighting which suggested that he was a martial artist. That became evident when he generated a sphere using his spirit which unleashed short range shockwaves.

The group continued to explore the ruins and eventually discovered a painted ‘5’ in a small alcove.

Another enemy faced the fighter in the form of mushroom people. These creatures looked like giant mushrooms with thick arms and a face at the stipe. There were smaller versions of that foe accompanying it, likely younger versions of the big enemy.

The mushroom monsters shrieked when the fighter got near them. This caused the man to clutch his head in pain before he kicked the creature away. Since that attack, the martial artist’s movements became more sluggish. This suggested to Lyra that he was lacking in mental fortitude.

While he was able to defeat the mushroom monsters, he verbally made a note to himself to avoid those creatures in the future.

The group eventually found a mostly intact building and a trio of Vanguardians in a twitching pile. There was a ‘6’ painted on the wall.

“At least the kid can fight,” the man mumbled.

“I wonder who they are,” Sophia thought.

That thought was read by Lyra. “No idea, maybe bandits,” she responded. “Ruins are often used as hideouts for small-time gangs.”

While the response surprised Sophia slightly, she realized that she shouldn’t have been since she knew Lyra was actively psychic. Mind reading and telepathy should have been expected.

The fighter checked the door into the building and pushed it open before heading inside. Thankfully, he didn’t bother closing it so it was easy for Lyra’s group to sneak inside.

The first room they came across appeared to be a storeroom. Everyone’s guess was that the thugs outside stored whatever they stole in this room. Crates and barrels were stacked all over the room while leaving a path to the next room clear. Seeing nothing of value, everyone moved on to the next room.

Fayt was spotted fighting his way down a corridor against a few animated skeletons which made Lyra wonder why anyone would choose to hide out in a building that was saturated in necromantic magic.

Regardless, the fighter headed in the direction Fayt went while Lyra’s group went another direction when they discovered a light coming from a room that Fayt had exited from.

Inside, they noticed that the room appeared to be housing high-tech equipment. The equipment was set up in such a way that whoever lived here knew their way around advanced machinery. They quickly figured that the equipment came from Fayt’s escape pod. Lyra made a note to destroy the equipment later.

A nearby explosion drew their attention away from the discovery. Whatever happened, it came from the direction Fayt and the fighter went. Lyra, Peppita and Sophia rushed out of the room and down the hallway to the only door at the end where they saw the blonde stranger lurking around the doorway.

Before anyone could say anything, someone inside the next room shouted “FREEZE” before the sound of shots being fired was heard.

Not wanting to escalate the situation more than necessary, the fighter and Lyra’s group eavesdropped on the conversation in the next room, the man still being unaware of the invisible group next to him.

Fayt called the other person Norton who appeared to have a huge ego given that he gave himself the title of “Norton the Great”. Fayt also pointed out that Norton was using a phase gun and that he was not from Vanguard III. Norton confirmed this by mentioning that he was from Rezerb.

Lyra quietly queried the Sphere database for information on Rezerb and learned that the planet was a criminal haven.

Descriptions of Rezerbian biology indicated that they had features that resembled vampires, based on their sensitivity to sunlight and their ability to drain the fluids of other people. The people were egomaniacal in general and often committed atrocious acts for their own amusement.

According to Norton’s monologue, he was captured by the Federation and was sentenced to live on a prison planet. Norton sabotaged the engines of the prison transport and escaped to Vanguard III while the ship blew up, killing the entire crew before they were aware of the sabotage.

Apparently, Norton now intended to take over Vanguard III and rule it for the rest of his days. He had no care for the lives he took along the way as long as he realized his dream of living like a king.

There was also a mention of his minions bringing someone named Niklas to him. Apparently, the child demanded to the minions to see Norton and demanded to him that he return Fayt's belongings. That ended up with Norton torturing the kid until he was rendered unconscious in one of the nearby cells.

“This guy is the worst kind of scum,” thought Lyra, the fighter and Fayt at the same time.

As Norton reached the end of his monologue and prepared to kill Fayt, the boy’s temper began to spike as his hatred toward the monster before him rose. That was when Fayt began to glow, thaumic levels beginning to rise sharply.

“This is bad,” Lyra thought as she sensed the spike. “If those thaum readings continue to rise, he could collapse the building on top of everyone.”

That was when the blonde fighter had enough and casually walked in, drawing everyone’s attention. “Ah, there you are,” he said. The surprise entrance caused Fayt to lose focus on Norton and the glow faded. “I thought I lost you when your distress signal went out. Took me a lot of effort to track you here.”

“What do you want?” Norton demanded. “You’re not one of them Federation guys are ya?”

“Ha, good one,” the fighter remarked. “As if I’d be associated with those bastards. The name’s Cliff Fittir, a Klausian and member of Quark.”

Norton took a step back in surprise. “A K-Klausian!? Why the hell would Quark even come to this planet in the first place?”

Cliff pointed at Fayt, “Look, just let me have Fayt, that Earthling over there, and we can leave you to whatever you wanna do to this world. I have no intention of butting in to whatever you’re doing here.

While Fayt had no idea how this Cliff knew who he was, that was a matter to look into later when they didn’t have a phase gun pointed at them.

“You think I’ll believe that crap?” Norton yelled. “There’s no way a Klausian would come here. You’re some sort of Federation spy!”

Cliff rolled his eyes, “Look, I’m trying to be nice here. Just drop the matter and let us leave in peace before things get messy.”

Norton was having none of that and started firing at Cliff. The Klausian nimbly dodged each of Norton’s shots and quickly closed the gap between them. Cliff punched Norton in the chest and into a wall in response. “I warned ya.”

Norton responded by sending a series of Fire Bolts at Cliff who couldn’t dodge them like he could the shots because of the fiery balls’ ability to change direction. A few bolts hit their mark and scorched Cliff a little.

Norton used the distraction to move behind Fayt and pointed his gun at his head. “Make one move and I’ll blow this kid’s head off.”

That was when Norton received a sudden kick to the gut from a hoof and was sent flying through the bars of an empty prison cell.

Cliff was surprised by the sudden arrival but relieved when this newcomer prevented a hostage situation. “Thanks for the assist. I dunno who you are but that doesn’t matter right now.”

Norton emerged from the prison cell looking battered. His dark eyes widened in surprise at the newcomer in the form of Lyra. “Now I have to deal with an Equestrian?!”

“Don’t forget about us,” said Sophia who revealed herself alongside Peppita who Norton recognized as a Velbaysian.

Norton grit his teeth. He was in an unfavorable situation against two Earthlings, a Klausian, a Velbaysian and an Equestrian. He was greatly outnumbered and outclassed in strength, especially since the Klausian and Velbaysian were naturally very strong. However, he refused to let his ambitions end here.

“This world…is mine! This is my kingdom! As it’s ruler, I will see you all die!” Norton declared.

“He seems to be losing it,” Lyra thought.

Norton continued the fight by launching a wave of Ice Needles while mixing in shots from his rifle. Cliff took a few hits and ended up frozen when the needles spread a chill through his body. Sophia noticed this and cast a Cure Condition symbol on Cliff to thaw him. Lyra’s energy shield absorbed most of the needles and shots. Peppita retaliated by throwing a series of Frozen Daggers at Norton who blocked the knives with his gun.

Norton took advantage of the small space to unleash an Earth Glaive spell at everyone in front of him. The group had enough space to jump out of the way of the erupting spikes of rock with some difficulty.

Fayt moved in to unleash a series of slashes from his longsword which were either dodged or parried by Norton’s rifle. He kicked Fayt away in time to duck under a punch from Cliff which was aimed for his head. Cliff had to jump back to avoid a few pointblank rounds from Norton's rifle.

Norton noticed Sophia channeling attack symbols and quickly fired a few shots at her to either kill her or force her to move and interrupt the cast. Sophia was forced to abandon the cast and jump to the side to avoid getting hit. When she attempted to cast on the move, Norton increased the pressure on her with an Earth Glaive. “Dammit, casting takes too long and he’s keeping me pressured despite all the pressure on him.”

As Norton fired more rounds at Fayt and Sophia, Lyra was losing her patience with the madman. The fighting was damaging the ancient structure and if they didn’t finish things now, they could all be in danger.

Lyra lowered her guard on purpose and Norton picked up on that before using his free arm to grab her by the neck and his other arm pointing his weapon at her head. “Put down your weapons or I’ll drain her of her blood.” Norton demanded. Everyone hesitated for a moment before they lowered their arms. Norton relaxed a little, believing that he was victorious.

That was the moment when Lyra smirked as her eyes glowed crimson. Using her power to channel Void energies, she quickly drained Norton of his life force. Norton didn’t have time to react before he realized that exhaustion was quickly taking him. He screamed in pain as his life force left him. A moment later, he lacked the strength to lift his rifle and dropped it on the floor. He let Lyra go and fell to the floor himself.

Lyra interrupted the drain while leaving Norton with just enough life to not be in immediate danger. He was left emaciated on the floor. To ensure that he was no longer a threat to the locals, she made sure to strip him of his armor and weapon, leaving him with only the bare minimum of clothes. Without the armor, Norton wouldn’t be able to venture into the sunlight again without a parasol or something to block the light.

While removing his armor, Lyra secretly inscribed a symbol onto him that would prevent him from using symbols. It was a symbol devised by the Equestrians that was not shared with the denizens of the Eternal Sphere for security purposes. While there was a Silence symbol to prevent casting, the one Lyra used was permanent.

Norton was left where he fell while the group returned to the room with the pod equipment. Fayt carried Niklas with him. He then put the unconscious boy down and used the replicator to create some music box parts and a number of bombs to destroy the equipment while minimizing further damage to the structure. Once the bombs were set, everyone left the basement, with Fayt carrying an unconscious Niklas, and the explosives were detonated.

Now that the danger had passed, Fayt moved to hug Sophia, glad to see her again. Peppita hugged Fayt from behind.

Lyra used the replicator earlier to create a can of paint. Using that paint, she placed information about Norton being inside and a warning about sunlight being dangerous for him in case the natives were looking for a way to deal with him.

Once that moment was over, Cliff handed Fayt a spare communicator so he could understand alien languages again when he saw him detonate communicator to open Niklas' prison door earlier. “Thanks,” Fayt said. “And thanks for coming to my rescue.”

Cliff shook his head, “Don’t go thanking me just yet. Ya see, I’ve come to abduct you.”

Author's Note:

Some part of me may have felt like I left out important details. If you feel that I left something out, please let me know.

Comments

[Black--Soul]

Update? Thanks

[Black--Soul]

Very entertaining little adventure. Sooo... Is it a friendly abduction or the not so friendly ones?

[Xarmar13]

11067167
Stay tuned to Chapter 6 to find out.

[Black--Soul]

11067209
Always

[Black--Soul]

Wanne be cruel king is a lunatic that get what he deserved!
Great reading material.