Verserian Rifts and Their Properties (Prologue)
My Little Pony: The Rift
by RionZT
DISCLAIMER: I do not own My Little Pony or any of its related content or characters. All My Little Pony-related themes and characters are registered trademarks of their respective owners.
Only the plot of the story and the two OC's included are my own.
Verserian Rifts and Their Properties
Verserian Rifts are strange occurrences indeed. This journal of scientific experiences with these such Rifts should give you, the reader, some insight on the workings of these wonders of magic.
A Verserian Rift is an event in which a Rift, a tear in the fabric of space, opens somewhere in our realm of Versera. Unfortunately, these Rifts are highly unpredictable in their frequency and appearance, as well as their destinations. These Rifts have however, fully proven the existence of other Realms, separate from our own plane of existence. Scientists and explorers who have made it in and out of Rifts with their lives have given us very invaluable information as to how these phenomena work. A Rift is a very powerful magical occurrence that is quite capable of disabling any and all nearby magical devices.
When a Rift initially opens, a strong gravitational pull may drag any close objects or living beings near it into the rift. Though most make it through the Rifts alive, some do not. According to Rift Travelers, passing through a Rift puts great strain on the body and is very draining of magical energy, most likely for the Rift to sustain itself. While most Rifts will lead to a habitable realm, some do not. It has been the case on more than a single occasion where a Rift lead to open space, killing the explorers near instantly. While tragic, their deaths further proved the dangerous properties of Rifts.
As if that wasn't enough, we have deduced that are at least two types of Rifts. The first, a normal Rift, behaves as explained as above, as far as most scientists know. The second Rift is simply known as a No-Return or One-Way Rift. As the name suggests, These Rifts collapse in on themselves as matter passes through it, preventing those sent through from ever returning to Versera. Though this has only happened occasionally, it has forced explorers to be more cautious when treading through territory where Rifts are known to open. Furthermore--
“Rion,” said a female voice, accompanied by the sound of someone rapidly tapping on glass. “Come on, are you ever going to stop reading that book?”
Rion sighed in slight annoyance and closed the tome, setting it neatly on the shelf beside him.
“Hold on Aurora, I'll be right out,” he said with a mild irritation in his voice. Oh, how he hated getting interrupted when in the middle of a good read. He grunted slighly and stood up from his chair, stretching his arms and yawning. He was much more tired than he thought. More tapping on the glass brought Rion out of his thoughts as he let a slight groan escape his lips.
He trodded to the door, taking loud and deliberate steps to show his disturber how annoyed he was. Rion opened the door, raising his arm to shield his eyes from the sudden invasion of sunlight. Rion then directed his attention to the green-haired young woman in front of him. She was of average height and weight, wearing a simple cream-colored shirt and teal pants, and a pair of white sandals with a floral design near the pinky toe. Her short, forest-green hair came just down to her shoulders, while a few strands of hair hung lazily above her eyes in the front, while her golden-amber eyes gleamed with a light that shone with hope and determination that could never be extinguished. She stood there for a moment, grinning at him, but her smile slowly faded as Rion failed to respond.
“Uh, Rion... are you alright?” Aurora asked, waving a hand in front of his face.
“Hm? Oh... sorry. Lost in thought,” Rion replied as he snapped back to reality.
“You do that a lot lately, are you sure you're alright?” Aurora asked, seeming unconvinced.
“Yeah,” Rion said, moving his hand up to brush some of his somewhat longer and shaggier brown hair out of his eyes. Rion stepped further outside, now standing fully in the sunlight. He was only a few inches taller than Aurora, and wore a plain red t-shirt and a dark pair of blue jeans. He wore a simple pair of black shoes, and a jet black jacket over his shirt. Around his neck rested a silver cross-shaped necklace with a sapphire embedded in the middle; a memento from his mother. His hair stopped just at his shoulders in the back light Aurora's, but was slightly longer in the front, his bangs partially hiding his lavender-colored eyes. Squinting, Rion rose his arm again to block out the sunlight.
“Rion, I have an idea,” Aurora said as she snapped her fingers and smiled. “How about you step out of the sunlight?”
“Yes, we're all amused by your sense of humor,” Rion retorted quickly as he stepped out of the sun's direct path and into the shade. “Now what is it you wanted? I was in the middle of a good read.”
“Well, nothing much, I just figured we could go for a walk or something,” Aurora shrugged.
“A walk? You bothered me just for a walk?” Rion crossed his arms and gave her an annoyed stare.
“It's been a while since we've spent some time together, you're always shut up in your house and... I don't know, I guess I thought you would enjoy some company for once,” Aurora said as she looked away, her feelings a bit hurt from the reply her friend gave.
“Alright, I'm sorry,” Rion sighed. “You could have at least let me finish the page I was on, though”
“Pft, if I didn't stop you then, you'd be reading all night, like usual,” Aurora replied as she crossed her own arms.
“I suppose that's true enough,” Rion laughed lightly. “Alright, so where are we going?”
Aurora's face lit up as soon as he asked. She promptly locked her arm around his and dragged him off in a seemingly random direction. Rion simply rolled his eyes and allowed her to lead him to... wherever it was they were going. After about five minutes of walking, Rion opened his mouth to speak.
“Aurora, where--” Rion began.
“Shh. We're close,” Aurora interjected.
Rion remained silent during the remainder of the trip. After a few minutes, Rion could see where she was leading him. They strode silently up to a small hill where many Cosmos bipinnatus flowers were growing. The flowers were planted after the fall of a mad dictator in this very spot, to symbolize the new wave a peace ushered in by his defeat. Rion remembered the day well. He and his friends were responsible for it, after all. It was the most difficult battle they had ever been in, but in the end, they managed to succeed. After a few minutes of gazing at the field of flowers, Rion started to feel odd... Almost like someone, or something, was watching them. Rion peeked from the corners of his eyes as far as his peripheral vision would allow, hoping his target was within his current range of vision. Sure enough, he noticed a figure standing behind a nearby tree. The shadow of the tree as well as the ones of other trees in the vicinity hid him well, but not well enough.
Rion quickly spun around, focusing his magical energy through his arm and out of his hand as he outstretched it toward his intended target. Just as he pointed his arm out toward the tree, a baseball-sized orb of pure magical energy rocketed from the palm of his hand and smashed through the tree, hitting the ground a short distance back, causing a mild explosion. Aurora turned in shock at the sudden explosion, glancing at Rion with an alarmed expression on her face.
“Rion, what the h-”
“Someone was watching us,” Rion cut her off. “And before you say anything, no, I don't think they're friendly.”
Aurora just frowned, returning her attention to the smoldering crater in the ground. After a moment, they heard quiet laughter which grew louder over time, eventually evolving into a mad cackle. From the voice, they could tell it was male, and he was older, most likely into his late thirties or mid-forties. Whoever he was, it was clear he did not have any good intentions. The man stepped out from behind the treeline, most of his features hidden beneath a dark gray robe he wore over his body.
“Greetings, Rion Tarokai and Aurora Hakuketsu. Such a pleasure, such a pleasure. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to kill you,” he said as a mad grin crept onto his face. He started to walk toward them, Rion taking a defensive stance in front of Aurora, fully prepared to fight back. Then, out of nowhere, a cracking noise was heard.
Crrrrraa....cckkkk...
The man stopped his approach, startled by the sudden noise. Rion turned his head behind him to see...what appeared to be a white line floating in the space behind them. It was glowing an ethereal white, and appeared to be shaped like a-
ccccrr....
“Oh, shi--”
With a terrible screeching sound, like nails scraping against glass, a Verserian Rift tore open behind the pair with explosive force, the gravitational pull of its initial opening ripping Rion and Aurora of their feet and toward the Rift behind them. Unable to gain any footing, Rion and Aurora watched as they were helplessly dragged into the Rift, instantly feeling the strain on their bodies. It was intense, the pressure on their bodies was immense, almost as if all their bones were being crushed at once. After mere moments into the Rift, they difted out of consciousness...
_______________________________________________________________
“Come on Twilight,” said the annoyed voice of a particular purple and green baby dragon. “We're supposed to be at Sugarcube Corner in like five minutes!”
“I know, Spike, calm down. We'll make it,” replied the lavender alicorn known as Twilight. She quickly finished reorganizing the last of the books, placing them in their appropriate places as she lifted Spike onto her back with her magic.
“Alright, let's go. Better hold on tight, Spike,” Twilight said as she flared her wings and rushed out the door of Ponyville's Golden Oak Library, preparing to take flight. However, outside her door awaited a pink earth pony with an equally pink mane and tail that looked an awful lot like cotton candy. The trio tumbled to the ground in a small heap as Twilight groaned.
“Pinkie Pie?” Twilight asked.
“Yes, Twilight?” Pinkie Pie replied, grinning ear-to-ear.
“What are you doing here, I thought we were supposed to be meeting at Sugarcube Corner?” Twilight asked quizzically.
“Well, yes, originally we WERE supposed to meet at Sugarcube Corner, but then...” Pinkie Pie stopped mid-sentence as her whole body began to shake violently.
“W-w-w-w-o-o-o-oaaahhh,” Pinkie said as she bounced around from her body vibrating. Twilight quickly perked up, quickly recognizing the Pinkie Sense from the Hydra encounter in Froggy Bottom Bog.
“Doozy?” Twilight asked.
“Yep. A super big doozy!” Pinkie exclaimed as she jumped into the air, hanging in that position for a few more moments than normal before gravity finally kicked in.
“What kind of doozy? Where is it going to happen?” Twilight remembered the last time Pinkie's sense picked up a 'doozy'. Although it wasn't the Hydra which she initially expected, she couldn't be too careful.
“It's going to happen-” A loud screeching sound was heard, similar to sharp nails scratching against glass, then, a loud 'boom', as a large, white, ethereal crack went across the sky, before exploding into a Rift, a tear in the dimensions. Twilight's eyes went wide, as she had never seen anything like it before. The explosive opening of the Rift caused a slight shockwave of energy to breeze past Ponyville, causing nearby ponies to lose their balance, and forcing pegasi ponies to land out of fear of crashing. Twilight could only stare in awe as she saw two figures fall from the strange rip in the sky. Then, as quickly as it appeared, the rip sealed, and the crack-like line disappeared.
“What in Equestria...was that?”