The ground wouldn't stop shaking. Fountains of magma penetrated the planet's surface. The oceans caught fire. The sky turned blood-red, and it seemed the world was ending before it even began.
I've seen many things over the years, but that day still clings to my head vividly and I remember one part in particular. The king had slumped to the ground after receiving a nasty blow. I was mortified, and I broke free of my mentor, and his adviser, and my own sister. I ran in between the monsters, and somehow made it to his side without dying. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion. I struggled to bring him to his feet. He got up and stared straight ahead, as if nothing hit him, and into that writhing mass of blackness. He looked down at me, and his eyes told me what he was thinking. I didn't want him to do it. I began to sob hysterically.
"Please, don't go!" I wailed. I hugged his side, refusing to let him take another step forward. He knelt down and smiled at me with a father's love, and gently kissed my cheek.
He said only one sentence before he stood up again: "Peace, child. That's all I'll ever want. I will do anything to see it happen."
As he walked into the black mass, I saw his face one last time as he looked back. It was another warm smile, and it said to me, "I don't mind if I have to die."
I broke down, begging him to find another way, but my pleas never reached him. I was being carried away by the adviser, and my mentor had my sister on his back.
As I looked up again, I saw two figures, one of pure gold, the other of black light. Both were in a gridlock, and the mighty castle and the fantastic marble architecture around it were dark and decayed. As I and my friends walked away, black fog began to surround the area until I could see no more of the city or the men.
That was the day the kingdom of Hyperborea fell.
The silver beam hit the sky, heating the air with explosive speed, and unleashing a thunderous crack. It was so intense, the ground began to tremble and split from the release of raw, unfiltered energy. Far away, from a safe distance, a shadowy figure hovered in place, cautiously watching what could be mistaken as the beginning of the apocalypse. His green eyes glued to the spot of action with a mix of awe, fear, and confusion. After the fireworks died down, the living shadow darted away.
Hundreds of miles later, the being arrived at a towering castle and its fallen grandeur. The twisted spires and shattered stained-glass mocked its former glory. He flew through a broken window, and ran up the great hall, coming to a dead stop in front of a black throne. He knelt down.
“What is your news, my subject?” inquired a high, raspy voice.
“My lord…it is time. He is here,” replied the shadow.
“Hmm?” said the figure. “So fast. I thought the worm would have taken his sweet time, ‘adjusting’ and all…sound the attack.”
The shadow looked up and a wicked grin crossed his face.
“At once, my lord.”
Earlier…
Upon awakening again, Perseus bolted upright. He felt like he hadn’t been unconscious at all, and, in fact, felt rejuvenated. He inhaled deeply.
“Ahhhhh!”
The air was sweet. No hint of pollution by carbon, by methane…by anything, really. Just the very definition of fresh air. After his breather, Perseus surveyed his surroundings.
He was in an open field, with the greenest grass imaginable. In front and to his left were dense woodland areas. Behind and to the right was a small brook, but that wasn’t the awe-inducing wonder that lay before him. Off in the distance was a towering purple mountain, and it was so high, it looked like it could be scorched by the sun at midday. He also thought he could just barely make out what appeared to be a city, or castle of some sort, jutting out from the mountain.
"Well, I guess it's time for me to get on with my adventure. What did that weirdo say? 'Follow the mountain' or somethin' of that nature. Well, here I go then!" and Perseus charged off toward the towering mountain.
It hadn't been very long before Perseus was in the thickest part of the woods. He accidentally kicked up some pollen. He coughed a little.
"Man, this is taking forever!" He coughed again. "Shouldn't...I be...at that village...by now?" His brief comments were punctuated by violent coughing fits. Odd,, he thought. Jumping over fallen logs and bounding in between trees is tiring, but I don't think it's sickness-inducing. Maybe. The coughing didn't stop and soon it got so painful, Perseus thought he might upchuck his own insides.
"Oh my *cough!* God! What the hell *hack!* is happening to make me *cough!* feel like shit!?" He slowed down, stopped, and for a brief second, all was well. Then the hurricane landed.
He felt like he'd been struck by lightning. The pain was sharp, sharp as a knife, and he fell to his hands and knees, hacking up blood in between forced gulps of air.
"Oh, Jesus! What's...happening...to me!!??" he screamed. He felt the inside of his body bending, over and over, into new shapes.
"Wha-what...is my body...rebuilding itself?!?"
All at once, Perseus' body glowed silver, and twisted into such contortions he turned into a ball of energy. In mere seconds, he unleashed the pent-up fury inside him, and a pillar of light shot out from his spherical being.
His eyes popped open. He must have been out for a couple hours, because the sun was beginning to set.
"Oh, Lord...feels like I died and got brought back to life again. At least the pain's over now. Just gotta find my way over that tow-"
As Perseus brought his hand to his face, he realized something. He didn't have hands anymore, he had hooves, and he was "standing" on all fours.
Even from a few miles away, a hiker in the woods could clearly hear an ear-splitting, "OH, MY GOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!"
Perseus was glad he was out of that forest. It would be pretty embarrassing to have no idea how to control a this pony's body-his own body-and constantly be bumping into trees. At last, he could see his destination. A small village.
"Ow! Damn! What is this...some kinda-ow!-cruel mockery of a horse!? Man, I can't go into any town looking like this. What am I gonna do?"
He mused on his situation, and then an idea came to him.
"I think...if I've got it in this satchel-ah HA!" and he pulled it out. It was his old blanket.
"Hallelujah, I'm saved! They can see me in this, but they don't have to know who I am!" Perseus charged off enthusiastically, relieved and ready to carry on.
Minutes later, the sun had finally gone down. However, that didn't blind anypony to what was walking in their midst. They turned their heads. They stood in shock. And how could they not? A piece of the night sky was being worn on another pony.
"What a revoltin' development this is," Perseus muttered under his breath. He could swear there would be more humans around, not other freaks like him in his current shape. A yellow-colored passerby with a samurai-style ponytail turned his head in disbelief, and ran straight into a tree.
Perseus sighed. "Perfect. I have no idea where I am, no idea how to get out of my current situation and absolutely no freaking idea what to do! This can't get any worse..."
It did.
His musing caused him to become distracted, and he ran head on into a ladder. To make matters worse, another pony was on top of said ladder, hanging up a banner of silver and deep-space blue.
"Oi! Watch where your walkin', ya freakshow!"
I could've called you that much, Perseus thought.
"Sorry, buddy."
"I'll say y'are! What's yer problem?"
"JEE-zus, why are you all riled up?"
"Oh, me? Nothin'. I've just been hangin' up decorations all day for tha Lunar Festival!"
"The what?" Perseus cocked his head to one side questioningly. The older stallions jaw almost hit the floor.
"Yer pulling my leg, right? Right? The Lunar Festival. It's the exact same thing as the Summer Festival, but in honor of Princess Luna. It's during the night. Seriously kid, are ya from another planet?"
The irony of this statement made Perseus almost burst out in hysterical laughter.
"Oh, you wouldn't believe me if I told you, old man," and he chuckled a little bit.
"Eh...okay, kid," the older stallion laughed nervously. "But, if yer still confused, ya may want to check out the library. Just a thought."
Perseus perked up. "The library!" he exclaimed. "Excellent! I need answers, and I'm gonna get answers! Which way, sir?"
"Um...That'a way," he said, aiming his hoof in the direction of town square. "Can't miss it. It is a tree, after all."
Perseus cocked his head again. "A...tree...?" He paused.
"Well, that seems legit!" he piped, and he bounded off.
The stallion was right. This had to be the local library, ridiculous as it seemed. The sign on the front said so. Perseus looked around cautiously, brought his hoof up, and knocked lightly on the door. No answer.
He knocked again, a little harder this time.
No answer.
He shrugged, reached for the knob and tried-and failed-to turn it.
"Damn hooves," he muttered.
After fifteen minutes of wrestling with the lock, he finally got the door open. The whole place was dark, but it wasn't pitch black. Perseus could see just a few feet in front of him. After letting his eyes adjust for a minute, he saw rows upon rows, columns upon endless columns of books on the shelves.
"Yikes. It's a bookworm's wet dream."
He walked over to the nearest shelf.
"Hmm...ancient incantations, charms, list of black magic, spells, transformations...I realize, now that I've gotten here, I don't even know what I'm looking for," he admitted to himself. "Well, best option now is to-"
He snatched as many books as he could carry in his hooves and started reading.
"-Grab a shit-ton of'em and hope for the best."
Not very far away...
Twilight was walking slowly back into town square with Spike hunched over on her back. She and all her friends had been helping out around Ponyville by hanging up decorations for the Lunar Festival. They all had finally finished after starting mid-afternoon.
"Well, we got through a lot of work in a very small amount of time. You should be proud of yourselves!" Twilight told her friends.
"That's true," Rainbow Dash replied. "Well, except Rarity. She tried to get out of hanging streamers across the clouds."
"Rainbow Dash, dear, you know very well that I'm afraid of heights."
"Then explain to me just why you interrupted the Best Young Flyers competition again?"
"I already said I was sorry!" Rarity exclaimed. She quickly regained her poise.
"Besides," she added nervously, "falling more than five-hundred feet into certain doom will do that to you, especially somepony like me."
"Oh, man. I'm exhausted," Spike said.
"Don't worry, Spike. I'll tuck you into bed nice and quick when we get home."
"Aww, Twilight! I don't wanna miss the festival!" Spike whined. Twilight chuckled to herself.
Works every time, she thought.
Suddenly, a bright, crystalline flash lit up the sky, and began to hurdle its way toward town square. Stopping on a dime, it released a shockwave that was followed by the sound of tinkling glass. It was a carriage that, seemingly, had the texture of diamonds.
"Twilight, do ya think that might be..."
"Yes, it is!"
Twilight took off too fast for Spike to react, and in a matter of seconds he had face-planted into the ground. Emerging from the carriage was Cadence, the Crystal Princess herself, and of course, Shining Armor. Twilight bounded up to them and bear-hugged her brother.
After letting go of some air on impact, Shining Armor exclaimed, "Twily! Ha-ha! Good to see you again!"
"You too, B.B.B.F.F.! Why are you here, though?"
"Just thought I'd come see my favorite sister!" he said.
Cadence added wryly, "And he's going to be commanding a bastion for the grand finale."
Armor rolled his eyes and blushed a bit as Twilight's friends rushed over to join the festivities.
"Hey, I think the festival's going to start soon, so why don't we go over to my place and play some games to pass the time?"
"Oh, boy! Games! Wait, wait, games like hide'n'seek? That'd be kinda boring! How about Truth or Dare?"
"Pinkie, relax. Ahm sure Twilight's got more than enough ideas in her head," Applejack reassured her.
"You have fun, then! I'll go find Aunt Celestia," Cadence told them.
"Bullshit."
Perseus threw another book against the wall in disgust. "Okay, that one's useless. Did I try...that one?" He picked up another. "Bah! Read this already!" and he threw that against the wall, too. The minor vibrations alerted an owl, who had been sleeping on its perch.
"Damn. I think I've looked through every single one of-" Perseus perked up his ears. He could faintly make out voices, coming from the back of the tree. He paused and looked around.
"Now what?"
The voices got louder as they rounded the library.
"Who's that?"
"Hoo?"
Perseus looked up.
"Hoo?"
"Shaddap, bird."
The voices got louder still and came close to the front door.
"Oh, shit! I should've figured someone would come sooner or later. I need to hide..."
Of course, the only things in the room were books strewn about everywhere. Perseus looked at them. Then he had an idea.
The door swung open and in walked the Mane 6, accompanied by Spike and Shining Armor. Spike hopped off Twilight's back and steadily walked forward.
"Finally! Good to be back ho-oh, boy!" He hit the ground with a loud thud.
"Oh, dear! Spikey-Wikey, are you okay?" Spike picked himself up in a hurry and brushed his scales, looking manly. "Yeah, Rarity, I'm fine."
"I'd better turn on the-oh my gosh, what happened here?!"
As soon as Twilight turned on the lights, the party was greeted by, to put it bluntly, a mess. The library books were everywhere.
"Sweet Celestia, what happened here?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"Uh, no. Did somepony break in?" said Fluttershy.
"I assure you, if somepony did break in, they won't go far," Armor replied.
Then, softly, Owlicious fluttered down to Twilight and perched on a protruding branch.
"Hoo, hoo."
"Oh, hi, Owlicious! Is something wrong?"
"Hoo!" The owl jumped and flapped his wings.
"What is it? Do you need to show me something?"
Owlicious jumped from his perch and flew over to a mound of books on the floor and landed on it.
"What's he tellin' us, sugarcube?"
"Oo, oo! I know! I know what it is! Pick me! Pick me!" Twilight sighed.
"What's your guess Pinkie?"
"Okay, so the books must've come to life, and as soon as we step into that sea of them, we'll get swallowed! Whaddaya think?"
Owlicious slapped his face with his wing and piped up again with a commanding, "Who!" as he tore a book off the stack.
"I think you're little friend wants to show us one of those books, Twily."
Maybe, thought Twilight.
Owlicious dropped the book on the floor.
"...Or maybe what's under those books!"
She strode her way across the room and used her magic to fling the entire stack into the air. Everypony gasped. Who was sitting in the center, but Perseus himself. Knowing how the situation looked, he sighed.
"How did this hiding place seem so plausible at the moment and so stupid in retrospect?"
Perseus stood up and turned his head. There was a very long, very awkward silence before any of them said anything. Twilight, being a natural leader, spoke first.
"And...who are you?"
"A man on a mission."
"A what?"
"A man on a mission. Are you deaf?" Perseus snapped.
Shining Armor strode forward. "Pal, you're really not in a position to be talking lik-" Rainbow Dash cut him off mid-sentence.
"What's that weird thing on your back?"
Perseus turned to her and said calmly, "Oh, you mean my blanket? Yeah, it's been this way since...forever."
"That...is actually really cool."
"Yeah...anyway, buddy, I think you've got some explaining to do," Armor commanded. Perseus just scoffed at him.
"I couldn't tell you shit if I tried," he responded.
Twilight was more pissed at the fact that this stranger had uncerimoniously dumped all her books on the floor instead of sneaking into her house after hours, but that didn't change the fact that she walked right up to him and not only slapped his mug good, but also demanded an explanation.
"You. Talk. Now."
Perseus was in shock for a few seconds, but he begrudgingly complied with a, "Fine, sorehead. I'll give you the short version."
A long time in the past...
“Oh, God, no!”
He awoke with a start. He thought his nightmare had seemed so vivid. The dark beings with piercing green eyes. They were menacing, coming ever closer, and disclosing their shape. Almost human…but not quite. At least so it seemed, as they came closer, closer until-
“Wait a minute…where the hell am I?”
Having it take a second to fully realize where he was would be embarrassing. He could only guess what he was sitting on was a sea of glass. At the horizon point, there were clouds. White and puffy above, dark and puffy below. And the clouds soon melted away to a clear blue sky and the vastness of space above and below respectively, with the sun square center on top and a crescent moon below. It was truly a photogenic landscape.
He was still trying to take in his surroundings when, suddenly, his gut told him then was another presence in the same space, and watching him. He wheeled around to find a man. At least it could’ve been a man. It was more of an outline, filled with a kind of maroon-colored energy, and in place of the eyes were slanted, almond shaped holes filled with golden color. He was about to run away when the man spoke.
“Stay your ground, child,” he commanded. His voice was unnaturally regal and calming.
The other person summoned all his bravery and spoke, stammering “W-what’s y-you-your name?”
“What is your name, child?”
“Excuse me?”
“What is your name?”
“My name? My name is-”
“Perseus.”
“Hey, don’t cut me off! And how dare you give me a name I don’t have!?”
“But you do have it.”
“You’re crazy.”
“It is your true name, child.”
"What are you talking about?”
“Hush. It will all become clear in time. Now listen, and I’ll be brief. You have a grand adventure ahead of you. It will be fraught with peril, and I have seen it.”
“You have?”
“I have always seen it.”
“Crazy as you are, you’re actually kinda makin’ sense. Continue.”
“You are going to save the world, and to a lesser extent, the universe. Ours and yours.
“Heh. A lesser extent? Isn’t the universe the biggest damn thing in existence? And what’s this ‘ours and yours’ thing?”
“Quiet. You must journey this path that has been set for you. The fate of the world is dependent on it, and it will not be easy.”
“Like I haven’t heard that a billion times from the same story arc in comic books and TV shows.”
“Indeed. But know this: though you’ll face challenges and horrors…”
“Horrors?”
“…You will not do it alone. I have foreseen it. So it is written.”
“Alright then, great! What do I do first?”
The strange man motioned out to the horizon.
“Walk.”
“Walk?”
“Yes. After you awaken, go in the direction of the mountain. There you will find a small village. There will you organize a group to journey with you. There will your adventure begin.”
“Sounds easy. Keep the tips comin’, pal. It’s like having God as a life coach
“I am afraid that is all I can tell you, but do not fear. It will be clear in time. Besides, you are the opposite of fear.”
“Well…if you say so,” and with that, he walked off.
“And remember,” the strange man yelled after him. “You are Perseus! And you are a proud guardian for the world! The world I made!”
Mist began to surround the new adventurer.
Proud guardian, thought Perseus.
The mist began to close in and the last thing he thought of was,
I like the sound of that.
After Perseus told his story, he apologized for throwing all the books on the floor (but not without remarking "I still blame your lack of variety for this mess," under his breath).
The others were staring at him wide-eyed. Perseus decided to take their looks with a grain of salt.
"Listen, I don't care if you don't like me, but if you would be so kind as to point me in the way of some one who actually knows what the hell they're doing, I'll be on my merry way and you'll never hear from me again."
Everypony stared at each other with a "well, what now?" look, but Fluttershy, scared out of her skin as she was by this stallion, valiantly stepped forward.
"Well, um, we don't have much around here, but the Canterlot library might have something..."
Perseus scowled doubtingly.
"I-i-i-if you think that'll help," she stammered.
Perseus' frown increased. He then picked his head up with an air of arrogance and strode out the door, but turned back after he started few feet.
"Consider me interested, but I don't know where the hell this 'Canterlot' is, so if you want to get rid of me quickly, help a brother out," and he continued on in the wrong direction.
The small group looked at each other and ran after him, with Pinkie calling out, "Hey, silly, the city's this way!"
Shining Armor huffed and walked on.
Celestia, give me the knowledge to guide this kid, the strength to throttle him, and the willpower to not do it...yet, he thought.
The night had lasted forever. Perseus was hungry and tired and walking up the side of a mountain was not helping.
"Oh, come on! If you were in such a hurry to get out of here, you'd be ahead of us!" shouted Armor backward.
"Put a sock in it!" Perseus shouted back. "I'm not fully used to this body yet, and you're distracting me!"
Shining shook his head and turned around. If that guy wasn't so slow, we'd be there by now, he thought.
Perseus was practically tearing his insides apart trying to pull himself up the steps carved out of the purple stone. In between heavy panting, he was able to hoarsely spit out, "So...just where...are we going?"
Rainbow Dash turned herself around and kept flying in her desired direction without turning her head.
"We're going to see Princess Celestia," she said.
Perseus, still desperately trying to hold himself up without keeling over dead, questioned with a hefty dose of skepticism, "So...?"
"So, she'll be able to get you where you're going," Twilight explained.
"And if she can't?" he persisted.
"Then I guess you're on your own," Shining Armor finished.
Perseus stopped and raised a hoof, pointing it at the captain of the guard.
"You..." he began. "I don't like you."
It had taken an eternity and a half, but somehow, Perseus had been able to climb all those steps. I think my arms turned into Jell-O, he thought.
Inside, Celestia and Luna were busy preening themselves, getting ready to leave for Ponyville. True, it was Luna's special festival, but Celestia decided to go along. It was the first one of its type, and she had helped plan it, so there was no way she was going to stay in the castle the entire night. That, and there was going to be cake. Lots of cake.
I really hope they have chocolate, Celestia thought to herself.
"Hungry, sister?" Luna asked wryly.
Celestia snapped out of her pastry-induced trance. "What? No, of course not! Why do you ask?"
Luna tried to cover up a smile as she said, "Thou wast drooling a tad." Celestia blushed and rolled her eyes, pretending not to care.
There was a rap on the door. The royal sisters turned, as Celestia shouted, "Don't worry, we're almost ready!" A Centurion guard's answer promptly rang back, "Actually, it's your student. Twilight came by with her friends, and she's standing at the gate. She wants to talk to you!"
Luna was puzzled. "What would Twilight require from us this night?" she questioned.
Her sister started for the door. "I don't know," she said. "I can only assume it's important, if she couldn't wait for us to arrive in Ponyville. It might be wise to hurry."
The great hall was silent except for the rapid thumping of a hoof on marble tile. Perseus was impatiently tapping his foot. None of them seemed to mind, but eventually Twilight nudged him and whispered harshly, "Knock it off."
Perseus rolled his eyes and resumed tapping as if he heard nothing.
Grrrrrr...
"What the hell was that?"
Everypony looked around for a minute, trying to discern what made the grumbling noise.
"Oh, sorry about that," Pinkie apologized. "It's really late, and I didn't have any chimichangas from the buffet table!"
Perseus slapped his forehead and grimaced. How did I wind up with these whack-jobs?
Then, with exquisite grace and poise, Celestia and Luna strode into the room. They proceeded forward to greet the party, and the others genuflected. All except Perseus.
Rarity opened one eye to look to her side and noticed Perseus wasn't bowing.
"Please, dear, show some respect!" she muttered through grated teeth.
Celestia made Perseus seem like a little colt in comparison, and she peered down at him with neither contempt nor pleasure. He didn't flinch, he didn't move a muscle. Celestia turned her attention to her student, who had by then, stood straight up.
"I take it we have a stranger in our midst?" she said.
"Yes, Princess," Twilight solemnly answered. "He isn't from around here, or so he says..."
Perseus scoffed in total apathy. Twilight glared at him, and Celestia noticed.
"I take it he's also a tough character."
"You don't know the half of it, Princess."
Celestia smiled. "Leave him to me for now."
Twilight bowed her head, and the party spread out, away from Perseus. He didn't even blink, and just stared at the goddess.
She guessed, based on his behavior, he didn't want to be here. She tried the clean, quick approach first.
"I'll be brief and get straight to the point. From when you arrived here, what happened?"
He said nothing for a few seconds. Then, he removed his hood and revealed a tangled mess of long, black hair, with a horn in the middle.
I couldn't have guessed he was a unicorn, Twilight thought with mild surprise.
Then, he shocked all of them. Speaking in a calm, composed voice, he said, "Princess, I was sent here from another dimension where there are beings who walk completely upright..."
Her eyes widened.
"...I woke up in some sort of pocket dimension, and after I was instructed by...hell, I don't know, someone, I wound up in a field. I was told to come to this town, I think, and after I was halfway there I was turned into...well..."
He looked down at his body.
"...This mistake of nature." Fluttershy looked up at the princess.
"Celestia...is something...wrong?"
She was sweating, and her pupils were almost completely invisible because of dilation. Luna shared the same worried look, and ran up to Perseus, before issuing the infamous Canterlot Voice to convey her next question.
"WHO WAS HE?!" she demanded.
Perseus couldn't answer because he had been thrown halfway across the hall. After regaining his wits and trying to knock the ringing out of his ears, he stammered, "I-I dunno...it was an outline of a guy...at least I think it could've been-no it was a guy, despite the long hair."
Celestia squeezed her eyes shut. By the gods, it's happening, it's happening. He's come back. I wish he could remember. Oh, why did it have to be now? she pleaded mentally.
Twilight was very concerned. Her mentor looked like she was in physical pain, and her body was shivering violently. Shining Armor, worried for his leader's state, cautiously ambled forward.
"C...Celestia?" he began. "What's wrong?"
Celestia stopped and opened her eyes. There was a silence none would dare to break for a long time. She then turned to her sister and gestured for her to come over. The eldest leaned over and whispered, "Go to the festival without me and act normally. I'll tell them." Luna nodded and dashed away.
Celestia turned to face the group.
"Twilight, young stallion...everypony except Shining Armor and Spike," she said. "Follow me."
Her horn began to glow a faint gold, and the staircase leading up to the second floor balconies slid back, revealing a second, descending stair below it. The princess walked onward, stopping at the entrance.
The others looked at each other, but Perseus bravely strode on, and was the first to go down. The others quickly snapped to attention and followed him.
The passage was narrow, but just able to fit six mares, one goddess, and one stallion. The place, wherever it was below the castle, was dark, only lit by the torches seemingly miles apart from each other.
I can barely see a goddamn thing, Perseus thought. What moron designed this place?
"The Initials did," Celestia said.
"Huh? Who did what?" Applejack asked.
"You can read minds?" Perseus said with a large dose of surprise.
"No, not really," Celestia answered. "I could see you moving your lips as you thought it, though."
Perseus heard a giggle on his far right, and guessed it was the frilly-haired pony who did it.
They continued on, and the passage became slightly wider every few feet until they were standing on a cliff. A large, imposing ravine was open below them, the bottom was surrounded in shadow. The other side held a similar outcropping, with steps carved of stone leading up, and a faint white light issuing from up ahead.
Twilight grimaced and said, "Let me guess...we need to get to the other side, don't we?"
Celestia nodded.
"Without dying, right?" pondered Perseus.
"Yes."
Rainbow Dash flew up and over the crevice. Turning around, she flipped her hair out of her face and called, "Easy-peasy, cider squeezy!"
Perseus raised an eyebrow. "Aaannd the rest of us...?"
"No problem. I can make a couple trips and carry some of you over. I bet Fluttershy could do the same."
A few minutes later, everyone was across beside Perseus and Celestia.
"Great," he called. "Now hurry over and pick me up, will ya?"
Dash looked uneasy. Hauling Twilight and Applejack over had been hard on her back, and there was no way she was going to risk using her hooves to lift a full grown stallion over the edge. Fluttershy was pale and gasping for breath even after carrying Pinkie Pie over, so there was no way she was in shape to carry him.
"Uh...sorry, but we're...kinda spent." Perseus facehoofed.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me," he seethed.
Applejack stood on the edge and surveyed the situation. "Anypony got'n idea?"
Perseus squinted at the landscape. He kept his face uniform as he backed up and crouched down. "This should be a good head-start," he mumbled. Twilight noticed that their tag-a-long friend was much farther back and bracing himself for...something.
"What in the world are you doing?" she yelled over to him. Perseus looked up and grinned. He pushed back a little and then charged forward, galloping at the highest speed his control over four legs would allow. As he came up to the outcropping, he yelled, "I have no freakin' idea!"
And then he jumped. He could feel the ground be forced away from his hooves by his sheer willpower. Looking at the scene from a slightly upward angle made him realize something.
Hiding under books was a dumb idea, but this...this was just flat-out retarded.
He sailed through the air, coming up just short of the ledge and hitting it with his torso. Desperately, Perseus tried to grab something before he fell, but of course, his hooves were his downfall.
"Shit!"
His upper body slid away, but a timely intervention by Applejack saved him from becoming a horse-shaped pancake. Applejack tugged hard and Perseus struggled to his feet. He let go of what little air he hadn't released screaming.
"Thanks...I guess I owe you." Applejack shook her head.
"Ah, that was nothin'."
Celestia called from over the gap, "Keep walking ahead. There's something of high value that you'll need."
"Thanks princess, I-" Perseus stopped mid-sentence. "Hey, why couldn't you have flown me over?!"
Celestia smiled a little and bowed her head. Lifting it up again, she replied, "Because the chamber ahead was not meant for me."
Perseus stared with confused rage for a moment, then rounded and the group continued walking.
More stairs. Fantastic. The steps behind them were carved of stone and mostly intact, for the rain and snow couldn't penetrate the solid mountain rock. Perseus sighed.
"Let's go."
Finally at the top of the steps, everypony was treated to a fantastic sight. The stairs led to a flat portion of rock at the center of the mountain, and it seemed to look all the way up from the inside. On the plane itself was a raised platform, and in the center was a small sphere that functioned like a galactic snowglobe. The party cautiously approached and surrounded it.
Rainbow Dash let out a whistle of awe.
Rarity was stunned "Ooh...it's all so shiny."
Twilight squinted at the strange globe.
"It, uh...appears to be an ancient artifact. Of what though, I can't imagine. Something like this never appeared in my Equestrian history books."
Perseus gazed at the object, almost transfixed by it. He could hear, from the depths of the mountain chasm surrounding them, a faint orchestra, and the longer he looked, the deeper he could see...
"Hey!"
Persues nearly jumped the entire height of the mountain when his conscience came crashing back to reality. Pinkie had just bounded up to his side and screamed into his ear.
"Oh, good! You're awake! I thought you were gonna die, I mean, you're eyes were glazing over and you were starting to get off-balance and I could tell-"
"Would you do that again? I can still hear a bit out of this one," and Perseus pointed to his left ear.
"Actually, Pinkie's on to something. Were you okay? I could see you getting really zoned out, too," Twilight added.
Perseus' contempt was gone when Twilight got his attention away from Pinkie. He pondered, and slowly began to nod a little.
"Yeah, yeah...I was...listening to the sphere. It was playing music. And looking in, I could...I could see forever, I think."
The others looked at him with astonishment.
"How did you do that?" Dash asked.
"Hm?" Perseus turned to her. "Oh, I was just looking at it. Did you feel it? I felt it." Dash shook her head.
Twilight thought of something. If he was the only one who got a reaction out of this...thing, then maybe...
"I think...I think whatever this thing is, it's calling to you."
"Calling me?" Twilight nodded.
Perseus brought his hoof to his chin and reflected on the matter. Then he spoke his mind: "I'm gonna touch it."
Although this was a natural reaction to finding a new object of any type, the others were a little shocked and worried. Here, there was a stallion. Never been seen or heard from before. He just appeared one day, and seems to have no clue on how the world works, even though he's clearly Equine. But before anyone could protest, Perseus leaped on to the table and grabbed it.
The world disintegrated in a split-second, and, at the same time, Roman-styled marble architecture was raised from the ground.
Perseus didn't even have time to blink, but when he refocused, he didn't care. He was taken by the fantastic architecture, the stone columns, the fountains, the city that now surrounded him. When he faced front, he saw the sphere again.
And all at once, it took the shape of a man. The cosmic backdrop remained, but it was now a man, albeit, with no defining features.
Perseus opened his mouth, but the being held up his hand for silence, and motioned to the cloak Perseus was wearing. It seemed to want his blanket. Perseus, stunned as he was, wasted no time in taking it off and handing it over, realizing that he had hands in the process. His human form was restored...for now.
The cosmic man took the blanket, studied it, and then held it high. All at once, the blanket became less like cloth and more like steel, as some invisible force molded it, making it longer, into a pole. The pole's ends then stretched out, and split in the middle, creating a Shaolin-type blade. It floated gently down again, and the being received it, handing it back to Perseus.
"Gee, thanks, uh, mister, but may I ask just where the hell I-"
Out of nowhere, a massive group of men and women, dressed in togas, appeared, and scared Perseus into silence. They seemed real, but they had the consistency of a hologram, and every now and again, they would fade out as a pony with the same physical features faded in.
Perseus was actually very scared now. He was sure he was going to die. Then, an older man stepped out of the crowd, carrying a book in his hands (when he "faded out" he appeared as a unicorn, levitating the book over his head). He slowly walked forward, and handed the book to Perseus.
It was heavy, heavier than his trigonometry book in school, and the front had a strange design as well: symbols of the sun and moon, and a three-pointed crown embossed with Polaris, the north star.
In unison, the beings raised a hand, as if lifting something palm-up. Perseus could feel himself rising into the sky, another unknown power washing over him. As he closed his eyes, because the power made him feel calm and warm, he heard the people below chanting:
"Glory to the Seventh! Life is finite; friendship is forever!"
Perseus could see the world he remembered leaving behind (well, the second one at least). It was some kind of tunnel vision, being surrounded on all sides by white energy and seeing reality charge at him.
Brace for impact. Perseus clenched his teeth so hard, they might chip.
A vibrant explosion of silver lit up the hidden room, and the six friends could see Perseus gently floating down, surrounded by rips in the fabric of space, reflecting the constellations in the night sky. No sooner had he landed on the cold, rocky platform, he tried to lift himself, and the aura of grey light that concealed his features expanded quickly, releasing starry sparkles.
The first explosion sent Fluttershy into a panic, and she made a mad dash for the stairs and covered her head, whimpering softly. The others stared in complete shock and awe, mouths gaping. Perseus lifted his head high and stepped down from the "table." Perseus began to walk away, but spun around when he noticed the others weren't following.
"Well," he said. "Get a move on!"
Rarity shakily lifted her hoof to point at Perseus, stuttering, "D-d-d-darling, y-you're a...a..."
"A what?" Perseus asked impatiently.
Even with her extensive vocabulary, words failed Twilight for what she just witnessed. She was eventually able to clear her mind enough to finish, "An alicorn."
Perseus remained extremely puzzled, then looked around at himself. He noticed that he now had wings at his sides in addition to his horn. He brought his head up and back around, silently mouthing an understanding, "Oh..." He said, "And this usually comes as a surprise, for your kind to be like this?"
Sill too dumbfounded to say anything the others silently nodded. Perseus grinned and looked up.
"Come to think of it, I thought I felt something dragging at my sides while I was coming here, actually. Maybe I had wings before this."
He noticed there was a book on the table. He gestured toward it.
"One of you might wanna pick that thing up," and he started walking away. Fluttershy called after him, "But...but how did you b-become-"
Perseus rounded once more with a very serious expression on his face and said only one thing: "Later."
They proceeded back down the steps until coming to the infernal chasm, with Celestia waiting patiently for them. She smiled at the sight of Perseus. Once more, the small band of hero(ine)s crossed the gap (Perseus took awhile, as his attempt to fly over was mostly thrashing like a dying fish in midair) and made their way out of the tunnel.
"Check-and-mate."
"What?! Again!?"
For about the 30th time in a row, Spike had won another round of chess with Shining Armor.
"I can't believe I'm losing to a baby dragon..."
"Hey, I play this all the time with Twilight, and I end up losing half the games!"
Then, from the descending staircase, came the Mane six, Celestia, and Perseus. Spike and Armor turned around, Shining's jaw dropped even farther than when Spike beat him. Spike also noticed what their ill-tempered friend had become.
"Jesus, like I haven't gotten that face enough already," Perseus scoffed.
Spike ran up to the party, instinctively questioning, "How...?" and Perseus gave them the whole story.
"If I hadn't seen it myself, I wouldn't believe it," Twilight said after the story was over.
"Miss, I lived through it and still don't believe it!" Perseus paused a second and turned to Celestia with a "you've got some explaining to do" look.
Celestia sensed Perseus' distress and gave as much of a detailed speech as she could without spoiling some things.
"What you saw were The Initials. They were the first ponies to ever walk on Equestrian soil, and they were made by...a wise old king. He taught them the ways of the world, and they were his favorite creations. One day, the king came to his friends and began reciting prophecy. The Initials wrote everything down in..." she gestured to the book Twilight was holding. "The Tome of The Initials."
Everypony stared at the book in awe. Perseus was about to ask one more thing until a Centurion burst into the room, clear worry and exhaustion on his face.
"Princess!"
Celestia faced him slowly.
"There's...there's trouble in Ponyville...this group of things with dark skin that stand on two legs...they just waltzed right into town with swords and spears and...and...listen, you just need to come down, and quickly! Before they do anything drastic!" and he ran back the way he came.
Everypony was confused, but Perseus (and Celestia) knew exactly what he was talking about. Perseus dashed away, and the others quickly followed after realizing he wasn't in the hall anymore.