The Connection

by Spectral Slash

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, Dark
Length: 16729

Watch what's behind you.

Dimensional travel is widely known as only a myth. One accidental teleport proves that wrong. And whatever was after him and his people on Crystoria, it's not done yet. Now he has put an entire other universe in danger of Literal Death. He has to fix his mistake, while fighting of enemies, and finding out why this could have possibly happened.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2014-04-21 22:18:18 UTC

A Desperate Attempt

Tis the darkest of days. The Darkness has all but destroyed Crystoria. The planet's warriors were fighting long and hard to stop it. It was a losing battle. It's army of distorted, Crystorian look-alikes that unmercifully crush and destroy the Crystorian warriors control just about as far as the eye can see. Terras' family had been killed quite some time ago. His mother, father, and brother all gone at the hands of the Darkness. However as a soldier of Crystoria, he had to remain strong; fight until he became crippled or died. He liked the idea of that, dying for his planet and family just to spite the Darkness.

One day, or night (there was no telling the difference as the Darkness hid the sun from sight.) Terras was on a mission to scout ahead towards an old military hideout to use for a base of operations. His captain said "If you die, you die. However you are a valuable asset to this team and the entire army, so don't go dying on me." Terra responded with a nod and flew off. Now he was crouching in a leaveless tree looking for any sign of the Darkness' formations. As if there was any doubt. The base was teeming with the formations and was colored jet black. Suddenly Terras lost his footing on the brittle branch and it snapped, sending him falling to the ground.

"Ow, stupid branches." said Terras. They ought to be sent through a Crystorian camp, that should toughen them up."

But Terras had little time to think to himself about the kink in his ankle now, because the formations were on him.

Dodging and weaving, cutting and slashing, the wave of formations seemed endless until, through the black, he saw an opening. One so small, he thought he would have to fight to get there. However, him and his double swords could make that opening just a little bigger.

Terras tapped into his spirit energy and sent two crescent moon shaped beams of light to his left and his right. This created a wide enough opening for him to sprint through and get  back to camp.

He ran. Ran as fast as he could. Flying was out of the question as it would do just as much good as running. But he took flight anyway, hoping to outmaneuver his pursuers. for every evasive move Terras completed, the formations met him every time. He tried shooting his spirit energy to at least thin the number of enemies chasing him. He then began to realize it wasn't the formations that were chasing him, but the darkness itself. Desperate and out of options, Terras did what was strictly prohibited without the aid of a commanding officer.

He used teleportation.

And as he was moving through the rift between Earth and Crystoria, he looked behind him and saw no darkness. Thank Metrose I got out of that Terras thought. It would be a few more seconds before he arrived at the base in what is known as "Egypt". He would be welcomed, given food, and treated for whatever wounds he may have aquired.

Then he arrived in a garden.

A maze to be exact. A giant hedge maze with statues of......."Horses?" Terras asked. "Horses smiling and playing?" This wasn't Egypt. There were no gusts of wind or sand as far as the eye could see, but flowers, the greenest leaves, and the sound of footsteps. Lots of them, and all headed towards Terras. There was nowhere to hide, nowhere to run. He couldn't fly  out,it would give him away. So he decided to stay, and if he should be imprisoned, just slash his way out. Soon an entire squad of horses, yes, horses came to subdue him. Horses? Come to capture me? Ha! thought Terras. These four legged animals wearing some kind of armor with strange designs on their rear ends was quite the joke to him and he struggled to keep his laughter to himself.

"Halt!" commanded one of the horses. "We have been sent by Princess Celestia to locate the source of a magic outburst. Since your the only one standing here, I'll assume it was you."

"So you horses can talk?" asked Terras.

"Don't you DARE call me that again!" commanded the "unknown creature"

"Well then what are you?"

"The question is what are you? Last time I checked you appeared in the garden unannounced."

The "unknown creature" and his comrades raised their spears to his face. "You're under arrest by order of Princess Celestia!" announced the "unknown creature". It then ordered his friends to surround him. The one who could talk told him to move and Terras was escorted to a castle that looked to be attached to a mountain. On the way up, Terras tried to figure out just were he was.

"So where exacctly am I?"

"Equestria." answered the "unknown creature"

"Which is where?"

"Look everything will be told to you by the Princess." said the "unknown creature.

"Fine."

The trek up the mountain was rigorous and he was exhausted by the time he and the creatures got up the mountain. None of them were sweating or showing any signs of being even slightly tired. They must come up this way often thought Terras.

The castle was much bigger up close. Terras didn't know how such a big structure could keep from falling off the side of the mountain.

"Welcome to Canterlot Castle." said the "unknown creature"

Terras looked at it, then back to the castle. Was all that space really needed for however many "whatevers" lived in that?. There must be a lot of "whatevers" there just to protect one princess? Well there's never enough protection is there? Sometimes Terras thought it would get lonley for the king of Crystoria, living in his castle by himself, his only company the guards positioned outside his room. He had no wife, siblings, or parents. That was a boring existence, and Terras was glad he had people to laugh and play with. Did this princess have anyone with her to make life more entertaining? It was time to find out.

The hallways were wide corridors with many lanterns on the walls to keep the place as illuminated as possible. There were more guards at just about every door in every hallway. Almost all doors being big enough to fit two of one guard into them.The one at the end of the hallway though; it was twice the size of the other doors, and was marked with a design of a half sun and half moon. This princess must have control of celestial bodies. What was her name? Celestia? Makes sense. As Terras thought to himself about this "Celestia" the guard at the gigantic door somehow managed to push them open, and calling inside "Your highness, the source of the magical outburst is here." After about five seconds, Terras was ushered into a giant room with paintings of creatures and six creatures similar looking to just about everyone else here. And at the end sat a creature that looked like the others, but was different. It had a multicolored mane that was flowing as if there was a wind, yet there was no wind. It had a unicorn horn, but also wings, suggesting it was also a pegasus. Was this a mythical steed, and because of it's status it was considered their ruler?

"Hello." said the "pegacorn"

"Hi." replied Terras

"You're not from here are you?" she asked

"No, I'm not."

"Well let me be the first to welcome you to the land of Equestria"

She spoke with a voice a mother would have. Why did she remind Terras of his mother?

She stood up from the throne. "My name is Princess Celestia. And you are?"

"Terras"

She started to walk towards him. "You know you caused quite the ruckus with whatever you did in the gardens."

"Sorry, I was trying to get to another planet. Must have botched it."

"Yes, that's true. Do you have any way of getting to your planet?

"Not now. I used too much of my energy to make another jump."

She put her hoof on his shoulder. "Well I'll have a room set up for you to rest in, and if you choose to stay, feel free."

The same hospitality as his mother. I think I'll like it here. Terras thought.

The room Terras would be staying in was gigantic. Every single detail was paid attention to, from the carpet which felt smooth as silk, to just the paint job on the walls. Everything in that room seemed important and expensive in some way. It was definitely a huge step up from his room back on Crystoria. Yet to have all this space just for one person made Terras feel a little bit isolated. He'd have to adjust accordingly.

A couple hours later his dinner was brought in. Celery, lettuce, apples, pears, all diced in patterns that made them look more tasty than they appeared.

"Is there any meat I could go as well?"

The servant who brought the meal looked at him in disgust, "Ugh.....animal. We don't do that in Equestria."

He walked out with a little more hurried step, like Terras was going to butcher the servant. He looked at his dinner, eyed it differently. Normally there would be a peice of steak somewhere on that plate. Terras was okay with just fruits and vegetables, but eventually he would have to eat something dead and able to cook.

*  *  *  *  *  *

Celestia was astounded by how Terras got here. He said he was from another planet, but there are no known planets in the solar system that support life, unless he's from a planet light years away. But even if that's the case, how could he have enough power for a teleport like that? Even Celestia herself couldn't hope to pull that off. If he stays here longer, Celestia was going to ask him some serious questions about where he came from and how he got here.

Seeping Through

"Teleportation is easier for us than you think. It requires two people for concentration reasons. My mind must have wavered. That's most likely what got me here."

"You're welcome here as long as you feel like it, however you may need a few spells to be placed....." Celestia said, "I'm quite sure that my subjects will be confused, afraid, or hostile towards an unknown being showing up in Equestria."

"No, sure I understand. Place as many spells as need be." Terras said.

While he understood the importance of the spells being placed on him, he wasn't that comfortable with letting another species use magic on him. If only worlds were more accepting.

"It's just a transformation of your physical shape. It shouldn't be difficult, I'll just need a few minutes to get the bones and tendons just right." Celestia said.

The feel of Celestia's magic was like being enveloped in a warm blanket, on a cold winter. Inviting, soothing, a mother's touch. This reminded him of his mother, who held him almost every night when he was young during winter. This definitely contributed to his recognition of his mother in Celestia.

Seconds later, Terras went from warm and relaxed, to tingly and uncomfortable. He could feel his bones being reshaped and reformed. Every muscle in his body flexing in unnatural ways. His nerves were on fire, and every sensation was felt clearly.

His bones bent forward, far into that direction that his legs would rather not be in. He could feel something growing on this back, and looked behind himself to see feathers sprouting from growths on his back. He grew smaller, until he had to look up to Celestia to talk to her. Terras was a pegasus now, blue fur, black bane with a streak of white in it. And the ordeal he went through for this was less than worth it.

After undergoing his transformation, Terras flexed his wings and spread them as far as he could. This would take some time getting used to, but at least he could still fly. I just hope I don't have to learn to fly again because of this.He then went to look into the mirror on the left side of the room, and while he was shocked that magic like this took place in this land, he also found some type of trust for Celestia.

"Wow. And you horses can do magic like this?" Terras asked.

"We are ponies, not horses. That is considered a very disgraceful insult. Just try not to forget that, or you'll public enemy number one. As for the level of magic within this land, no not exactly. Not all unicorns have the same level of magic. Some have stronger magic energy inside them, waiting to be brought out, and others either have little need for magic, or that's just the way they were born."

"So wait, you're unicorns?" Terras asked.

"Allow me to take you on a tour of Canterlot, I'm sure you'll understand better."

The door opened and a guard, serious as stone, said "Your Highness, Princess Twilight Sparkle is here to see you."

"Perfect timing" Celestia said, "Please allow her in."

"As you wish your Highness."

The door opened once again and this time, slow as ever, Twilight Sparkle peeked her head in the door.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting anything princess, but your letter sounded urgent."

"It was" Celestia said. "Please, come with me to the throne room. Terras, I would like you to come as well."

"Wait, Terras? Who's-"

Twilight didn't have to look long, as the only other pony in the room was, and had to be, Terras.

They locked eyes for a few seconds, Twilight out of curiosity, Terras out of slight annoyance. He waved, and Twilight waved back, and then slowly stepped out of the room. *My gosh he is cute!*

Terras was the last in the throne room, and Celestia synthesized two extra thrones to sit across from her. The chairs, or thrones, as they were the same size as Celestia's, had intricate designs that made Terras think *There's more to this world than prancing ponies and happiness is there?*

"Please sit. There is much to talk about" Celestia said.

"And that is?" Terras asked.

"You" Celestia said. "You said the evil force came from a different planet, correct?"

Yes, it came from a close by planet." Terras answered.

"Well then if you botched a teleportation attempt, and ended up on another planet, it's not crazy to think that sme force will spread towards Earth."

"Wait, what? Evil force? Is Equestria in danger?" Twilight asked.

"Not just Equestria, this entire planet" Terras answered.

"Someone please fill me in on what's going on, I'm lost."

Princess Cellestia started, "Terras, is from another planet. A planet that has literally died to this evil force."

Terras continued, "It came from another planet, but it may not be the only other one. And since my planet was killed by it spreading to Crystoria,"

"My theory is that it will eventually spread to our world" Celestia finished.

"So what do we do?" Twilight asked.

"The reason my planet died was because we hadn't had proper time to prepare. But now you all do have time to prepare, so hopefully there is a chance to stop it."

"How close is it to Earth?"

"I don't know, it could be light years away, or it could be a couple hundred thousand miles away. It could be on your doorstep and we don't know it."

"All the more reason to start looking" Celestia said. "Twilight, I need you to start looking through the stars. I will do the same. We need to find some sign of this evil force before our planet is threatened."

"So no tour of Canterlot?" Terras asked.

"Sorry Terras, much more pressing matters at the moment."

The Fastest

Terras was lounging, or maybe sleeping on his balcony. For a few days he felt a little heavier than usual, it was probably a short side effect of the spell placed on him. After his slight doze, he roused himself quickly. He had been having dreams about Crystoria and how he could have saved his family. Normally when he had dreams like this, he would go for a quick fly. This felt, to him completely different.

The only difference is that there are feathers. Can't be that hard. Could it? He tried not to overthink flying. Again. The balcony was a great place to start, but he would rather be closer to the ground in case his prediction was incorrect. *Wow, you never realize how big places are.......*

After finally finding his way to the main entrance, Terras made his way to the castle gardens. And he had to admit, whoever made the topiaries paid excessive attention-not in a bad way-to detail. After finding what he thought was a wide enough space to get a running start, he checked his surroundings and made sure nobody saw him when he (may) take off. Both sides were clear, and he started to run to the other end of the long walkway.

He spread his wings and flapped his wings one time, and then he felt weightless. Theory correct. Terras thought contently. Flying was this easy, now was the fun. He flew faster and faster, feeling the wind pelt his face. He almost never got a chance to do this, have this much fun, since the force destroyed his planet. And in the moment, he did something that only vintage Terras could do.

He broke the sound barrier.

Terras had never felt so alive in his life. He could stay here forever just for feelings like this. This place, Equestria, it was so......peaceful. Any and all violence was only necessary. And even then there would always be a way to solve issues without it. *What a way to live....*

His moment of peace was interrupted, really abruptly, as he slowly opened his eyes to see clouds coming towards him. *Ah.....clouds...I haven't felt clouds in-*

Terras slammed headfirst into a cloud, lodging his head in it.

He was surrounded in white, fluffiness and was in a daze. He heard a muffled voice in the distance, but was too tired to move towards it. His daze kept him from moving, but his lings kept him from breathing until he-*"Pull-your head-out!"*

The world was blurry, and he could just make out a light blue shape with surprisingly colorful hair. His vision finally became clear and another pony who seemed like a female was peering over him and he sat up quickly.

" Wow dude, you took a wicked crash into that cloud!"

"You don't say...." Terras said. She was definitely a female from her tone of voice.

"Are you gonna be ok? You were kinda zoned out when I got here."

Terras sat up slowly, "Yeah, I'll be fine, thanks"

"Not a problem. Name's Rainbow Dash." She held out her hoof.

"Terras."

"Terras? Not a normal name, but it's fine with me. Unique kind of."

Terras saw Rainbow Dash looking behind him, and he spun around to see what she was fixated on. In the distance were the remains of a blue and white circle spreading out and dissipating.

"Did you do that?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I think so" Terras answered.

She looked at him in amazement and admiration. The only other pony who could perform a sonic rainboom. She had to challenge him to a race.

"Heh, you're pretty fast aren't you?" she asked.

"I used to pride myself on being the fastest flier when I was younger."

This was true as he was a very strong flier in training. Flying was the last resort if a Crystorian was cornered, and everyone had to know how to fly fast. Terras was without match, the fastest flier of his generation. He knew this and prided himself on it. He was challenged to races almost every week. When not training for battle, he was training his wings to be in top shape. He was about to meet his match.

"So what do ya say to a little race?"

"A race? Why?"

Rainbow Dash had a arrogant grin on her face. "I want to see how fast you are. It'll bee to that cloud about two miles away."

Can't be that hard. It'll be like training days. Yeah, just like training days. I can beat her.

"Alright, let's do it" Terras replied.

"Excited are we? Well, get ready to have your butt handed to you!"

"Oh? And what makes you say that?" Terras asked.

Rainbow Dash crouched into her starting position "You'll see."

Because I'm the fastest flier in Equestria.

Rainbow Dash started her countdown, "On your mark, get set......."

She began pretending to start, prompting Terras to get paranoid about when she would really start.

"Stopp that, no false starts!"

"Scared you'll lose? GO!"

Rainbow Dash took off with her prismatic trail behind her. Terras followed close behind a blue and white trail following him. He began to catch up with Rainbow Dash, who didn't seem to be breaking a sweat. He was nearly at his limit, and Rainbow Dash was just getting started. Terras, the Sonic Crystal was going to lose his first race in his life. He remembered the same scenario similar to this in his village where he almost lost because of his arrogance. The instinct to win kicked in.

No, I won't lose

He clenched his teeth, mustering all his strength. He closed his eyes and pushed himself farther than ever. Soon he saw more than Rainbow Dash's tail. He saw her cutie mark, then her mid section, then her face, which was in surprise at such a comeback.

They were neck and neck. The cloud was approaching fast. Terras was in the moment and so was Rainbow Dash.

If one sonic rainboom didn't catch the attention on Canterlot below, two certainly would've.

And they did, the ponies of Canterlot looked up to see two trails zooming past them, both seeming to be the sources of the rainbooms.

Back in the skies, Both Rainbow Dash and Terras saw their finish mark approaching. They glanced once at eachother and put as much strength in their wings as possible.

And both ponies blasted through the clouds.

Instead of landing on that cloud, Rainbow Dash and Terras landed on the cloud directly underneath it.

"Oh yeah! The Dash proves once again she is the fastest in Equestria!"

"Pfft, please, we both know it was a tie." Terras said.

"You're just angry you lost!" Rainbow Dash retorted.

"Either way, that was a good race."

"Yeah, we should do it again so I can kick your butt again."

Terras rolled his eyes and flew back to the castle, wondering if he would ever see her again for that second race.

Dimensional Travel

In his bed, Terras thought about Rainbow Dash. He thought about when he'd see her again, and when they could race. He didn't know she brought out his younger self until he laid down in his bed and all he thought about was how he could've beaten her. Celestia walked into his room smiling.

"You were the one who performed that sonic rainboom. Twice" she said.

"Was it that obvious?"

"Well, I heard and watched it happen from my room. It was quite the sight. And I take it you were racing Rainbow Dash?"

"You know her?" Terras asked.

"I do. She's one of six ponies I know personally."

"I wouldn't think a princess so famous as you would know ponies in the general public." Terras said.

"She's an Element of Harmony, so she's special."

Terras backtracked a second, "Wait, Element of Harmony? Who are the other five? Are they important? Celestia!"

"Another story for another time Terras." Celestia said as she walked out the door and closed it quietly with her magic. Terras still didn't understand how magic comes from their horn.

After the events of today, Terras thought about how he should probably get out and see Equestria, or at least Canterlot, for himself. Maybe he'd go looking for Rainbow Dash. Or he'd ask that Twilight Sparkle pony about the Elements of Harmony. Either way, Tomorrow was going to be eventful in some way.

*  *  *  *  *  *

Twilight searched for signs of impending doom on Earth. She searched and searched, but all she found was the cosmos exactly how they were. There was no sign on danger in Luna's stars. Maybe Terras was lying? But then why would he have come here? Her thoughts were interrupted by a POP on her observatory. Luna stood there looking concerned.

"Princess Luna, what are you doing here?"

"Good evening Twilight Sparkle. I come here to bring you good and bad news."

"Give me the bad news first."

"I feel a disturbance deep in the cosmos. It is very slight, but noticeable. I fear this is the evil force Celestia told me about."

"That explains why I couldn't find anything in my telescope." Twilight paused. "What's the good news?"

"It is far away, very far away. Light years I would believe. Which means we have plenty of time to prepare for it."

"That is good news. Did you tell Celestia yet?"

"No I haven't I wanted to tell you first so you could inform the elements."

"I'd love to, but Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are in Canterlot. I'd rather tell them all at the same time."

"I understand Twilight Sparkle. Tell them when you think it's time."

Luna said goodbye and left with another swift POP.

*  *  *  *  *  *

Luna teleported into Celestia's bedroom, startling Celestia who was, like Twilight, searching the stars for any signs of trouble.

"Greetings, sister. I've come to tell you about the evil force that is said to be headed towards us."

"Really? Have you found something?" Celestia asked.

"More like felt something" Luna said. "It's on the very edge of the universe."

"But, it was your words that said the universe was infinite and constantly expanding. Is there an edge to the universe?"

"That's the thing. There is no edge, not one that I can see, but it just feels like it. Like there's a crack in reality and it's leaking through. Could it be......"

"Dimensional travel is only a theory, and hasn't been tested. If that force is traveling from another dimension, then it means Terras is from another dimension, not planet."

"Well maybe a successful test has been run and now a force that is from another dimension is seeping through to destroy our world, and many others." Luna said.

"Either way, I have to speak to Terras" Cellestia said.

*  *  *  *  *  *

The cool morning air filled Terras' lungs as he awoke from his slumber. He looked at the clock, and it read 8:00. Terras promptly pulled his sheets over his body and closed his eyes. He wasn't in a rush, so the sight seeing could wait until noon.

Princess Celestia opened his bedroom door and walked in, and noticed he was asleep. She slowly lifted her right hoof, brought it up to just about the bottom of her neck, and slammed it down with a thunderous crash. Terras was jolted out of bed by the sudden noise and stood up groggily after a brief altercation with the floor.

"Celesita. WHY?"

"I apologize for the intrusion, but something important has come up, and it has to do with you." Celestia said.

"Can it wait until later?" Terras asked.

"No, Terras I need you to focus, understand?"

Terras looked Celestia in the eye, wondering what could be so important that his sleep was hindered because of it. When the room was quiet enough for a dust mite to be heard hitting a lamp, Celestia asked:

"Are you from another dimension?" Celestia asked sternly.

"No, I'm not. At lest I don't think I am. Dimensional travel is highly theoretical where I come from, but given enough energy, it's possible."

"Terras, this is Earth."

Terras stared at Celestia with a blank face. Earth? How could this be Earth? No humans, no cars bustling through the streets, just ponies. There were no modern weapons, but spears and swords. And Terras could hardly figure out how an earth pony was able to play the cello. This was not Earth, not the one he knew of. Or was it?

"You're lying." Terras said.

"I am not, Terras."

The realization hit him. He thought about it, he had enough power to travel through dimensions. Who knew how much spirit energy he actually had? Celestia turned around and thought to herself. This new information of Terras' origin had completley changed how they were going to fight this thing.

"This is bad" Celestia said, "It can travel through dimensions, which means if we don't stop it, it'll eat entire universes."

"But how many other dimensions do you think there are? Maybe the next will fight harder than we do" Terras said.

"Terras, I'd rather die than watch not just Equestria, but the entire planet rot away because we weren't good enough. Because we are good enough, we will stop it. You, me, Luna, and the Elements of Harmony.

"That's a bold statement. I have more power than you, multiply that about 12 billion. that how many people were fighting that force. We lost. Terribly. What makes you think that we can?" Terras asked.

Celestia heard the test in his voice. "Don't question the power of Equestria. We can do this. It's not all about power that wins war. It's about strategy, cunning, and teamwork. My father told me once 'Proper training can allow one pony to defeat an army of thousands'. I never believed it, but now that we're here, it's about time we make that statement true."

"It won't be an army of thousands, it will be of millions. And they're incredibly hard to kill. This will be miles away from a walk in the park." Terras said.

"We have the Elements of Harmony."

Celestia turned around and saw Luna standing in the doorway. How did she always sneak up on her like that?

"True, if this thing is entering our dimension, it has to abide by this dimension's rules. Which means the Elements will possibly work."

"Well you get your little elements, and we'll blast this thing with whatever it is they blast it with." Terras said.

Celestia walked out of the room, leaving Luna alone with Terras. She looked Terras over, and walked closed to him.

"So you're from another planet in another dimension? I would have expected you to look different." she said.

Terras looked Luna over as well. "Transformation spell."

Luna moved closer to Terras and undid the spell, revealing his Crystorian form. She looked slightly upward to him and touched his neck, causing Terras to back away quickly and materialize his blades. He stared at her with a predatory look in his eyes, putting a look of wide-eyed surprise on Luna's face.

"Sorry' Luna said, "I get really curious when I see something new."

"It's fine, I guess. Just don't touch any of my vital spots." Terras said.

Luna looked at his two backwards h-shaped blades. "Your weapons, do they have a name?"

"Ruby and Rose" Terras said and raise the left and right one accordingly.

Luna drew her own sword with her magic and out of empty space came a purple double edged sword.

"It's name is Crescent" Luna said.

Luna placed the transformation spell back onto Terras, returning him to his dark blue, black hair with a white streak self. The first thing Terras was that his swords had disappeared, and in their place, was metal armor that ran up his legs, with openings of every hoof to unleash blades, blades that went the length of both of his wings, and a mechanical helmet built onto his weapon/armor.

"What's this?" Luna said. "It seems like your weapon changed as your form changed. Interesting."

Luna smiled a little and held out her hoof. "You are a very interesting person. I would like you to meet me tonight on the top of this mountain."

Terras nodded his head and shook Luna's hoof. She then waked out of the room and left Terras alone to his thoughts. This, weapon/armor combination could come in handy. He just hoped he could still use his spirit energy.

He then remembered that he had a city to see. Luckily his new weapon was as easy to dematerialize as Ruby and Rose. Terras flew from his balcony to the front gate of the castle.

Today was going to be eventful in some way.

Eventful Even With Darkness

Celestia was in the restricted section of the Royal Archives. There was something about Terras that sprung something up in her head, a distant memory. She just needed a few clues and she would have it. Just one page having something to do with a Crystorian. Celestia searched and she read every word in hundreds of chapters, sometimes re-reading to make sure she didn't miss anything, but the word "Crystorian" was not in any of the thousands of texts in the vast library. When it became apparent to Celestia that she was not going to find anything relating to Crystorians, she put all the books back in their place and left with a frown on her face. If the restricted section didn't contain what she needed, what place did?

*  *  *  *  *  *

For Terras, being in Equestria was like being on Earth, but with much more color. And the locals were nice, for the most part. Celestia had told him that Canterlot was the capital of Equestria, and that most ponies living in this city were rich, noble ponies. She also said that some were too stuck up to see the difference from right and wrong if they didn't make any money.

As he walked throughout the market, he saw plenty of trinkets that would have sold for hundreds of thousands on Crystoria and Earth, well the other Earth. Most of the ponies he passed had on fancy outfits and jewelry to compliment their suits, ties, and dresses. God knows why they were wearing clothes to die from a heatstroke. They all had their noses pointed up in a mocking manner, at least that's how Terras took it.

While walking and staring at a 10,000 bit watch that some other noble ponies were admiring, he bumped into a light yellow and pink maned pegasus. She had those eyes that would make you do anything for her. Terras was caught staring at those bright blue eyes and the pegasus blushed a little.

"Sorry sir, I should've watched where I was going."

She spoke so soft, like she was afraid of him.

"No it's fine. I was the one not looking where I was going. Are you okay?"

"Yes I'm fine."

As Terras helped to pick up the last of the items the pegasus bought, he was met with a familiar voice. And a cyan pegaus landed in front of him and the other bright yelllow pegasus.

"Hey, you're that guy I beat in that race yesterday! Terras wasn't it?"

"Yeah and you're Rainbow Dash right?"

"Yep, and this is Fluttershy. We go way back, to our foalhood."

Rainbow bent closer to him and said into his ear "She's pretty shy around new people, once you get to know her, she'll open up to you." She also nudged him in the shoulder and said "Just make sure you take care of her, got it?"

Terras was surprised at Rainbow Dash's bluntness. "No, no, it's not like that! I just bumped into her by accident."

Rainbow Dash snorted "Oh please, I saw how you looked at her, all mesmerized and stuff."

"Um.....guys, can we stop now, he bumped into me by accident." Fluttershy interrupted.

"Okay, maybe you didn't have eyes on her, can't help thinking Fluttershy is gonna find a special somepony."

At that Fluttershy blushed. "Rainbow Dash can you please not try to be part of the royal guard to every stallion I meet?"

"Nope" Rainbow Dash said. "I'm not gonna let you just have anypony, you get the best there is."

Terras interrupted their little argument and said "Okay! Let us start over." He raised his hoof to Fluttershy to shake it.

"Name's Terras."

"Fluttershy."

"So" Rainbow Dash said "Me and Fluttershy were about to go to the train station so we can get back to Ponyville. I'll be seeing you soon, Terras."

"Sure thing" Terras replied.

As the two waved goodbye, and they were out of earshot, Terras said to himself,

"Probably not....."

*  *  *  *  *  *

Rainbow Dash asked Fluttershy, "So what do you think of him?"

"He's nice, I guess." Fluttershy said and blushed right after.

Rainbow Dash, knowing that Fluttershy thought more of him than "nice", smiled triumphantly to herself. Out of the corner of her right eye, she could see a grayish color in the sky. Out of curiosity, she turned to face a not gray, but black system of clouds rolling in from the east of Canterlot.

"That's weird, I don't know of any storms scheduled for today" Rainbow Dash said.

"Maybe you forgot, I mean you normally do the weather for Ponyville. It would be easy to forget about weather for other cities."

"Hmm, I guess you're right" Rainbow Dash replied.

From Terras', Rainbow Dash's, and Fluttershy's point of view, the blackness coming towards Canterlot was just another storm. Only slightly more ominous.

Oh, how wrong they were.

*  *  *  *  *  *

Celestia was sitting at her throne, and out of a slight annoyance she felt, she looked out the giant window. Celestia saw what looked like a storm headed towards Canterlot. It didn't look to foreboding, so she shrugged it off. Just another storm.

Oh, how wrong she was.

On The Horizon

On the horizon, "it" came. Terras looked at the approaching storm, not knowing the destruction it would bring. The elders in each village and town came together to track the oncoming force. They knew the planet didn't stand a chance. Nobody wanted to believe it, and none of the elders told their citizens.

The dark force was estimated to be trillions of miles away, it should've arrived in a year, given them time to prepare for the fight.

It reached Crystoria within the week.

When it hit, it hit with the utmost subtly. Terras was playing with his two best friends in his village. His mother told him and his friends to come inside because there was a storm coming. It was almost above them, so the trio entered the house in time to see black beams shoot down from the dark clouds. There were thousands of them just at their village. None of them knew the force was enveloping their planet.

Terras was confused as to what was happening, but what he saw was traumatizing to an average child on Earth. He saw his people cut down by the dozen by Crystorian look-alikes. His house was destroyed and as he hid in the rubble, he saw his mother in his last moments.

She died protecting him. And that was the day he first materialized Ruby and Rose.

Terras looked around him. Dazed and confused, he flew to the nearest town and soon realized that other towns weren't doing any better. So he did what he was taught to do. He destroyed.

Destroyed was right word to use in this case. For a child, he was quite the demon with his blades. Through the slashing and stabbing he never thought about anything but his village, his planet, his mother........

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were on the train back to Ponyville. Rainbow Dash was thinking about that jet black storm, and was staring at it for almost half an hour. Fluttershy didn't know why she was so fixated on the storm.

"Is everything okay?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yeah" Rainbow Dash said, but she didn't take her eyes off the storm.

"It's that giant storm isn't it?"

"I don't know" Rainbow Dash said, "I don't like the feel of it."

"I'm sure it's nothing" Fluttershy said.

*  *  *  *  *  *

Princess Celestia sat on her throne, knowing that the disturbance she felt was just a passing storm. But she felt a strange energy emanating from that storm. She turned around again to face the back window, and she saw black beams shoot out of the clouds and speed towards Canterlot. At this sight, Celestia got up from her throne and galloped outside. She said to the nearest guard,

"Gather all of our forces. Send them to the heart of Canterlot. We're under attack."

The surrounding guards who heard the order moved quickly to inform the others of this attack. Princess Celestia teleported to the castle entrance, and saw ponies running in fear and panic, jet black pony formations killing them by the dozens. None of them stood a chance unless she intervened.

Terras

*  *  *  *  *  *

Terras was recounting his first encounter with these black beings, trying not to burst into tears on the spot, when from the cloud that was almost on Canterlot black beams began to travel towards the heart of Canterlot. The reminder of how his planet came rushing back to Terras, flooding his mind with memories best forgotten.

Oh shit

From one of the pod-looking cells that crashed into the town square, a jet black pegasus with no visible eyes, and a gaping mouth dripping some kind of black fluid formed out of it. Terras knew all too well that this fluid was a part of it's body, literally, and that it was acidic to the touch. After seeing the first of the many cells turn into a pony look-alike, Terras' mother came into his mind.

And he snapped.

He materialized Ruby Rose and ran into the fray, cutting down every formation he saw, and destroyed all obstacles in his way. He used every blade at his disposal, front, back, and wings. His blades and armor were dripping with the acidic substance, and the bit that got on his wings......well he didn't really care about burning his wings, as long as he took out as many of these things as possible. Terras fired a beam of spirit energy at a large group of of the formations, and turned around in time to slice two more with his winged blades. He was running through a crowd of fleeing ponies when he and the crowd were surrounded. The formations were quick to devour the ponies, but stopped when they saw him.

"Stupid, filthy, things!" Terras screamed and spun his body as to release his spirit energy in a circle around him. It worked effectively, and he was back to dashing around the city, slicing and dicing the things. He was about to turn a corner when he saw a glance of himself in a cracked window. He skidded to a stop, turned around and walked towards the glass. What he saw reminded him of how he was on the initial attack of his planet. His eyes were blood red with slits like a viper, he had fangs in his mouth, and he was pissed off.

Don't let your anger get the best of you, Terras. You'll end up dead, and I'll end up suffering.

His father's words echoed in his mind as his fangs reshaped and became less sharp, his eyes bacame their normal color, and his pupils returned to being circular. He calmed himself, and gathered his surroundings. This may be an incredible case of deja vu, but he had to find Celestia or Luna, get to a safe spot, and figure out a plan from there. Terras felt a blow to the head, and his blurry vision masked his meeting with the ground.

In a confused daze, Terras blinked quickly to focus his sight. When he did see all that was around him he was more surprised than afraid of the hundreds of pony formations surrounding him. They all stared at Terras, expecting him to do something. He did do something, and that was fight. He fought well, but eventually he began to tire, and felt his spirit energy was running out. He didn't have many more options, and the formations seemed unending. Terras' heart beat faster and faster as the formations pushed his limits and got closer to him. One of them jumped on his back and swung him to the ground. He tried to get up, but was unable to, and he felt the cold stinging bites of these things. Terras tried to blast them away but no energy came out of his hoof, and he just accepted death and defeat.

At least he went out fighting.

As his vision went to black, he heard beams being fired, and the sound of sharp things going through soft things. He thought he was going to the Great Beyond, and he would have eternal happiness. But Terras heard his name called, multiple times. After the tenth time of hearing his name, he opened his eyes and was revealed with the same scene hw was just in. This time the formations were not focused on him but another pony in the shy, vaporizing them with bright beams of light.

The last of the formations were destroyed and the pony flew down to Terras. It landed with a soft thud on the concrete, and approached him. It was Princess Celestia.

She helped him get up, and while he was still sore from the ordeal, and bleeding in multiple places, he still had the guts, and stupidity, to fight.

"Are you able to walk?" Celestia asked.

"If I can stand, I can walk" Terras replied, though he was out of breath and sounded like he shouldn't move very much.

"Where's Luna?" Terras asked.

"Helping to evacuate survivors. They're going inside the mountain. If you can fly, follow me."

Celestia took flight in a hurry towards the mountain, and Terras followed close behind. Celestia looked troubled, like something was bothering her. Terras chose to leave her to the privacy of her mind. Terras flew up to her so that they were flying at the same speed.

"Thanks for saving my butt back there. Don't know what I would've done if you didn't help."

Celestia smiled, "It was nothing, Terras. You are my friend and ally, and letting you die would affect me, as well as the war that has just started. Celestia frowned after the uttering of "war". It probably wasn't the best topic to talk about with her.

After the two arrived at the entrance to the mountain that was apparently big enough to hold every pony in Canterlot, Celestia began to to fly up towards the top of the mountain. Terras followed suit, but was puzzled as to why they weren't entering the mountain.

"We aren't going in the mountain?" Terras asked.

"No, we're going to the top of this mountain. There are things I need to know, and that you need to know."

On the very top of the mountain there was a flat circle, Terras assumed for training. Princess Luna was also there, staring up at the now blackened sky. Upon their arrival, she turned around and walked towards Terras. He hoped that, considering he was already injured, that they would not get any worse.

"What are they going to do?" Luna asked.

Terras aslo noticed that Celestia was looking at him, expecting an answer. So he remembered what exactly the things did to kill the planet, and retold to the best of his ability.

"Millions of them are going to fall from these clouds. And they are going to sprout vines from their arms, or hooves in this case. From there they will begin to fuse together and sap the planet of it's resources. It's going to literally kill the planet. And this one won't be the only planet."

The two princesses expressed for the first time to Terras, shock and awe.

"How do we stop it?" Celestia asked.

Terras' silence said it all.

"Is there a way to stop it?"

Terras looked both princesses in the eye. "They outnumber us a trillion to one. Those clouds, are not going to stop producing those things anytime soon. If there was a way to stop it, trust me, I would know."

Terras looked sullenly at the view of a ravaged Canterlot below. The sight must have been what his village looked like. After the attack.

"I think we're looking at the end of another planet."

*  *  *  *  *  *

"Rainbow Dash, look out!" Pinkie Pie called as another one of the black pony looking things pounced on the six elements. Twilight was the only one with enough power to actually destroy the things, however the better plan was to get to Canterlot as soon as possible. However since the trains would obviously be either destroyed or out of order, the only option was to teleport to Canterlot. But that required Twilight to concetrate, which she could not do with all the things rushing her and her friends.

As City Hall came into view, Twilight proposed that they go inside and teleport to Canterlot from there. After the other five agreed, Twilight led them into the lobby of the building. They had to get to a floor where the things couldn't see them.

"What do we do now?" Fluttershy asked.

"Please.....no more....running" panted Rarity.

"Yeah! No more running! Let's fight till we can't fight no more!" challenged Rainbow Dash.

"Rainbow Dash, why would we do that if we could be safe in Canterlot?" asked Applejack.

"Sorry" Rainbow Dash said and tapped her chest twice, "Pride".

Twilight interrupted and said "There's no guaruntee that Canterlot will be any safer. It wouldn't be crazy to think it's been overrun just like Ponyville. I just hope I'm wrong."

The six took the stairs to the third floor, which gave enough time for Twilight to get her magic going before any of those things showed up. Before teleporting, she checked to make sure everyone had their elements, and after a nod from everyone, began to gather enough magic to teleport five other ponies. After a bright flash of light, they arrived in Canterlot. Or at least what was left of it.

Of all the times to be right......

The End of Almost Everything

The gate of Canterlot castle was broken, and rusted, almost like it was rotted away quickly. However, the castle......

It had a giant chunk of it missing, an entire tower fell over, and it was crawling with those things. The entire city had been overrun. Out of options, Twilight took them to the only other place she thought to be safe. On top of the mountain. Upon arrival, the first thing she and the others saw was Terras sitting with his legs crossed and his dragon shaped wings outstretched. Twilight suddenly felt herself enveloped in warm fur and soft wings. Realizing it was her mentor and second mother, she returned the embrace in kind.

"I'm so happy to know you're okay." Celestia said.

"I am too Princess, but what's happening? Everything's being killed, and the ponies, and the plants, and-and everything's going to Tartarus!" Twilight began to get misty eyed after remembering what had happened to all the ponies in her town. To the best of her knowledge, her and the other elements were the only ones who survived up to now.

"I'm not the one you should be asking" Celestia said and turned to Terras, still sitting, stoically staring at the ruins of Canterlot.

"The things......they......they're going to destroy everything, and take the planet's resources for their own."

Celestia turned to Luna and saw that she was being awfully quiet as well.

"Luna, is something bothering you?"

"Yes" Luna said, "Something is, and if I hadn't jumped to a conclusion, not as many ponies would be dead now. I don't know how it slipped past my guard. It moved like lightning considering it was light years away."

"We all let our guard down when we have plenty of time to react." Celestia said.

"Yes but we had no time. This force was light years away. We had at least two years to prepare! And it arrives in the course of five days! Even if we had our guard up, it would have taken us by complete surprise."

Luna was right, this force moved unnaturally fast, and just so the world could prove her point, the formations started appearing on top of the mountain. They made low gorgling sounds, most likley from the acid in their mouths. A few of then approached the group, then shrieked a terrible shriek that made everyone's, except for Princess Celestia, Luna, and Terras.

Terras sat there, staring at Canterlot.

The formations moved closer, the princesses and the elements got in their fighting positions.

Terras sat there, staring at Canterlot, his eyes becoming red.

"Terras?! We're kinda being attacked!" Twilight called.

He stood up, Ruby Rose his armor and weapon. He turned around, eyes blazing red.

Terras took every single formation out with one swipe of his winged blade, releasing his spirit energy to everything in front of him. Celestia saw how is appearance had changed, and for the first time in thousands of years, she was afraid.

"Terras?" Celestia called. "Are you alright?"

His vision was blurry, voices muffled, and he felt the sickening urge to destroy everyting that hurt his planet, as well as anyone who got in his way. He tried to reason with himself, remember what his father told him about his over active anger. He closed his eyes and put his head in his hooves. Terras needed to clear his mind, think of the bright side. Whatever that was.

When Terras opened his eyes, he opened then to concerned faces staring at him.

"What?" Terras asked.

"What?" Applejack said. "You had your eyes closed and just looking at your hooves for a good minute there. We got worried."

"And you, of all ponies, worried about me, who you just ,met?"

"Of course. If you're a friend of Princess Celestia, you're a friend of mine."

"Me too!" said Pinkie Pie.

"Me as well" said Rarity.

"Me too..." Fluttershy said.

"You already know me Mr.Sonic Rainboom." Rainbow Dash said.

"Okay" Terras said. "All the formalities and friendships aside, we need to figure out what we're gonna do about this." He pointed to all of Canterlot, and looked expectantly at Princess Celestia. She didn't have a single clue of what to do. If there was more time to prepare, she would have had an entire plan as to what they'd do.

"The sudden appearance of this evil force has hit everything and everyone at home. Civilizations have fallen, and we're left to defend ourselves."

"Can't we ask the other ponies in the mountain to help?" Fluttershy asked.

Terras facehoofed. "Look, obviously because you six have a tile, this means you all together have tons of potential. The general public will have little to no understanding of what we have to do. Besides, I'd like to see what you're made of."

"Is that a challenge?" Rainbow Dash and Applejack said together and gave Terras a grudging look.

Terras looked at Celestia and saw that she was staring at the Canterlot ruins. He walked over to her, ignoring the mental challenges by Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Celestia glanced at him from the corner of her eye without looking up.

"It's gone. Whatever isn't destroyed is tainted by those formations. I-"

Terras put a hoof on her shoulder. "I assure you, everything will be fine. Eventually. No, not very reassuring, but I know the most about these formations, and I'll give as much information as I can. We just need a place to start now."

Celestia's gears started up, she had an idea.

"Terras, I need you and Luna to come with me to the Canterlot Library."

"Wouldn't that place be destroyed by then?" Terras asked.

"It's worth trying. You showing up here means that dimensional travel is possible, given enough energy. We could search for everything-and I mean everything- related to dimensions. Even the slightest details will help."

"Okay, but what about the others?"

"They may help as well. My only concern is that the place is in ruins, and we aren't able to enter."

"We'll make an entrance. At this point I don't want what happened to my planet to happen to yours. And I'll do anything to protect it."

"You consider this place your home now. don't you?" Celestia said.

All Terras did was turn towards Luna and walk to her. The plan would soon be made clear and the library would be broken into if necessary.

"Okay, so how are we gonna get there?" Applejack said. "Me and Pinkie don't have wings, and I'm sure not going down there without something blunt or sharp."

Terras looked out again to the ruined land. The black clouds were still sending out more of those......things. And Applejack had a point. He was sure none of her friends wanted to go out here unarmed. Terras looked at the six ponies, and back at Canterlot. He sighed.

"Tough luck......."

"What do you mean 'Tough luck'? Twilight said. "They may be strong with the elements, but it's not like they're invincible! And from what you've been telling us, it seems these things are unstoppable! Can't you give them some type of shield or something?"

"Aren't unicorns able to use magic?"

"And you can't? We all just saw you use it!"

"That wasn't magic, it was spirit energy. It doesn't do anything besides destroy, heal, and protect. And I'll leave the protecting to you, Sparkle."

Twilight had to resist the urge to blast Terras away on the spot. He was just going to send her friends in with no way to survive! What happens if they get attacked, which they most certainly will at this point? Twilight started pacing to cool her head, and Terras walked towards the edge of the cliff.

*  *  *  *  *  *

Celestia stared at her ruined land. This could have been avoided. There could have been less casualties, less lives lost. Sometimes it wasn't fair. Her little ponies killed in the dozens and she, immortal can't do anything to help. She, immortal could not take those ponies' place.

She was snapped out of her trance-like state at the sound of voices rising. Celestia turned to see Twilight and Terras about to tear each other to peices.

"Aren't unicorns able to use magic?"

"And you can't? We all just saw you use it!"

"That wasn't magic, it was spirit energy. It doesn't do anything besides destroy, heal, and protect. And I'll leave all the protecting to you, Sparkle."

She watched Twilight put her hoof to her face, leave it there, and close her eyes.. Celestia walked towards the two and calmly.  She looked at Twilight, then to Terras.

"What is the problem here?" She asked.

"Uh....I think we need to rethink our plan on how to get to the library" Applejack said.

Twilight glared at Terras. "You think?"

"Listen, I can't do anything for them! All I can do is throw my body in the way for them! You want me to-"

"Twilight, Terras" Celestia said. Her voice was stern yet calm. "Deep breaths. Calm yourselves. Now, will someone please tell me what is happening?"

"Terras wants to just waltz into the library with those things crawling all around Canterlot!" Twilight said.

"Well I can't do anything about it" Terras said. "I can't make a shield that surrounds other things. I can't make a strong enough one for myself. I can protect you guys if anything jumps at us if that helps."

"You'd do that for us?" Fluttershy asked.

"Apparently, if it'll make this one happy." He motioned with his head towards Twilight.

"Fine, but I still don't think this is safe. What happens when we get swarmed?"

"That will not happen" Luna said. "I can place a visual invisibility spell on you five. You'll be invisible to everyone except for me. That means to stay close to me. Don't get separated, because you won't be able to see each other either. Celestia, Terras, Twilight, and I will be there to fight off any attacks."

"Sounds alright." Rainbow Dash said.

"Yeah, let's do it." Applejack replied.

The others nodded in unison and all stood in a line across Luna. She closed her eyes and let the magic flow to her horn, enveloping it in its cobalt blue aura. One by one the five elements became invisible, just not to Luna. After about 45 seconds, she opened her eyes and looked at the five ponies. They were staring at what they thought was nothing, but was another invisible pony staring through them as well. Luna looked towards Terras and her sister.

"Can any of you see them?" she asked.

"No" was the reply of both Terras and Celestia.

"Wow, I need to learn that spell." Twilight said.

"Good" Luna said. "Now, how are going about this plan?"

Terras moved towards the edge. "Just follow me, Celestia, and Luna." and he stepped off the edge and slid down the mountain.

The others followed, with Celestia and Luna following up the rear, and Twilight serving as a second barrier to the other five.  Celestia quickly teleported the elements and Luna to the bottom of the mountain where Terras was just getting to the ground. After a silent nod from the group, they set off for the Canterlot library.

The roads of Canterlot were desolate. It was like one of those post apocalyptic towns. And who was to say this town and all of Equestria didn't just go through an apocalypse? Houses were unrecognizable, there were dead ponies everywhere, and the scent of rotting flesh just started to set in. And to make matters worse, every single light in town had been taken out. Not a single beam of light hit Canterlot anywhere, so the only source of light was magical lights. The occaisional frattering of the formations could be heard. The group treaded carefully, as if they were on a glass bridge. Twilight was left to her thoughts in the deafening silence.

I wonder why none of those things have shown up....

"Guys! Get ready!" Terras yelled and snapped Twilight out of her thinking. There were five formations that had just got sent down to Canterlot. Twilight cursed under her breath.

Cripes, jinxed it.

Terras got into his fighting position, as did Twilight. They could both take on the five, and the others would stay back as Celestia and Luna protected them. At the sound of an invisible and silent bell, both sides rushed each other.

Twilight destroyed the first one, immediatley blasting it with a magical beam. Terras was already on the second one, and with two stabs of his front hoof blades and a beam of spirit energy, dispatched the second formation. The formations were becoming angry, and came at the two with a renewed fury. One of them had managed to get behind Twilight.

"Twilight! Behind you!"

Heeding the warning, she bucked the one currently to her front, giving her enough time to deal with the formation behind her. She enveloped the the one attacking from behind in a telekinesis bubble, then sent a magical spike through its chest. Twilight then turned around and swiftly destroyed another formation. Terras had since destroyed the last one and was slightly out of breath due to the surprise, and that the formations had been so bloodthirsty.

After the two caught their breath and were ready to leave, an entire wave of formations dropped down on them. They surrounded the entire group, and while Terras, Twilight, Celestia , and Luna could handle them, the safety of the elements had just popped into his mind.

"Guys, let's go!" Twilight commanded.

She blew an opening in the formations wide enough for everyone to fit through, and Twilight, Terras, the Elements of Harmony, and the princesses, ran for it.

Sprinting through Canterlot with no real sense of where they were going, Twilight tried to look for something that resembled the library. She saw a sign and could just make out "Canterlot Library" on the ruined sign.

"I think that's the library!" Twilight yelled.

The group made a mad dash towards the doors, and when they got there, the door was locked. And it show any sign of budging.

"Oh what the heck?" Twilight said.

"You two might wanna hurry up so we don't get killed!" Rainbow Dash yelled. You couldn't see it but her face was for sure showing pure terror at the prospect of dying and being eaten.

Celestia faced the oncoming hoard, and Luna did the same.

"You two get the door open, we'll hold them off!" Celestia said.

Terras thought to himself for a second, and shot a beam of spirit energy at the door. It splintered into pieces.

"Ha! Works every time." Terras said.

Celestia and Luna combined their power to make an extra strong shield around the library. The group then went towards the front desk to cool down. Princess Luna had removed the invisibility spells on the five elements.

"Okay," Celestia said. "Everyone search this library high and low on anything and everything even remotely related to dimensional travel. I shall search the restricted section. Luna, you may come as well."

"Alright guys, let's get going!" Rainbow Dash said and took off to search the rows of books.

Terras sighed to himself. If they couldn't find anything, It would be the end of everything.

Myth Confirmed

They searched through every section that was there. Pinkie Pie sometimes found books that had to do with dimensions, and saying that it could be possible. But the group knew that already. Luna was checking around the back of the library, where the older books lied. They had considerably more information to give, but none that they didn't already know. Rainbow Dash was getting antsy and had been getting fustrated because no books had what they needed.

"Have we found anything new?" she asked.

"Nope. Sorry RD." Applejack said.

Rainbow Dash started to fly around the library, checking book titles for a second before dashing to the next row. Twilight was in her own world, these were texts she had never read before and she was soaking it all in. If nothing here had anything else on dimensions, Twilight figured that they should at least get a better understanding of what they already know.

Dimensional travel is a theory. If the universe is all matter, then there could- and should be- exact copies made of those particles, which would mean another universe or dimension. This theory has yet to be tested. However with magic it could be possible. The only problem is the universe contains massive amounts of energy, whether stored or in use. A unicorn would need more energy than the universe, which wouldn't be a good thing in the first place. Every step the pony would take would make pieces of the earth disappear. And the entire planet would be vaporized eventually.

"So if he was able to........" Twilight said to herself. She looked at Terras, searching through rows just as much as everyone else. She didn't even think Terras knew how much power he actually had. Either that or something happened in the short period of time it took to make that portal. Something that boosted his power to beyond the universe.

*  *  *  *  *  *

Celestia had only been to this secret room in the restricted section twice. Both times just to relive old memories. But now the fate of the planet depended on Starswirl the Bearded's personal writings. His journal contained theories and unknown information regarding dark magic, outer space, and most importantly, the universe and multiple dimensions.

May 1

I have found a peculiar line shaped object while looking through my telescope. I will investigate further. Hopefully it is not a bad omen.

May 2

The line has disappeared. I assume a supernova has taken place near our solar system. I will search for this supernova to see if it is a danger to Earth.

May 5

Today, while looking at the stars, I found a two legged creature with full comprehension of our language. I found him in a delusional state. It looked like it had been in a fight. I've been housing it and taking care of it. I will also inform Celestia about this. Something tells me that explosion wasn't a supernova.

May 10

His name is Raphelli. Apparently he's from a planet called Crystoria, banished by his elders to whater place he may end up in. I have no idea what for, but it puts me on edge as to what he may be capable of.

The entries stopped right there. But Celestia had more than enough information to go on. Terras' kind has been here before. Thousands of years before, and then faded into books kept secret. Dimensions were involved now, not just planets. Infinite universes threatened by this evil force. She stepped out of the concealed room and out the restricted section. Twilight was the first to notice her.

"Princess Celestia, what were you doing in there?"

"Gathering information" Celestia said. "Terras' kind has been here long ago. Starswirl the Bearded wrote about it in his journal."

"Terras!" Celestia called.

He floated down to the ground and set a stack of books on a table.

"Whatcha need?"

"Do you know of anyone named Raphelli?" Celestia asked.

"Raphelli......no, never heard of anyone like that. Is he important?"

"Yes he is. He is a Crystorian that arrived here thousands of years ago."

"Wait, what?" Terras asked. "A Crystorian, here?"

"Yes. He was banished by his elders to any random place. He came here." Celestia said.

"Just like the story....." Terras whispered to himself.

"Story? What story?" Twilight said.

"My father told me a story once. A Crystorian warrior was banished to a far away place. And he found his way back....... He told of amazing scenery, and the locals weren't too bad either."

Terras drew a three ovals overlapping each other in the center, making a rounded, six pointed star.

"Apparently, it was that symbol that transported him to and from Crystoria."

"Was there a lesson learned? Anything involving the planet's history?" Celestia asked.

"No, it was just something to pass the time. My father never told me where the story came from, or if it was true."

Celestia walked to the window, and stared at the darkness outside. She didn't know what to do, there was all this information and what to do with it? That symbol, she had seen it in the back of his book, but ignored it as there was nothing written about it.

"I'll be right back. Luna, I would like you to come with me." Celestia said, and stepped back inside the restricted section. Once the door was closed Celestia put her hoof to the wall, opening the secret room dedicated to Starswirl's personal journals.

"That important huh?' said Luna.

Celestia nodded her head and opened he journal to the very back, to find the symbol had disappeared. "Darn, it went away. Luna this may be magic concealing more magic. I'm not as skilled in this field as you are, do you mind?"

"Of course not" Luna said and set the journal down on it's stand. She first checked for any physical signs of magic, pushing her face so close to the page her eye almost touched it. Then she pulled back and cast a spell to scan the back page for magical concealment. Luna's eyes began to glow, and her horn glowed purple as she checked the entire page for the slightest magical trace. She found it. In the very center, there was a trace of magical concealment on the page. She snapped out of her trance, and turned to Celestia.

"Something is definitely being hidden on that page. It looks very complicated as well, but I believe I will be able to break it."

Celestia looked on as Luna started her process again, but this time lasting longer. Luna began to sweat a little, which meant this spell must have been tightly locked. Celestia gave some of her strength to her sister and that seemed to help as Luna seemed like some weight was taken off her shoulders. The symbol was beginning to show itself, so Luna was succeeding. After a few more seconds, Luna came out of it slightly panting.

"That spell was more difficult than I thought" Luna said. "I need a moment."

"Of course, thank you Luna." Celestia said.

The symbol had a slight blue glow to it, and there were runes below it. It was Old Equestrian.  Celestia could make out most of the words.

The mountain holds your key. Beyond Equestria and into inhabited, but unknown lands.

"Inhabited but unknown...." Celestia thought out loud. What land could be inhabited, but still unknown? It was like being somewhere without being somewhere. *Unless.......*

"Luna, get ready. We're going to the Land of the Griffons. I'm going to tell the others."

Celestia left her sister to rest up and read the riddle that showed her the way. In the center of the library Celestia saw the six ponies at a table conversing among themselves. She silently stepped over to them, and called for their attention.

"Everypony, listen. Luna and I are going to the Land of the Griffons. We believe that some clues will be found regarding the........current situation."

"You mean that there are jet black acidic ponies trying to kill us and destroy our planet?" Rainbow Dash blurted out.

"Well, yes. I want you all to join the ponies in the mountain. Twilight, I'm leaving leadership to you. If anypony asks what's happening, just reassure them that we're investigating. It's not that far of a walk from here. When you're all ready we will depart."

"Did we find what we were looking for?" Applejack asked.

"Yes we did" Celestia replied *Now where is Terras.......*

*  *  *  *  *  *

Terras sat on the shambles of the roof. He was thinking of how he got here, what would've happened if he hadn't come here, and how he was going to get back. But after only a few days, did he want to go back? The civilians here showed more hospitality than his planet. However that was probably because more than half his life was spent in a base camp training and killing those formations. The one thing that kept bothering him was that he even teleported in the first place. He was afraid of the prospect of death, something that was revered throughout Crystoria. If he hadn't been afraid, if he had just accepted his fate, he wouldn't be here. The ponies wouldn't be witnessing their demise.

Terras had been on top of the library before, once when he had nothing to do. The view had reminded him of a place in Florida where a giant hill overlooked a field of wheat. Instead of a hill there was a roof and it was overlooking buildings. If it weren't for the way he was raised the majority of his life, Terras would've cried.

Imagining the scenery and his life in the past left his guard down, leaving him open to be eaten by one of the formations, which they jumped on instantly. The only warning Terras had was a low gurgling sound by one of them. Then they were scrambling to get on him. It would have been easy to disperse them, but his back was turned, making him seem like an easy target. I don't think so Terras thought to himself.

He started with a normal blast to destroy the formation leading the charge. He then began to shoot individual targets with concentrated blasts from his hand. The group was finished in less than twenty seconds. He stood there in the calm, relaxing his nerves. Another slip up like that and he may not be able to blast his way out. He turned around to see two more lunge at him.

Terras grabbed them both by their necks. Their weight pushed him to the ground. Terras was in a weak position. There could be more coming. He had to destroy these now or face a horde. Terras was charging another energy blast with his hands still wrapped around the formations' necks. Then the two things started to have beams of light emanate from their bodies. They were simply vaporized, eaten by the light inside them. Terras took a wild guess that it was the big alicorn standing in front of him.

"I had them" Terras said.

"I know, but I wanted to make sure you did." Celestia replied.

"Don't act like I'm weaker than you. Just because I had my guard down doesn't mean I'm fragile."

"I wasn't saying that" Celestia said. She looked around the rooftop and back at Terras. "What were you doing here alone?"

"I'm sorry if you missed me." Terras said, slightly frowning.

"Terras I'm being serious, what if you got swarmed?"

"Actually I think I welcome the prospect of death at this point. Not that I want to rush out and get myself killed."

"Terras what are you doing out here?" Celestia asked.

Terras sighed, and looked out to the dark horizon. "Remembering."

"May I ask what?"

A glare from Terras told Celestia that he wasn't going to tell her anything. Understanding that, she got to the point. "Luna and I are going to the Land of the Griffons. I would like you to come with us."

"Why would you need me to come along?" Terras asked.

Celestia thought for a while, trying to word it differently than what what she was actually thinking. "Call it 'royal secret service'. Not only that but you seem to know the most out of all of us about the symbol."

"Wait, what about the symbol? Did you find something?"

"Yes. Raphelli may not be just a character in a story after all."

"I'm in." Terras said.

And with that the elements, Celestia, Luna, and Terras all prepared for their departure. After a quick discussion with five royal guards to tell the others that Twilight Sparkle was to take temporary power of Equestria. The princesses decided not to tell the public that they were leaving, so that no panic or discontent would arise. The other five ponies would be living in the mountain as regular ponies, and they all Pinkie Pie sweared  to not tell anyone. Luna, Celestia, and Terras were at the edge of the mountain where they would fly since none of the princesses knew that place well enough to picture a place to teleport to.

"How long will it take us?" Terras asked.

"If we fly quickly, it should only take a few hours." said Luna. "Given that those things don't give us trouble in the air."

"It's worth the risk if it means I can save a planet from what mine went through."

Celestia turned to both of them. "Are you both ready?"

"I am" Luna replied.

"Let's do it." Terras said.

The three took off, at whatever time of day it was, hoping for smooth winds and no interaction with the formations. And hoping that they find something, anything about this Raphelli. For the symbol that was just a thing of fiction has now become reality.

Claws of Iron, Wings of Steel

"Considering the direction the force came from, I'd say the griffons are having the same problem we are." said Terras.

"You're probably right." Celestia said. "Hopefully their government has crafted a plan to fight them off."

"I am beginning to have doubts on whether their king will side with us." Luna said.

"Please, he can't be that bad. Can he?" Terras asked.

Both princesses were dead silent, giving Terras his answer.

"Really?" He asked.

"We were at war with their country, for something so elementary." Luna said.

"What, a board game?"

"Chess to be precise." Luna replied. "He doesn't think out strategies, hardly thinks at all. And he paid the price for it."

Terras merely shook his head and continued to fly on. He would have to get the story from the griffon's side.

Twilight sat in her chamber along with the other Elements of Harmony. She had a special one saved just for her, in case anything like this ever happened. Ponies had been approaching her, asking "Princess what's happening, is Equestria under attack?" or "Princess what are we going to do?". The barrage of questions left her tired of saying the exact thing "Don't worry, we're investigating." over and over again. The repetition left her with an exhausted voice, and a small headache. Twilight and her friends decided to head to her private bunker, so they could wrap their heads around the last few hours.

The six ponies were laying in the chamber, dead silent, lost in their thoughts. Applejack was the first to speak. "Twilight, I know you've heard this for the millionth time now, but what are we gonna do?"

Twilight stared at her purple carpet floor. She was all by herself this time. She couldn't rely on Princess Celestia for guidance, she was in charge now. She prayed that the three would get back soon.

"I don't know, Applejack." Twilight replied. "All I can do is reassure the ponies that we're looking into the situation. I doubt anyone has started anything yet."

"Ugh, I hate being unable to do anything! Equestria's in danger, and none of us can do anything about it!" Rainbow Dash blurted out.

"I assure you Rainbow Dash, we'll be able to do something about it." Rarity said. "We just have to wait a little while."

Rainbow Dash pouted, "Waiting isn't one of my specialties."

The mountains had come into sight. The mountains that the griffons inhabited. Terras had seen griffons in Earth's ancient writings, but to see an entire country of griffons was another thing. He had asked Luna to be turned back into a Crystorian, simply because he was more used to Ruby and Rose being held in his hand. She agreed, but only when they reached the castle, so Terras wouldn't look so conspicuous.

There was not the gleaming golden buildings of a hidden utopia, but that didn't mean there was broken down homes. In fact, the majority of the buildings were made entirely of rock, most likely taken from the mountains. Only once in a while would Terras see a house made of something like brick or wood. The griffons themselves, weren't there. Towns and cities, abandoned. It was like Terras' Crystorian village, accept this was an entire country. It was so quiet and all he could hear was to wind blowing against his face. The one thing that troubled Terras was, where are the formations? It had been extremely calm, no formations falling from the sky. That only made him uneasy about the castle they were headed to.

"Luna, considering this place is basically a ghost town, do you think you could change me back now?" Terras asked.

"Just wait a little longer, look, we're almost there." Luna replied.

Terras looked towards the horizon. He saw a building that stood high and wide, literally carved into the mountain. The section that could be seen was shaped like a half dome, the other half somewhere in the mountain. Golden rods held the dome up, and it had diamond encrusted doors. The top of the castle also had patterns of glass in triangles which took up most of the roof space. Detail was paid attention to almost obsessively. Even the hinges on the door were made of some special metal, and would not creak whatsoever. While the outside looked utterly pristine, it had an eerie feel to it. Mixed with the dead silence and the wind blowing silently, the castle seemed to hold a formation surprise waiting for the three.

"Terras, after I change you back I want you to climb onto the roof, and stay as far from the king's sight as possible. If I call you, that's when you drop down" Luna said.

He nodded, and after being turned into a Crystorian again, flew up to the glass roof, and tried to make himself as unnoticeable as possible. He lied prone on the glass while gazing in on the multiple hallways in the castle. Nobody. Not a single griffon. No movement, no noise from inside, nothing. Terras could see Celestia and Luna moving throughout the castle, making their way to the throne room. As they got closer, Terras sort of, moved with them, so if one of them called him he'd be there. Celestia and Luna had reached the throne room and were about to open the door, when Terras saw what he believed was the dead body of the griffon king, sitting in his throne.

The hallways were more difficult to get through because of the debris' but the princesses got through it. Celestia looked up to see Terras in a state of surprise. There had to be something behind those doors. Very slowly she began to open the door. Luna Charged up a spell in case what was waiting for them was an ambush. There had been about a minute of dead silence before Celestia burst the door open. The griffon king sat there, his eyes closed, and scars riddling his body. Was he dead or just asleep? The two sisters looked at each other and silently agreed to approach carefully. They both stepped with as much silence as possible. All the while Terras watched from above, ready to drop down and strike at any given time. It was when Celestia and Luna were about five feet away did the king raise his left hand. Instinctively the sisters jumped away and readied their magic. The griffon king then opened his grey eyes, and stared down the two alicorns.

"What, come to finish me off?" the king said.

Luna and Celestia glanced at each other, not sure what to say. What had happened so that he was the very last griffon in the mountains? Luna was the first to ask.

"Aerus, how have you been dealing with......this?"

"Heh, "this". Well, you know."

"Know what?"

"That I'm the only griffon with a body strong enough to withstand the use of magic. That made surviving all this so much easier. It was still a struggle, mind you. Those things came in like an invading army. I just barely managed to hold them off. Then I put a shield over the entire mountain. That's why you don't see any of those accursed things."

"King Aerus, Luna and I would like you to join us in our efforts to find the source of this-"

"No" the king said.

"What? Why not?" Luna asked.

"Because I'm already a dead griffon. When they find me, and they will, I'll just delay the inevitable. My life has been long enough, it's time to take a blissful end. Oh, but before I depart, I'd like to meet your friend."

Celestia and Luna stared at Aerus, who somehow managed to snuff out Terras' presence.

"Come on, I can smell him" Aerus said.

At that moment a dragon winged human dropped from the sky, hitting the ground and creating a small shock wave in the quiet room.

"Sorry for hanging back, I wanted to make a nice entrance for you."

"You....." the griffon king said. "You remind me of.....of something my mother told me about. Tell me, where do you come from?"

"Crystoria." Terras said.

"Well, I've officially seen everything. I bid you all a long and torturous farewell."

And at that he clapped his claws together, which teleported the three outside. They were disappointed to see Aerus go, but were more disappointed to know that they had left empty handed. Terras stomped his foot on the ground.

"Ugh! We didn't even find anything!"

Celestia said to herself "I'm almost completely sure the clue would be somewhere here."

"Clue? I think we've found the answer here." Luna said. She motioned for them all to turn. On the mountain was the same emblem drawn in Starswirl the Bearded's journal.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's check it out!" said Terras, and he zipped up to the giant symbol. It glowed bright purple, and the brightness fluctuated, making it look almost radioactive. In the center of the symbol was a purple gem, glowing as bright as the symbol itself, so much it mesmerized Terras when he got up close. It looked so fragile. Terras slowly reached his hand towards the glowing gem, in which Celestia said "Terras, I don't think you should touch that!"

But it was drowned out by his complete and utter fixation on this delicate jewel. His hand touched the gem, which caused it to glow even brighter purple. His vision became blurred, and he was suddenly in a white room. The room was completely empty. It seemed like he was in some kind of space, outside of the space - time continuum. There was no sound, no movement.

Greetings, Terras.

"What the -" he looked all around him and saw nothing. "Where are you? What.... are you?"

I am everything in this room, and more.

"What's going on? Why am I here?"

You are here, because you are the last surviving Crystorian. And that is something I cannot let happen.

"The hell.... who are you?" He drew his swords, and turned slowly around on his feet, expecting an attack on any side of him. He got a prick on the back of his neck, and turned around to see a bright purple shape, like the black formations, but this one was different. It grabbed Terras and pointed its finger at his chest. Terras saw his mother dying all over again, he saw his father scolding him for running in the house. He relived watching his mother being killed by the formations. And it made Terras furious.

His eyes turned to red with slit irises again. His nails grew into claws. And he tried to run. To run towards his mother, to help her live, he wanted to save his brother, and to save his planet. Just to have a normal life, to not have to be alone. To have his family.

Terras continued to struggle, to try and escape while his childhood was played back to him. He couldn't escape, he could only stay in place. And scream, swing, try to blow himself out of the grasp of whatever was holding him back. The slideshow stoped and showed a reflection of Terras in his current state. He looked in disbelief at what he had become. He'd never looked at himself in a mirror when he was this angry. His reflection wasn't appalling, more just surprising. And as his eyes went back to their normal black, the voice spoke again.

Look at yourself. Crystorians are animals when sparked by a charge. That charge is emotion. Emotions are useless pieces of living things. They limit the true potential of beings, and I will eliminate all emotions from life in as many universes as possible.

"That's...... crazy. Who are you?"

The voice chuckled to itself.

Please, call me Neutral

"Seriously?" Terras asked.

Before he got an answer, his vision blurred again. Soon everything was black.

His eyes slightly opened, then snapped open. He looked to his left, and saw the mountain where he had first touched the gem. The symbol was still engraved into the mountain, but without the mesmerizing glow. Terras turned to his right and saw Celestia and Luna closely examining the purple gem. Terras instantly recalled the past twenty minutes.

"Don't touch that!" Terras called toward the princesses.

"My goodness Terras, what happened?" Celestia was nearly smothering him. "Your eyes started glowing, and you wouldn't speak, and I -" She caught herself, about to cry about losing him.

"I... was extremely concerned. "

Terras, staring at Celestia and Luna, shook his head in an attempt to clear his mind quickly. "Ok, thanks" he said. "Just do not touch that thing. Can't stress that enough."

"What happened?" Luna asked. Her voice contained more concern than actual inquiry.

"There was a white room. And this deep voice, it showed me my childhood. My planet..... Believe me I have more questions than answers too."

Terras stood up, and turned toward the mountain. "Whatever happened, this is just the beginning."

Finding the Connection

Twilight Sparkle was sitting at her desk, reading through her enitre library. Just a normal Tuesday. Spike was in the backyard sunbathing, Twilight assumed, so she had the library to herself. Fables and Fairy Tales was a personal favorite of hers, and as she was reading about a mare who chooses the line between life and death, literally, Spike rushed in the door panting.

"Twilight!........Letter......Princess........Celestia........

He fell to one knee and handed Twilight the scroll. What could the princess have needed that required her to be at the castle? Well, maybe she was just checking up on her to see how she was doing. It was nothing of the sort.

My Most Faithful Sudent,

Something has come up and you must come to the castle as soon as possible. I cannot relay any details until you are here. I apologize for any inconvenience.

Sincerely,

Princess Celestia

"Well that's odd" Twilight said, "I wonder what's so important? Oh! Maybe she's gonna give me an important test to see if I can move up in my studies!" Twilight had already become an alicorn, and subsequently, Equestria's newest princess.

Twilight's face beamed with excitement and anticipation. She would probably be able to obtain access to the restricted section! The oceans of knowledge and ancient records made her want to go all that much quicker, and she promptly began to make herself presentable.

"So you're going?" Spike asked.

"Sure am Spike, take a letter please."

Spike found a peice of paper and a quill to write with

"Ready Twilight."

"I'm on my way." Twilight said.

"That's all?" Spike asked.

"Yes Spike. I have to give her confirmation that I'm going to the castle. So she expects me to be there."

"Ok then"

The short response was written, and sent to Princess Celestia in a green, magical blaze. Twilight then put her royal garments on. She didn't quite feel adjusted in her new place, but understood that she should look the part. After placing her crown on her head, she then gave Spike a warm goodbye and a kiss on the forehead. Being an alicorn had its perks. Twilight's magical prowess was greatly enhanced after the transformation and she was able to teleport longer distances. From the library to the castle was well within her ability.

She waited about ten seconds to make sure Celestia receives the letter, and teleports in front of Canterlot Castle. The sudden arrival must have startled the two guards at the front door, because their faces displayed surprise at the appearance of Princess Twilight Sparkle instead of their usual stone set looks.

"Hehe, sorry for the drop in" Twilight said.

"It's fine Princess. Allow me."

Both guards opened the gigantic doors and Twilight was immediately filled with a sense of nostalgia. The sights and smells of her schoolfilly years again. Time flies, doesn't it? Twilight thought. With all the good memories rushing back, she nearly forgot about the reason she came here. *Right, Princess Celestia, you can reminisce later Twilight.*

She quickly found Celestia's room, and with it two royal guards who acknowledged her by bowing and saying simultaneously "Princess."

One guard knocked on Celestia's door and informed her of Twilight's presence.

"Please come in Twilight."

*  *  *  *  *

Princess Celestia stood in the doorway of Terras' room. She wanted to know just how exactly how Terras was able to generate enough power for planetary travel.

"Terras"

"Yes Celestia?"

"I would like to ask you a few things."

"I'll answer to the best of my ability."

"Where did you come from?"

Terras took a while to answer, for he didn't trust Celestia that much.

"I came from a planet called Crystoria."

"Crystoria. Unusual name for a planet" Celestia said.

What's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear Crystoria?" Terras asked.

"Crystals" Celestia answered.

"Exactly. No other planet in our solar system contains more crystals. Basically the only mineral found underground."

"Terras, do you know how much power it takes for teleportation?"

"A lot. On Crystoria you can't use teleportation without the aid of a commanding officer. Too much risk associated with it. However many of my people have more than enough power for it."

Celestia knew this well. You had to concentrate on where you were going at all times. If your mind wavered even a little, you would be sent to a place completely different from where you were trying to get to.

His power is much greater than mine.Celestia thought. *This could spell trouble in the future.*

Celestia looked at him sternly. "What were you so desperate to get away from?"

The question took Terras off guard, he never mentioned trying to escape from something. How did she figure out so quickly?

"I never said I was escaping from something."

"But it's obvious is it not? You tried to teleport somewhere, your mind strayed from your destination in the moment, and you ended up in here. And I assume that a commanding officer was not present?"

Terras was taken aback. She guessed it. She described exactly what happened to him on Crystoria. She's something else. Terras thought.

Celestia tried again. "So what was it that made you so desperate to leave your planet?"

Terras was reluctant to tell the story of the evil force slowly eating away his planet. He hardly knew this mare, and she hardly knew him. He shouldn't give about half his life's story to a mare who he neither knew or trusted.

And yet, she could be a powerful ally.

Terras thought to himself for a moment, gathering his memories of the force that plagued his home. And he couldn't hold back.

"It was about 27 years ago when we first noticed the evil force destroying a nearby planet. I was around four or five. Nobody thought it would spread, nobody thought it would come for us. We were terribly wrong."

"I was 11 when it first hit us. Nobody noticed, except for a black cloud headed our way. My village didn't know about what the black cloud carried, or the thousands of people it's killed. They thought some weather was arriving." A tear began to roll down his cheek. Physical proof off that he indeed felt.

"When we saw it's army of black mutant formations, we stood up and fought. It was what we always did when our home was threatened.

Terras took a moment to gather his feelings before he burst into tears. The thought of reliving his parent's death was a challenge.

"It was a slaughter fest, and that's an understatement. By the dozen I watched my entire village reduced to rubble, fire, and bodies. My mother.......she died while I was trying to protect her........I couldn't save her, there were too many.....and my brother and father.....they died fighting......"

At this point Celestia was sitting down, this boy was put through hell and a half, yet still alive and ready to fight. Even she started to get misty eyed.

"I was one of twenty, twentythat were still alive after the initial attack. There was no way to communicate with other towns, we had to live on our own. We fought back, as hard as we could but outnumbered and surrounded, one by one each of our twenty went away."

"It was down to seven when I was sent on a scouting mission to check a nearby fort for a base of operations. The base....well it was crawling with those formations. One small mistep and I alert the entire base to my existence. I ran, I tried to fly, but that didn't work. I eventually made a decision: risk losing everything by leading the things back to camp, or break one rule in order to save everyone. So I broke the only rule in energy training.

"I used teleportation"