The Known World - Fall Of The Parliament

Lucena was still in a deep sleep. She was once again haunted by the dark figures that moved about her. She lay there in the midst of a dark ocean of evil monsters all by herself.

Why can't I just wake from this dream...?

Why am I surrounded by all this darkness...?

"Who will save me?" she thought as the pool’s black sludge pulled her down slowly.

Suddenly, a light appeared above Lucena. From the light came a hoof, and Lucena could hear her name being called from above.

Lucena, are you awake yet?

Relax, friend, she'll be fine. Just give her some time...

Many thoughts raced through her mind as the light grew brighter and swallowed all the darkness around her. She opened her eyes only to meet Astrim's hoof on her shoulder.

"Aaaah!" Lucena screamed as she scrambled up to her hooves within moments.

Astrim leaped backwards, alarmed by Lucena’s reaction.

“Are you alright, Lucena?”

“Yes, I’m fine. Mother wants to speak to you.”

“Mother? Who?”

Lucena trotted up to Astrim and placed her hoof on his muzzle. His eyes closed shut then shot open bright with light. She stepped back as a part of her basic instincts, but there wasn’t anything that took place at all.

Astrim stood in front her like a statue. Lucena placed her hoof on his chest, but his body didn’t move a muscle.

“Hmm, strange…” Lucena said as she began to notice her friends coming closer.

“Hi, fellow friend of ours, how are you, and what happened to Astrim?” Seasoris said as he waved his hoof in front of Astrim’s glowing white eyes.

“Mother wants to speak to you all. She has an important message for every one of you,” Lucena as she came closer to Seasoris.

“What in the world…? Hey Lucena, are you okay? We don’t have mothers. You should check out your-”

Seasoris became stiff as Lucena placed her hoof on his head. Seasonaria took a bow before her closing her eyes.

“Please, take us to our mother. I would love to know how to use my powers to help bring to an end this chaos and create a better world.”

Lucena had also placed a hoof on her head and Seasonaria immediately froze in position with her eyes glowing bright white. She then looked over at Vulcanaria who was amazed by what she saw.

Vulcanaria looked at her then down to the ground and said, “Lucena, I just… I just wanted to tell you that I was sorry for earlier. I didn’t mean any of what I said I-”

Lucena placed a hoof under her chin and looked at her with a cheerful smile.

“It’s alright, my sister. I don’t want your heart to be heavy. I want to know that it’s light. I forgive you, but Mother has something important to tell you. You must go,” Lucena said as she  removed her hoof away from her chin and touched her horn.

“Thank you.”

Vulcanaria froze in position also and her eyes began to glow a bright white. Lucena sat down on her haunches and looked up at the night sky.

“I’ll wait here for them till then,” she said lying on the ground and then closing her eyes.

                                        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Ah, my child, I see you wanted to meet me indeed,” the great alicorn said as she neared her foal.

“Well, even though I’m quite confused as to why I’m here, I do want to learn my purpose and role in the world,” Astrim replied, giving her a sweet smile.

“Hmm, are you ready to learn how to use your powers to help save and keep the universe?”

“More than ready,” he replied looking at his mother as she started to fly up above him.

“You must first connect with your powers and the universe,” the great alicorn said, tossing a boulder in front of him.

“Umm, what should I to do with this rock?”

“Move it.”

Astrim closed his eyes and focused his magic around the rock. He tried to lift it, but the rock didn’t move an inch. He tried moving it sideways, and he tried pulling it. He even tried using his magic to move it forward, but the rock simply wouldn’t move. After trying those methods over and over again, he stopped and collapsed on the surface.

“Argh, hmm… I must say, this is quite the rock,” Astrim hummed as examined the boulder.

“Yeah, quite the rock it is if you don’t know how to properly use the magic within you. You need to reach within yourself and connect with the magic of the twelve realms of the universe.”

“Right. So… what are the twelve realms of the universe?”

The great alicorn looked down at him and showed him her ever-flowing radiance of white beauty. Then she took a kneeling position and placed her wings around Astrim.

“Close your eyes, and I will guide you to them.”

Astrim obeyed, closing his eyes. He soon felt a soft breeze pass through him. His body started to feel light. His mane and tail started to whip about as the breeze became stronger. Soon everything felt normal. However, after a few moments, he noticed that his hooves were not planted the ground. Instead, he still felt light and felt his body floating about like a bubble in the wind. When he opened his eyes, he was in the middle of nowhere, somewhere in outer space.

He looked around at all the stars that shined from far away, and the planets which offered the beautiful mixed colors different sizes and unique shapes. He was able to make out more than fifty constellations that the universe had to offer, bringing pleasure to his eyes. The sight of it all was good for the exploration therein.

“Where am I…” Astrim asked still breath taken by the beautiful scenery presented before him.

Well, you’re in an unknown area of the universe! Well, at least your mind is.

“Who just said that?” Astrim asked as he began turned his head about in frantic manner looking all where he could’ve to see who was talking to him.

Fear not, little brother.

“Little brother?! What do you mean? Where are you?” Astrim said as he continued turning around in the same manner.

Suddenly a giant creature appeared before him. He had the head of lion, complete with the crown of fur on its neck. His eyes were green, and he had razor sharp teeth. His coat was brown and he had the hooves of a pony. And on his rump, he bore the sign of the fifth realm: Leo.

“Hello,” the creature said.

“Aaaah!” Astrim yelled as he tried his best to scurry away from the pony giant.

“Fear not, little brother, I will not hurt you. The name’s Torlock. You could call me Tor if that’s fine with you,” Torlock said as he smiled, showing his carnivorous teeth.

“Heh heh, of course. Torlock sounds fine to me,” Astrim said with his eyes focused on his teeth.

“I, being one of the twelve realms of the universe, have the responsibility to keep the universe forever in harmony and peace, along with your help. That is one of your main duties along with protecting the world,” Torlock said as backed away a little from Astrim.

“Mother sent you here to learn your connection between us and how to use us along with your powers, right?”

“I believe so,” Astrim said as he tried to keep himself standing straight, which was difficult since there wasn’t a platform for him to stand on.

“Hmm… Hey! Everyone! Come and teach our brethren how to use his powers,” Torlock said with a loud but friendly roar.

“There are more of you?”

“Why of course, dear brother. You’ll see them in just a moment,” Torlock said, smiling.

“Another one?” a large pink pony said as she appeared from the depths from galaxy trotting up towards them.

“I guess so. Maybe Mother had yet another to show us,” a large blue pony said, running up alongside the pink pony.

“Hmm, so she shows us yet another one? I wonder how many she has.” A large brown pony with two horns that protruded from his forehead landed from above next to them.

“Where are the others?” Torlock asked the other realms.

“I guess they weren’t supposed to be here for him,” the brown pony said as he exhaled through his nostrils.

“Was everyone here for Lucena?”

“Nope, only Sarah, Teza, Lia, and I were there for her,” the pink pony responded.

“Okay, let’s not waste any more time. He needs to know his roles right away. So, Astrim, are you ready to know what your purpose is and how to connect with us?” Torlock said looking down at the foal.

“I guess so,” Astrim said holding up a hoof.

“Good. First, let’s just create a platform for you to stand on.”

Torlock placed his hoof underneath Astrim, bringing together small fragments of destroyed asteroids, which made a smooth platform for him to stand on.

“Wow. Much better.”

“Alright, now I want to begin with you,” Torlock said leaning his head forward and closer to Astrim. “Do you know who you are and why you even exist?”

“Now that you mention it… No, not at all.”

Torlock raised his head back and the dark brown stallion began to speak.

"Before I say what I have to say, let us make ourselves known to you, brother. I am Azar of the second realm, Taurus. Pleased to meet you, brother."

The twin ponies swarmed around Astrim for a while, giggling before they went back into their positions.

"Hello Astrim, I'm Karla."

"And my name is Sarah."

"We represent the third realm of the universe which represents Gemini," Karla said.

"And now to move on with who you are," Azar said.

He leaned in towards him and looked at him with a serious expression.

“You are the son of Mother Faust, a brother of the twelve realms, and a guardian of the universe. Your purpose and responsibility is to help us keep the universe in check. That means keeping yourself and all the inhabitants of the universe in harmony and peace with the help of our powers and your fellow brethren.”

“Do you get everything I have said so far?”

“Yes, perfectly,” Astrim responded. “I was wondering if you would be able to answer why the island looks so chaotic?”

The four realms looked at each other.

“Yes… that,” Azar said as sighed showing a slight frown.

“I figured maybe we were the keys to completing the creation of the world or something.”

“You’re responsibility is protecting it. It is already done with its creation,” Azar responded.

“Then who could’ve created such chaos?” Astrim asked.

“The Draconequi,” Torlock responded.

“Who are they?” Astrim said, turning to Torlock.

“Those creatures brought complete discord to your world. They stop at nothing to turn order into chaos. Even as we speak, most parts of your world are controlled heavily by those damned creatures.”

“Then what are we to do to restore the world and keep the balance?” Astrim asked giving a slight frown.

“You have to terminate them!” Karla said with malice.

“You must show them who rules around here,” Sarah said, pointing her hoof at Astrim.

“Alright, we will,” Astrim responded as leaned his head forward respectfully.

“This means war against the Draconequi, my young brother. These creatures are part of a group called “The Parliament of Chaos” which hosts seven of the most powerful Draconequus to have ever existed, Azathoth being the ruler of it all,” Azar said as he slowly stepped back a short way from Astrim.

“Azathoth…”

“That’s right,” Torlock continued. “You six must defeat the great chaos that holds a powerful threshold over your world.”

“Now for your powers,” Torlock said as he moved his hoof right over Astrim. “Can you lift anything?”

“Well, no. I don’t even know how to use magic.”

I may be able to help with that… a voiced echoed from the universe. Suddenly, a large white unicorn mare with a blonde mane and tail, decorated with the beauty of a rainforest, her eyes as blue as the sky appeared in front of him.

"I am Teza of the sixth realm, Virgo. I shall help thee make known thy power. And thou shalt understand its use."

She looked at the other realms and continued speaking.

"I will return him to Mother when he gets ahold of the magic."

 She lifted the platform and trotted off with Astrim into the depths of space.

"Have a great time, brother," Torlock said, waving to him.

"Excuse me, where we going? And why are we moving so fast?!" he said as she skipped past many planets like lightning.

"You shall see, brother."

When they arrived at Teza’s realm, she placed Astrim in a beautiful garden of lush grass and thick trees. The sun shone down beautifully on both Astrim and Teza. A nice breeze would constantly pass through, and he liked the breeze going through his mane. All the feelings were of great pleasure to Astrim, but Teza quickly set two boulders in front of him so that who wouldn’t get lost within the mesmerizing sensation of ease the world gave all the inhabitants.

"Where am I now?" Astrim frowned a little at the two boulders.

"You are now on my home planet, Sumalia. But we have no time to show thee around for thou hast not come here for that."

"Right," Astrim said as he frowned at the two boulders.

"Let us start."

“Before we begin we must first meditate.”

“Meditate?”

“Yes young one, you must so that you can understand your magic. For behold you will see who you really are.”

“Okay…” Astrim said flatly sitting back on his haunches. Teza had done the same, and they both stared at each other.

“Close your eyes, Astrim and breathe in and out,” Teza smiled. He did as he was told and within moments of doing it he felt like he was slowly drifted away into another universe of its own.

Do not stop…

Do you feel anything happening yet?

“Well, I do feel, different…” Astrim opened his eyes and quickly looked down at how large his magic aura was. He was all alone in a dark open space.

Amazing, he thought. He continued marvelling at his great aura of magic.

Do you see your own aura yet…

“Yes.”

Then let me have a look…

“Where are you?” Astrim looked up, and his eyes almost popped out of his head. The area lit up at bright peach shade and Teza’s giant face descended before him. The sudden shock broke Astrim’s concentration and he quickly backed away from her.

“What’s wrong?”

“Why were you so large?” Astrim said breathing heavily. Teza began laughing.

“Well young one, we’ve been around for many years protecting your planet. Did you not think that our powers wouldn’t be more massive?”

Astrim remained silent, and his ears flopped down.

“Well, you don’t have much time now, so we will move onto your first lesson.

“The first lesson, would be “Magic Concentration”.

“This is where you learn to focus your magic on the item you are trying to do anything you desire with, whether it was to lift, or throw, or crush it. That power lies within you once you master how to grip your desired point with focus.”

“Got it,” Astrim said.

“Well then, focus and lifted up at that rock then.”

“Okay, here it goes,” Astrim said looking on at the rock.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Astrim had finished his training and understanding the basic uses of magic. He was back in front of his mother.

“So, are you ready to move this “small rock” beside me?”

Astrim looked at his mother and then back at the boulder. A purple glow emanated from his horn. Finally, with a gust of magic, he lifted the boulder and tossed it so far into the distance behind him that it vanished into the white.

“Very impressive,” the white alicorn said as she clapped her hooves together. She arose and walked away from Astrim. “Keep practicing, child, and one day you will be able to perform more powerful magic.”

A white glow emanated from her horn. The light became brighter, and suddenly Astrim wasn’t able to see his mother. She fired a powerful beam into the whiteness. Suddenly Astrim was covered by the radiance of the magic light.

After the light disappeared, Astrim lowered his hooves from his eyes. He looked straight at his mother as she hung her head and looked at him.

“But for now, that is wonderful that you can do such thing. Now, there is something I want to show you. I have already shown Lucena, but I want you to see him as well. So that you will know who desires your destruction.”

Astrim and his mother warped away from the white realm into an area that was filled with darkness. Astrim couldn’t see much, but a giant eye opened in front of them. As it rose higher, he was able to make out the dark image of a dragon.

“Who is that?”

“My brother, the mighty elder dragon of darkness.”

“So you return to me again, sister,” the elder dragon grumbled, glaring down at them. The darkness emanated from his scales. The giant chains tied to him shook around as he placed his claws onto the cold dark earth.

“This is the creature who you and Lucena must keep chained. He must never break free from these chains.” She looked up into the eyes of her brother. “But as long as I stand here, I will make sure that the chains only stay tighter upon you.”

“Hmhmhm…” The evil and contorted laughter made Astrim’s body shiver. “Do you really think you have the power to keep me like this? You’re slowly aging away with my ever increasing power of great darkness. Soon, you won’t have the power, and I will overpower and consume you, sister. Your time is nigh at hoof,” the elder dragon pushed his body forward at them against the chains that were wrapped around him, burning his scaly skin.

“Your hopes die right now, sister.”

“What do you mean?”

The breath of chaos blew from the elder dragon’s mouth, covering Astrim. Soon the two were enshrouded with his breath. The air caused the white alicorn to lose her control over the chains, and Astrim coughed from breathing in the terrible air of chaos.

“Got you right where I want you, sister,” the elder dragon said as he ripped one claw free from the chains, but before he could crush them both, the alicorn mustered a spell that teleported Astrim back to the white realm.

For a moment, he couldn’t breathe. The light was too bright for him to see where he was. But the light had dimmed down and suddenly he was in front of his friends.

“Astrim, are you alright? What happened?” Lucena looked into his eyes. Astrim’s eyelids began to get heavy. His eyelids closed shut and all became dark...