Preventing the Crisis
Chapter 1 Escapes
"Son of whore!"
The sounds of the shouts in the dark room echoed around the metallic walls. It's sole occupant snatched up the one piece of mobile furniture and threw it across the infinite space only to hear it clatter on the floor some distance away from him. He paced, angrily, as he looked the series of monitors before him. It was only a second. A fraction of a second that he had taken his eyes off of the monitor. It was foolish to even allow the temptation of letting his mind travel to the green fields of Equestria Prime. It had been foolish to let the warmth of the sun, the coolness of the night, the sounds of laughter, and the soft touch of the wind distract him. He slammed his fist down on the large red button.
The center monitor glowed red as the fracture repaired itself. There wouldn't be anymore of them escaping, but it was too late. They had spilled out, and now like a cancer they were spreading into the worlds they could have contact with. The worlds they were able to find some psychic connection to. They were spreading into every version of Equestria, and they were doing it at an alarming rate. So far it was only fifty universes. They were only on fifty different Equestrias. It wouldn't be the first time he had to find them, capture or destroy them, but it would be the first time he would have to allow his presence to be known. He couldn't walk among the Equines as one of their own. There was no way he could pose as one of them, not even as an Alicorn. He needed to be able to activate the beacon, call the monsters back to their point of entry, and try to take them out.
The true problem that existed was that he couldn't split himself into fifty different counterparts. Being an Ancient meant having abilities most could never dream of, with the exception of Doctor Jonathan Osterman, but then Dr. Osterman had only been an ancient for a few decades. The accident that had transformed him had been something in the works for some time. Every so often the Ancients needed a new being. Someone to help ensure that they didn't become stale, uncaring, and was able to present a new view on things. Osterman had presented those new views, but now even he was beginning to feel less and less connected to species he originally came from.
Still, even Osterman with his almost unlimited powers, wouldn't be able to separate himself into fifty different universes. For most Ancients the ability to separate themselves into three universes showed promise, five, showed true talent, and ten showed years of hard work. The Ancient looked at the monitors and cursed at himself once more. He could do fifteen. A mere fifteen universes at one time, and doing that severely limited his powers.
"What can I do?"
"There is nothing to do. You must capture them, return them, and hope that some of the universes survive,"
He turned to see a darkened figure standing behind him.
Death. Death was another ancient, one that loved to take her true form at every chance. She was the daughter of two deities, the heiress of the underworld, and one of the few deities that could see beyond the universe of her birth. She was connected to every version of herself. A being existing in and outside of all time. Like all of the Ancients she existed and didn't exist. Still, even she wasn't without limits. her abilities only dealt with death. Her powers dealt with death. Anything else was taxing. Until they started killing she couldn't lift a finger.
"At best I may be able to save thirty of them. At best."
"Then you better get to it."
He turned from her. There was no choice. The first stop would be Equestria Prime, then the .MOV verse, from there he would touch as many separate universes as he could. He focused his vision on Equestria Prime. He thought of the fields outside of Canterlot, the feel of the grass, the touch of the sun, the sweet smell of the flowers, and in that moment he stopped existing inside of the metallic room and instead existed on Equestria. He looked up to see the first of many.
Its head was misshaped, malformed, and looked as if it couldn’t decide to be smooth or pitted. He watched its giant maw open and rows of razor sharp teeth stuck out. Its long dark arms stretched toward the closest object and grasped it. He watched as it ripped the tree out of the ground, shoved it in its mouth and ripped it shreds. The creature turned toward him. He noticed how it flinched, and then it turned to run. It knew the Ancient, it knew what he had come to do, and it wanted no part of it.
He pulled a single crystal orb from his pocket, placed it on the ground, and struck it with his foot.
“Return!”
The creature screamed in pain as its body began to turn into a thick fog. It flew back toward the crystal orb and became part of it. He watched as the orb became dark, finally it no longer resembled crystal, but instead it looked like a piece of black onyx. He placed the orb back into his pocket and began to walk forward. He could sense them, all of them, and his eyes went toward Canterlot. They would head there first. His connection with Celestia would ensure that. He cursed himself again. It was wrong. It had been wrong to appear to her so many years ago. Appear to her as he had once been. Once, before her birth, back when Equestria itself was barely formed, he had been like the modern equines. Granted, he was much larger, his own size easily twice larger than Celestia herself.
Still, he couldn’t help it. He wanted a friend. Death was the closest thing to a friend he had back in the room, but he wanted more. With Celestia he found that friend. He met her first as a young filly, barely five years old, then as a teenager, then as a young mare who had the responsibilities of a kingdom thrust upon her back. He had become her friend, and he had even revealed once what he was. She had taken it well, or at least well enough. He itched to become his previous self again, but he couldn’t. Taking that form cut him off from his powers as an ancient. He needed the powers.
He looked toward Canterlot and began to walk. He could teleport, but it would alert them. Celestia could protect herself, and her ponies, for a while. Hopefully she could do it long enough for him to arrive and help stop this. He could feel his other selves in their worlds. Each universe slightly off, slightly different. It was like looking at a painting that changed only slightly every so often. Closing your eyes did nothing to stop it from appearing. He could see every version of Celestia that existed. Celestia the kind, sweet, caring ruler he knew. Sun Fire, the nightmare that controlled Celestia and attempted to burn the entire world to ash. Celestia that had allowed her wanton lusts to overtake her and made her select random subjects that she would bring to her castle to molest and degrade. And there was so many more. It never ended. She existed slightly altered in each Universe, and now, he had to approach her in these first fifteen and help her stop these creatures from spreading. He heard her voice, looked up, and saw her. He had to look careful, focus his attention, and ensure that he saw her here now, and not on a different Equestria.
He felt her forelegs wrap around him, a soft kiss on his cheek, and he knew it was here and now.
“Andrew, it has been too long,”
“It has, but I bring terrible news your highness.”
She looked at him and stepped back. He rarely addressed her title. She closed her eyes and sat on her haunches.
“What is it?”
“There is a darkness here. A darkness that doesn’t know anything other than destruction, and it has set its sights on your world. I need your help to stop it. Celly, I need as much help as you can give me.”