Have you ever had that feeling after you have awoken from a good night's sleep that something seemed off? You wake up, still groggy and exhausted as if you had not slept in years, and hide back under your bedclothes knowing that, given a few more minutes of half-consciousness, the feeling would pass and you would be up and moving without any issues. You step out of your bed and greet the day with the enthusiasm of a beaten horse, but you know that your earlier trepidation was nothing more than your lingering dreams trying to impose themselves upon your reality.
I am reminded of that sensation as I gaze out across the half-frozen wasteland before me from my perch within the confines of a sizable, black crystalline structure. I recognize my surroundings, what little details I can discern from them, at least, yet I cannot seem to shake the nagging feeling of dissimilarity between what I'm seeing and my memory. There's just something... off... about the landscape that just does not fit, but I just cannot seem to figure out exactly what it is....
Oh. That's it. There was not a massive city made largely of crystal shimmering in the distance the when I had looked before falling asleep, nor do I quite remember building an onyx tower for my nightly slumber. I glared at the city in the distance as I stretched, attempting to ignore the biting cold on my naked body, and tried to recall exactly what had happened. "D-das is-s-st nu-nutzlos.... Es ist z-z-zu k-k-kalt...." I shivered convulsively and pulled the thin cloak I had used as my blanket over my shoulders, wrapping it tighly around me to help conserve what little heat my near-frozen body had left. "Ich hä-hät-te ni-nicht o-ohne un-un-be-bekleidet sch-schlaf-fen sollen.... W-w-wo i-ist m-mei-ne Kl-kleid-dung?"
I took a quick moment to scan the black fortress' hollow, what little of it there was, for the scant articles of clothing I normally kept for emergencies such as this, but nothing was where I had left it.... A fact that quickly became more obvious when I remembered I wasn't quite where I had left myself, either. "V-Verd-dammt n-noch-mal.... Es-s i-ist z-zu-ka-kalt f-für M-m-magie...."
I growled, squeezing the dirt-brown cloak as tight to my body as I could without grafting it into my flesh, and stood, rising shakily to my full four-and-a-quarter feet. It did not take long for me to fall back on my bottom and swear at how useless my legs were at keeping me steady. I was angry, and rightfully so. How do your legs forget how to hold your weight, the same weight they've been holding for countless years, overnight? A groan was all I could muster through the chattering of my teeth as I stroked my legs, coaxing feeling back into them with the friction of cotton on flesh, and cursed whomever had broken my ward and scattered my garments to the winds.
My only concerns at that time were murdering the fool daft enough to cross me and then finding something to stop the frostbite from settling in. I quickly shifted my priorities, of course, when I could no longer maintain my grip on my cloak. I could already feel my body growing more numb with each passing second.
Without any further delay, I jumped back up, struggling to keep my balance, and began the unsteady descent from my onyx entrapment. I barely made took two steps before my legs faltered and I had to prop myself upon the smooth, glassy wall lest I slip and mutilate myself on the sharp outcroppings. My inability to walk baffled me. My mother always prided on how quickly I learned, certainly quicker than any of the other children I had known, and walking was just something you don't lose the ability to overnight as long as your legs are still intact.
I glanced back down at the milky, pale limbs and nodded. They were definitely still there, attached perfectly at my pelvis without a single blemish aside from the rosiness due to the cold. “Wa-r-r-rum wollt ihr n-nicht l-l-l-laufen!?” I looked back to the city in the distance, or, more accurately, the jarring border between lush green and dead white, and grit my teeth as I struggled back up. "Ich m-muss i-ins w-warme... so-sonst e-er-erf-fiere i-ich...."
I would have found my predicament rather humourous any other time had I been able to use my magic, but trekking through nearly two miles of snow without any decent protection on legs that dropped you every few steps for the majority of the trip, rather unsurprisingly, quickly begins wear on one's mood. My whole body was nearly numb by the time I neared the border between white and spring green and I knew that, if I was to glance behind me, I'd see a long line of snow displaced by my shuffling walk and several holes in my image.
Not having the ability to call upon my magic infuriated me nearly as much as the thought of being displaced from my original resting place, but all of that would soon be rectified once I have had the chance to... question... the looming city's locals. I was not entirely pleased with the day’s current start, but a good bit of... questioning... seemed like a great way to work off some steam. It would also help to alleviate that nagging sensation in the back of my mind, that feeling that you get when you know that you’ve forgotten or not noticed something monumental.
As I drew nearer to the indisputable line between frozen wastes and spring meadow, I began to feel the familiar flow of magic pulling at my senses. The sensation grew exponentially stronger as I closed the distance between me and the invisible wall, a clear sign that, if the out of place season differential wasn’t obvious enough, something extremely powerful was preventing the encroachment of winter. It was obviously meant to keep various things out, a fact that became more apparent as the rippling waves of mana twisted into an intangible force bent on impeding my movement, but I was not going to let some feeble spell keep me from the comfort of my own comfort.
I glared at the air in front of me, feeling my face flush as my emotions began to run rampant. It only took the slightest thought to manipulate the direction of the barrier’s flow and bend it inwards until the lightless bubble ruptured and allowed me access. I may not have been able to directly control my magic with my body quaking and half-frozen and my mind lacking the focus needed to cast because of that, but enough rage can easily overcome any limitations you may have unwillingly had forced upon you.
It didn’t take long for the hole to seal itself after I passed through into the, comparably, blistering heat of Spring, but I could not care less. My whole body, nearly paralyzed by the icy winds, was on fire as the heat jabbed my recovering nerve endings. I would have screamed if it hadn’t felt so liberatingly good. As it was, I settled for falling to the grass and revelling in the softness of the blades, enjoying the glaring sun’s rays on my body. The unicorns may not know of the power of the sun, but, at that moment, I was more than thankful for their understanding of how to move it. “D-Die M-mittags-so-sonne ist d-die b-beste....”
Thoughts of retribution and murder were put on hold as I lounged mere hooves away from the glacial landscape I had narrowly avoided succumbing to, content to merely soak up the blistering radiation of my favorite magi-celestial body. Oh, how I wished that my magical prowess focused entirely on the manipulation of the sun itself and not just a bastardized mockery of it. Fire and life just don’t hold the same power as Sol, the creator. It was pointless to wish for such foolishness, Sol would never share herself with any of her creations, but dreams are not something one can drop so easily as that.
With a sigh, I brushed a stray lock of hair from my face, finding solace in the fact that true sensation and functionality were returning to my limbs, and picked myself up from the ground. The crystal city was still quite a distance away, but that was of little consequence considering I had the blessing of the sun's radiance to keep myself from becoming a permanent fixture of the landscape. I began my trek across the surprisingly well-groomed field, occasionally stumbling as my legs still refused to function properly, and continued to silently curse whatever had caused my unknown weakness. It was a far cry from the grace I typically carried myself with, but progress was still being made and any progress got me closer to my goal.
It took another hour before I stumbled across the twin lines of metal running parallel to a raised platform that marked my first encounter with civilization. The small station was lacking in any actual life, perhaps belonging to an abandoned portion of the crystal city, but it was still a great point of interest to me. It meant that I was mere minutes away from finding answers.
By this time, full feeling had returned to my limbs and, with the banishment of the cold, so too had my control over the aether begun to trickle back. My species may not be the most magical creatures on the planet, but enhancement magic was child's play, even for the weakest of spellcasters, so it was with little effort that I focused my mana flow into my eyes. I could feel the power growing in my vision, clearing the blur from the distance and sharpening the details.
Everything slowly came into focus, even as my weakened magic began to wane. I could see vague shapes mulling about, each of them about as tall as my four hooves, but not even my spell could clear the haze of distance enough to determine any further details. They seemed vaguely pony shaped, something unsurprising considering the city was situated in northeastern Equestria, but there was something about them that I couldn't place, something that didn't fit. I didn't care about what that difference was, such trivial things like inconsistencies that did not revolve around me were of little consequence, but these ponies were my key to figuring out what happened to me and uncovering the issue would easily fall into line as well.
Even from my out-of-the-way place of rest, it was simple to discern that some sort of meeting was taking place, the large mobs of ponies trickling in the same direction being the most obvious sign, but that fact put something of a damper on my plan of taking a pony hostage to interrogate. You see, I may be small in stature, but I have something of a reputation with the ponies. The largest origin of this reputation would be my mother, the most powerful enchantress known to pony kind. While I do not consider myself evil, although I do enjoy indulging in some of the more hedonistic acts every now and then, my mother is a class of sin all on her own. I would occasionally kidnap ponies and other creatures to experiment with, but leave them with their minds and will intact. My mother, Nefana, enslaved an entire continent, obliterating cities and breaking the civilization's collective souls without an iota of remorse. I'm an ambitious girl with dreams of ruling the Equestrian peoples and their outlying countries, but not even I could fathom doing such atrocities with such disregard for equinity.
Now, in my magical prime, I'd have simply strolled into the city, taking what I needed and dominating those that got in my way, but I could barely maintain a child's level spell. It is because of this that I did not wish to misstep in this unknown territory, especially considering how magically apt a third of all ponies tend to be. Instead, I silently crept across the massive expanse of grassland between city and platform, trying to keep hidden as I avoided the cobbled pathways. By the time I reached the border buildings, the streets were empty and the only sound outside of my own steps was the dull roar of a crowd's murmurs.
I took a deep breath and stood as tall as I could. I needed answers and I was going to get them, even if I had to walk straight into the congregation and demand them. I moved swiftly, as swiftly as trembling, half-useless legs could carry me, towards the growing sound of equines. My breathing was short and even, allowing just enough air into my body to keep me from passing out, but not enough for it to be easily heard, and the only real noise I made was a light pit-pat with each step in the grassy alleys. I slowed when I reached the source of the cacophony, completely stopping and crouching behind the wall of one of the shimmering buildings when the first pony tail came into view, and very carefully poked my head around the corner.
Now, I’ve mentioned that things were not as they should be since the moment I regained consciousness in that onyx tower, starting with the tower itself and ending with the mysterious civilization that had formed overnight. Finally, all of that culminated together and finally began making sense when I realized just what inhabited the city. Yes, they were ponies, but they were more than that as well. The equines standing before me were the crystal ponies, a race of ponies that should have been thousands of miles from here, across the Western Expanse, on an isolated island.
I found myself staring dumbfounded at them, something that had never happened before in my very extensive life, trying to piece together just how this had come to occur. Nothing was adding up and the addition of more illogical happenings to this already mind-numbing conundrum was making my situation much, much less desirable.
That was until I felt something nudge against my backside.
I would have yelped in surprise if I was a lesser being, but centuries of being hunted and vying for more power can temper one’s resistance to surprises, a fact that I made quite apparent as I casually glanced over my shoulder and down at the tiny pony mere inches away. What did surprise me, though, was the complete lack of fear in the pony’s eyes, especially one as young as this. The crystal ponies should know of my mother’s and my history. However, even with her complete lack of terror in my presence, her separation from the crowd made my task so much simpler.
“What are-”
My first spell, a simple stunning bolt, silenced her foalish, squeaky voice before it had the opportunity to give my position away. It was not enough to harm her, especially considering my current limited capabilities, but it did knock her unconscious, which was both a saving grace and a curse; crystal ponies, even their children, are dense.
Before I had the time to continue my casting the crowd had grown quieter, the noises culled by the blaring of ceremonial trumpets, and focused more intently on a balcony attached to the most brilliant structure I had seen in my life. I was amazed that I hadn’t realized the true beauty of the massive shimmering spire, the center of the city’s landscape, until my attention had been forcefully drawn to it. Bright, blue and silvery mineral, masterfully crafted into the most grandiose palace I had ever seen, rose to titanic heights in the sky, reflecting Sol’s light into breathtaking rainbows across the entire city.
I was drawn in by the spire’s magnificence, so much so that I had lost my presence of mind and stood from my hiding place, hapless captive and all thoughts of secrecy lost to its thrall. There was something about this structure, something innately alluring past it’s regal guise, that called to me. I was compelled to move closer, pushing the sleek equines from my path as I approached the massive arches towering above us. Soft gasps barely registered in my mind even as I came to a halt just under the jutting balcony, standing at the forefront of the congregation.
As if on cue, the lure drawing me to the bottom of the palace vanished, leaving me exposed to the stunned eyes of every citizen of this crystal city minus one. I frantically scanned the populace, suddenly terrified of every shimmering body in the sea of crystal. The mineral ponies were weak, especially by normal equine standards, but I was currently less endowed, my soft body and nearly depleted magical reserves leaving me vastly under qualified to take down more than a foal. I shivered, watching the faces of the nearest lines and preparing to fight for my life despite my attraction to ponykind, and lowered myself into a fighting stance only to be stunned by the appearance of a creature that should not have existed.
