“Test 254. Dimensional gateway project MK II,” I said aloud to the audio recording log. “Today is special for a multitude of reasons. Today is the one year anniversary of the MK I mishap that forced me to build a second goddamned portal in the first place. Fuckin’ piece-a…” I inhaled. “Anyway, this is also the project’s 300th test. I know, it’s a great fucking coincidence. Especially since I never planned on testing today because of a particular movie release that I now have to miss.”
My workshop was, of course, my basement, but it actually didn’t seem like a basement. It was one that I had to have installed and I had it built specifically for delicate research. Basically, I made my house gyroscopically stable in an earthquake prone state. Good with the bad. The basement was well lit and seemed more like it would have been more of a large master bedroom set underground with a half-bathroom instead of full. I may need to use it but showering is for my off days. Tables covered in wiring filled the room. I really have gotten behind on my other projects.
“Gripes aside, this impromptu test is due to a weird deep-space anomaly that seems scientifically impossible: the gateway received a signal from another universe that is continually locked onto the portal and is forcing it to stay open. I can’t explain it at all. The void as well as spacial distance and the speed of light itself makes this scenario impossible. I know this won’t be a failure, that much is evident, but there is no telling what I’ll find. This gateway system was meant to explore the parallel realities of THIS universe. It might be a while before I return. Hell, I might never return. Oh well. Allons-y!” I screamed as I jumped into the vortex.
Only second passed before disaster struck. A single bolt of energy passed by me heading right for the portal. ‘Was this meant to send someone to me?’ I thought. As soon as the bolt reached the gateway, the portal expanded, destroying the focusing gate. ‘That is just too perfect of timing. What have I gotten myself into?’ The portal fully closed and a shockwave ripped toward me. I couldn’t accelerate in the tunnel and there was no way I could avoid the shockwave if I tried. The shockwave passed over me and kept going until I couldn’t see it anymore. ‘Well, that was pointless.’
Pain was the only thing I could process within the next few seconds. I felt my physiology change as my body morphed to fit in better with my new world. My eyes burned as they were given a new purpose I would not yet know of, my skin burned as hair grew everywhere. Red mane, black coat, red tail. Oh, shit! I had a tail! My hands and feet became hooves, jet black wings sprouted out of my back, my clothes disintegrated, or, at least, disappeared. When everything stopped hurting, I saw a world covered in white, followed by the endless black.
All I knew was that the fall knocked me unconscious for several hours when someone started poking one of my nostrils with a stick. “Goddamnit! What the hell?!” I screamed as I leapt out of the snow and was immediately hit with a cold gush of wind. “F-f-f-fuck, it’s cold.” I looked over and saw a unicorn with a black coat and mane but was greyer on his face. His horn was red and curved, almost unnaturally. Green energy surrounded his horn as well as a stick that was levitating by his head.
“I’m sorry,” he replied. “I thought you were dead but I wanted to make sure.”
“Then take my pulse, not poke me with a stick!”
“Again, sorry.” I looked around and saw that it was dark out.
‘Great. My first several hours in… possibly Equestria, and I was unconscious and near dead the entire time.’ “Who are you?” I asked. “And how did you find me out here?”
“I am General Sombra Darkheart,” he replied. “And I actually found you both intentionally and by accident. It’s really incredible.”
“Explain.” I suddenly felt extremely fatigued. “After I wake up.”
“No, don-!” *THUD*
“Wake up! Wake up!”
The first thought that swam through my head was: ‘Thank God: it’s not a stick up the nose.’ I started opening my eyes and noticed that it was much warmer than before and much brighter than what I expected.
“Where am I now?” I asked simply.
“You’re in the castle infirmary. I brought you here after you passed out in the snow.” Sombra replied.
“In the Crystal Empire, I presume?”
“Y-yes. How did you know that?”
“Just a hunch. Wait, how are you so surprised? Couldn’t you have assumed up to this point that I was just another citizen of the Empire?”
“No. There are no pegasi in the Empire with your magical aptitude. Not even Princess Cadenza,” He explained. “That is part of the reason I found you in the first place.”
“What do you mean?” I expected a lengthy response. I wasn’t disappointed.
“You see, it has been two years since the birth of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza to Queen Crystalia and King Frostfury. They are powerful alicorns, but they do not have too drastically lengthened lives. Although, they are both over 200 years old. But they will die eventually, like everypony else, so they need an heir. Cadenza is opportune, but she is a pegasus. The ponies of the Empire are unsure about the idea.
“One thing that works in our favor is that she has an abnormal aptitude for magic. I have been tasked with teaching the princess in the ways of magic. We are not exactly sure, but this may help turn her into an alicorn. This way, she can take over the Empire with little resistance when her parents are no longer in control, either from retirement or death. My bet is on the former.”
“I still don’t get what this all has to do with me.” I told the rambling unicorn. I was enjoying the lesson, but it was getting boring.
“I’m getting to it. Anyway, I have been training the princess for the last several months with simple spells, but we’ve been hitting wall after wall. I don’t know how to train a pegasis to use magic. I’m still not sure that it can even be done to the extent that everypony wants. She may be more powerful than some full-grown unicorns, but it is still difficult without a horn. But YOU. You are more powerful than any other pony I’ve ever seen. I sensed your magic energy and went to look for you yesterday morning. Unfortunately, the energy was so dense that I couldn’t find you until last night. That is when I came up with a great idea that could possibly fail horribly: What if I trained you, and you, in turn, helped me train the princess.”
“How the what?!” I exclaimed. “That won’t work! I’m not a unicorn or an alicorn!”
“It shouldn’t matter,” he replied calmly. “Your magical energy should be strong enough to override any physical deficiencies, such as no horn. And if you learn well enough, you will know from experience how a pegasus uses magic and could help teach the princess.”
“Fine. When do I start?”
“When you are allowed to leave.”
