Chapters "ENOUGH!"
I couldn't move, my palm was still extended, even my magic seemed to freeze. I turned my gaze from my opponent, Zakare; god of lightning, to where the shout originated.
"We are disappointing in the both of you"
Ah, of course. Even gods have gods, and those before us; were are gods. The gods of the beginning and end. They moved to stride around us, looking at each of us in their scrutinizing gaze, as if daring us to deny them. I was unable to find my words, however, Zakare had no such problem.
"Release. Me. He. Needs. To. Die!" He barely stuttered out, before the gods turned on him.
"Zakare, despite our many warnings and commands, you have still disobeyed us, and invaded many realms; none of which were under your sphere of influence."
"Nothing. He. Hasn't. Done. Before." Bad move Zakare... The Beginning went to him and lifted his chin while The End began to walk over to me.
"So now, you feel yourself on our level? You believe YOU know better than we? Pathetic" He said has he walked away. The End continued,
"And You Amiin. Did you think I wouldn't notice? Or did you just believe yourself beyond our reach?"
"I. Was. Merely. Following. Your. Orders!" I got out, how could he say this to me when it was he who ordered me to do this in the first place!
"You misunderstood my command. I demanded you to begin the fourth Cycle, not to end the world. Must I remind you of the task you were given?" I managed to look away, "I thought so"
The Beginning once more took over, "As punishment for both your crimes, you will be banished. Amiin, you will stay in the mortal body you currently posses." I let out a quiet growl, "And Zakare, You will be cut off from your own realm. Do not disappoint us again." They then turned to talk to someone else, nut I couldn't hear as I was being sucked out of this dimension.
"Amiin? Amiin, Get up!" I slowly opened my eyes.
"Where, Where are we?" we were in the space between dimensions, the astral plane. The End had limitless power here, and I had none.
"You know where we are, I am disappointed in you. you were my favorite, and had such promise. But I am not cruel, You will keep the abilities you have now, and you will follow my commands To. The. Letter. Am I understood?" I nodded, "Good. The world you will be sent to goes my the ancient name of Mundus, though they have changed it to Equis for some reason-" I cut him off.
"Why are you telling me this?" He silenced my with a stern glare.
"Because, you will do my bidding there. It is ruled over by two gods, such as yourself, they have taken mortal bodies to live among their populace. Their names are Celestia, and Luna. I am sending you to their world because they have disobeyed the world of the gods! They have refused to commence the Cycle!" Still confused, I cut in again.
"Why do I need to know this?"
"You, as the god of death, are responsible for ensuring the Cycle happens. Their denial is not your fault, but for you to redeem yourself-"
"I have to kill everything, I got it." He looked mad.
"I'm telling you this because you DON'T get it. You THINK you got it which isn't the same as actually getting it. Got it? The purpose of the Cycle is to ferry the inhabitants of the world into the next, AND to guide the new inhabitants into the world." I was silent again. "There is one more thing, I cannot tell how they will react to your presence. When you begin the Cycle, do so carefully and quietly, or you might die. Ironic, isn't it?" I grunted. "And before I forget, I must remind you; There is only one way to enter a new dimension for someone with a mortal body."
Wait, WHAT! before I could say anything, everything turned white, then faded to blackness.
To oblivion with the consequences, next time I see him, He is dead!
I was awoken by the soft platter of rain on the window to my left. I attempted to force my eyes open, but a bright light kept them closed. Since I was temporarily unable to see, I reached out with my senses. While they are not as strong as they normally are, I was still able to take in the room. I was laying on a bed, to my right was another; blocked by a wall of curtains, to my immediate right was a large machine, and above me was a large lamp. Now that I was orientated, I bent back and kicked the lamp away. Soon the light left my eyes, followed by a loud crash. Smirking in victory, I pried open my eyes to finally see everything.
I was in a hospital.
Well, It isn't as bad as it could have been. I looked down to see my body has changed. "The world you will be sent to goes my the ancient name of Mundus, though they have changed it to Equis for some reason" Equis, as in 'Equestrian' as in horse. I suppose that it makes sense that I am a horse now, after all, if I am to fit in, I must be a member of the dominant species. Before I could think on this anymore, the door opened, and a butter yellow Pegasus came in. Pegasus, I didn't feel wings on my back, are multiple species dominant here?
"Oh, my. Your awake." she stuttered out. A strand of her pink hair fell in front of her face, though she quickly blew it out. Looking down, I found a puddle amassing on the floor beneath her and a trail leading out the door. Do they not have umbrellas here? "When I heard there was a colt all alone in the hospital, I just had to come, you must have been so lonely." I was at a loss for words. The last time I appeared in a mortal body, I was imprisoned. "But, one of my animal friends volunteered to stay and keep you company, i-if you don't mind, that is." At that point in time, a small snow white rabbit leaped out of her hair, scurried across the floor, hopped on the bed, and fell asleep on my lap; also soaking wet. I could not believe what just happened. No one has given me anything since the first time I met Natila, the Goddess of life.
"thank you" My mouth moved on its own. Looking back up i could see she was smiling, though she retreated back in her mane for a moment before starting again.
"Its the least I can do for somepony that was a Diamond Dog slave." That got my interest.
"What?"
"Oh, the nurse thought you might be a runaway Diamond Dog slave and, and I wasn't supposed to say anything. AH!" She was panicking, and I didn't care, That would be a good alibi.
"Yes, the Diamond Dogs..." I muttered to myself. when I looked back up, I saw her face right in front of my own.
"Y-your not mad are you? Please don't be mad at me!"
"Get out of my face!" I barked, and she backed away into a corner. "I am not mad at you..." I wave my hand, er, hoof around trying to get a name.
"F-f-fluttershy"
"Its nice to meet you F-f-fluttershy. I am not mad at you." Odd name, though I suppose rural SS 20 do have a similar naming structure.
"Actually, its just Fluttershy, but you can call me that if you want." My eyes narrowed. "Can I know your name, I mean, if your not too busy." Is she for real?
"I am Amiin"
"Hi Amiin, I'm Fluttershy" I know that already. My gaze turned back to the rabbit in my lap. I could always use it to feed my familiar. Or I could use it as the first in the Cycle. "The purpose of the Cycle is to ferry the inhabitants of the world into the next, AND to guide the new inhabitants into the world" I don't know if that means all life, or only the dominant ones. As I pondered this, my gaze shifted towards the machine next to me. An IV? Ha, I can remember so many in my realm, that died as a consequence to yanking their IV out of their arm. Firmly leaving the IV where it is, I wondered more about my body.
Usually, when a mortal crosses dimensions, they must revert to birth to enter. I however, appear to be a child, no older than seven. Could this be because I was once a Divine? Possibly. I was dragged out of my thoughts by the door opening again.
"Miss Fluttershy, visiting hours are over, we're going to have to ask you to leave."
"Oh, ok." She said meekly, leaving my with this new horse, which can only be the doctor or nurse.
"Now, we only need to do a checkup, and you should be good to go." I don't like that smile on her face. That smile only means bad things.
In the Dark of the Night...
I have never felt more violated in my life. When the Cycle begins, nurse Redheart's death will be slow and painful. But regardless, I have been left alone in this room; she left to get the creature that would 'adopt' me. While I was alone, I decided to see if my divine connection was still active. I focused my magic into the usual Ten points, and felt as if my body was once more what it used to be. And, I spoke.
"Drak, whose realm is beasts, I summon you from Eternity. Here my call, and come foreward" In front of me, an apparition of a dragon appeared.
"Amiin. I am here. Speak your reason for commanding me." He said to me telepathically.
"As the god of beasts, you hold a passive connection to all the creatures where you are, correct." It wasn't really a question. Before he responded, he turned his head towards the door, and blew a stream of spectral fire at it, effectively sealing it and giving us privacy. He turned back to me before responding.
"What is this about Amiin?"
"As god of death, the Cycle is my responsibility. However, I do not know what lies ahead of me in this world. You will tell me what creatures inhabit this world." He took an unusually long time to answer.
"Hmmmm, no. I was going to say something, but he silenced me with his palm raised. "This is your mission and punishment, Amiin. I cannot help you. However, I can tell you the dominant species on this rock."
And so he went on explaining them to me. Many of the sapient species are similar, or the same as the familiars of the other gods. This will be the most confusing experience ever. "Thank you Drak, you are freed from my summons" He faded out at that, and with him, the seal on the door; and at the right time too, as nurse soon-to-be-bleeding-heart walked through.
"Alright, Amiin. Your papers are all filled out, if you will please follow me." She said while looking down at her clipboard.
The great thing about receiving a new body that has developed past infancy, is that you inherit the muscle memory. As that was the case, walking, even as a quadruped, was no trouble at all. Getting off the bed, however, was. After picking myself off the ground and rubbing my nose slightly, I followed the nurse; all while focusing just enough magic in my feet hooves to leave a groove in the floor, wherever I stepped. After consistent walking in silence, on my part, we eventually made it to the main desk, where there was a lavender colored unicorn. I also noticed, like Drak said there were, a dragon upon her back. Were dragons domesticated here? Was Drak wrong in saying they were sapient? I have so many questions . The dragon, seeing me, hopped off her back and walked towards me, causing me to take a single step back. The dragon, however, just looked me over, and nodded.
"Cool, names' spike by the way. I guess were going to be living together." This wasn't the first time I heard a dragon speak, but it still unnerved me all the same. "Come on, its raining outside, so lets find you a coat." He said while gesturing me to follow him.
"Yes, that would be best." This day has just been getting stranger and stranger.
To be honest, I expected worse. My new 'owners' and I left the hospital, and while we couldn't find a coat my size, the rain wasn't as bad as it could have been. Sure the rain hit like a rock, and I could see it buffeting the two beings in front of me, but it was much calmer that I was used to. I can still remember back to when Wahlil and Korus first told me they were going to make rain and their excitement about it.. My amusement however, came swiftly to a close as in front of me, I saw a vast wasteland. Where building were, there was rubble. Where life would be, there was skeletons, and a large spectral Wyvern in the midst of it all. If I was a lesser being, such a sight would have caused my emotions to overwhelm my judgement; but I am not a lesser being, and I have seen this visual trick before. I glared at the specter and muttered venomously the name of my most hated brother, his name, "Utaba." The effect was immediate, its eyes flashed a bright red before the wasteland once more filtered back into the normal village.
Once everything was normal again, a voice, as faint as a whisper, fluttered into my ears, "Remember what you came here to do." I shook the condescending voice out of my ears and looked back to the purple pony, who was looking at me strangely.
"Amane, are you OK?" She mispronounced my name... its not the first time, but it was annoying every time.
"My name is 'Amiin'." I once more murmured, she narrowed her eyes slightly. "Yes, miss Twilight. I am fine." She was going to say something else, but I silenced her by walking forward. I wondered about many things, one of which, was my familiar. He was an black eagle, covered in glowing purple runes which marked him as mine. He was with my in the battle between Zakare and myself, I only wonder what they did to him. I then decided to try to summon him when we got to... wherever we were going.
What... am I looking at? It was a tree, a living tree with windows, and a door; and apparently it was a library. My brain was having a hard time processing this, while it was true that the Tree People had buildings like this, they were rare and rarely ever seen by outsiders. Besides all else, Twilight just walked in. My mind still fluttered with questions, I hesitantly walked in. While it was true that I hadn't seen any lightning nor heard any thunder, it was still a large tree, in the middle of a storm. once inside, I instinctively shook myself, effectively sending water physically everywhere , giving Twilight a mini-heart attack and sending her into the lab... and my fur pomfed out. I heard the pathetic attempt the dragon had at stifling his laughter, before I used my body's natural runes to fold my fur back into place. "So, Amiin, what do you like to do for fun?" The drake asked after calming himself. Remembering my conversation with him, I decided that any response I gave would be inappropriate for someone his age, so I stayed quiet. "Right, slave. Sorry I brought that up." Ah yes, the Diamond Dogs, my 'slavers'.
"All is forgiven" At that time, Twilight came out of the lab, her eyes still twitching, but looking better than before.
"Now, Amane..."
"Amiin."
"Yes, Amen..." I let it slide, "we are going to need to set some Ground rules ." I pretended to not understand the implications.
"Fair enough" I responded innocently. The drake just donned some armor made up of a helmet and some pillows.
"Rule one, never splash my books again, m'kay?" The drake was now backing up. "Rule Two, You will treat my books with respect, like it was your own foal, kaaay?" I was starting to detect a pattern. "And Rule Three," her nose was practically touching mine, "If you damage my books, I. Will. Hurt. You. Got it?" Her face was now against mine, and I could see in detail, every twitch.
"Understood" I could hear the drake breath a sigh of relief at that.
"Great!" She backed off, "Now lets find you somewhere to sleep!" She exclaimed before rushing up the stairs, leaving me here. I turned to Spike.
"Is this what you have to deal with on a regular basis?"
BE AWARE! THIS CHAPTER WILL BE REWRITTEN AS A GUARANTEE! I KNOW THERE ARE MANY PROBLEMS WITH IT, BE LENIENT ON THE CRITICISM FOR THIS CHAPTER.
To be honest, I believe that this 'Twilight Sparkle' may be more beneficial to me than I previously thought. I had originally planned on merely killing her and the drake and using the house as a staging ground for the Cycle, But then I remembered the Four P's of the Cycle, and how my neglect of them brought me into this predicament. And then I learned something... interesting. Twilight Sparkle has connections to both Celestia and her royal guard! Perhaps I should explain; we were at a picnic, her introducing me to her friends, when spike came rushing in as if his tail were on fire, and he... burped up a letter. It was more awkward for me than them. The letter was an invitation to the royal wedding between her brother and a 'princess' who I don't frankly care about, But when she started singing... I swear, I could hear Malice laughing his ass off.
So that brings us here, on a train, heading to the castle on the mountain, with a giant pink glowing ball around it. Joy. After several hours of Spike 'introducing' me to his comic books, we finally made it. And when we passed through the shield, I felt like I was set on fire. I obviously wasn't, but the pain just ignited every single nerve ending in this body, and it was all I could to to keep from screaming... much.
"Amiin! What happened?! Whats wrong?!" My answer was ear piercing, and expected. She cast some kind of spell on me, and all the pain faded from my body, as well as my consciousness. When I awoke, I was in another hospital. Joy. Looking around, there wasn't even an IV in my arm, what there was, was talking out side the room. I tried to use my magic to listen in, but I couldn't feel it, so I was forced to listen the old fashioned way.
"Yes princess, I know what it could mean, but, he's just a foal!
I know, Twilight, but it seems so strange.
But my magic was as intense if not more than his when i was at his age, maybe his special talent is magic too?
That could be the case, but still i fear...
I had heard enough. I'm not sure what this is about, but i'm not sure I want to be a part of this anymore... I should have known the universe wouldn't let it be that easy. Just as I was trying to get out of bed, they walked in, and it was as if time froze. I stared at them, they stared at me, I Stared At Them, They Stared At Me, I Stared At Them, They Stared At Me, I STARED AT THEM, THEY STARED AT ME ... and then I fell off the bed, hitting my muzzle into the ground for the second time this week. Twilight at least had the decency to see if I was OK.
"Amiin, this is Princess Celestia" Said pony let out a warm smile. So, this was the one to watch out for, perhaps I could simply finish her off now and deal with the after effects later? I was in though for a while, and when I looked back, I could she her smile turn to a worried look. Realizing what happened, I decided now would be a good time to use my alibi, and test out my skills in pulling off the 'scared kid' act.
I started shaking my body, and it may have taken all of my pride, but I threw myself at her hooves blubbering, trying to make the act as convincing as possible. And by me, i'm sure I owed someone else pride after I spoke, "P-please" I cried, "I d-didn't m-mean ah-ah-anything! P-please, n-not the Whip aga-ah-ah-ain! I s-swear i-it won't happen again!" And I think it worked, The massive pony/horse was in a state of shock for a good ten seconds, while I continued to blubber at her hooves. 'Come on, do something. This is not what I want to be known as!' I thought to myself, and as if she could read my mind, I hope not, she keeled down and hugged me. Too close! and when I was trying to squirm out of her grasp, I felt Twilight hugging me from the back. It would seem I had alleviated the doubt about me, my plan worked perfectly. The shock of the moment prevented her from trying any mind magic on me, and the authenticity of the act was enough for the currently questionable mental state to stop suspecting me. And as I thought about it, I couldn't hear anything they said to me. this would have been an interesting day... If I hadn't sacrificed the only real thing I cared about to do it. I know for a fact, i'll never hear the end of this one.
Ipsa est enim dies cyclum infinitum
Where am I? What is going on? Is anyone there?
"The Infinite Loop that is the Day"
I coughed up so much blood. Curse this infernal, pathetic body. I tried to move, but I could not, I just could not. The entirety of my body was numb. I had a spitting headache, and I could feel several major fractures in my horn. I tried to get up, which only resulted in me falling forward and yelling out in pain. Maybe I'll just die here. Heh, the god of death, dying. Maybe the irony will end up killing me before this body does.
"Weak, you are weak." Who dares? I try to get up again, only to fall to my knees. "To think you were the strongest of us all, pathetic." I managed to pick up my head and look into the eyes of a spectral wolf approaching.
"Malice." If it was possible for a spectral wolf incantation to smile, it would be.
"Dearest Amiin, my 'big brother' as it were, how nice it is to finally see you in your place," It lunged at me, its jaws snapping shut just a hair's width from my face, "On your knees. You have been superior for far too long, and so the mighty has fallen." It began to circle me. "I could get used to seeing you like this-" It sat down in front of my face.
"What do-o-o-" What I was going to say was interrupted by my coughing up more blood.
"I'm a what? Honestly, such language, to cough in such a manner, if children were to hear you... wait, you are a child, now aren't you?" Now I know he was trying to get under my skin. "Anyway, about what you did, you do know you violated Morjmin's law, correct? To use the unrivaled power of the gods, for what? If he was to see you now-" Using all my strength, I lunged at him, forgetting he was spectral, and fell straight through him. "...Good."
"What?"
"You still have some fight in you, that will make the next part, all the more interesting. For now, I bid you, adieu." With that, the wolf faded from existence, and I heard buzzing from the cave.
"I told you this one was still alive"
"We need to bring this it back to the queen, she will want to see it." What were these thing called again? I don't care, I'm calling them-
I Curled up to try to alleviate the sudden jump in intensity of my headache; at the same time, a low ringing sound (that I'm sure I'm the only one that can hear it), was bouncing around in my eardrums. The two bug-things picked me up, and took me outside, where they proceeded to fly me up to the castle, and drop me in front of the big one. "Well now, isn't this a surprise, YOU made that beam? Maybe you are somepony I can use after all." She lifted my chin up so we were looking at each other, eye to eye. Same mistake, worse punishment. With what little of my strength I had left, I rushed forward; and jammed my jagged, fractured, splintering horn right into her cornea, before quickly turning my head left and ripping my horn out, blood and ooze dripped from my horn as it shone in the little sunlight. Her scream of agony was music to my ears. She then turned to the ones that carried me here, "W-w-wrap him up, we'll deal with him at the hive. And be VERY rough." she said in a pained rage. Worth it. Then something hit me in the back of my head and body, and sent me flying at the wall. The wall did not stop me. I broke through and plummeted to the world below. I got to thinking my death would come from irony, but no. It instead, will apparently come from gravity. The ground approached quickly, and I hit it.
.... the ...... sun ........never ....... sets
Did Someone Call for an Exterminator?
It wasn't long after my performance that Celestia and Twilight left me to my own devices. Deciding that I have no desire to remain in a hospital any longer than I have to, I left. I was free to wander the castle to my hearts content... if this is a basic example of these ponies ignorance, I may not even need to do anything for the Cycle to begin. I began to wonder why the End wanted the Cycle to begin here, these ponies barely seem industrialized, and not even close to the technology that would allow for transcendence.
After a few hours of pondering this topic and mindlessly wandering, I bumped into something, "Watch where your going" Looking up, I saw a pink... Alicorn.
"It is ruled over by two gods, such as yourself, they have taken mortal bodies to live among their populace. Their names are Celestia, and Luna."
Wait, two. Celestia was also an Alicorn, is this luna? "Excuse me, but are you Princess Luna?" She replied with a venomous 'no', and went on her way. Assuming this Luna was also an Alicorn, then based on how few there are... so they do have something that allows one to become a god, I see.
This was beyond acceptable.
It was decreed that the creations of the first tier would NOT become gods, as they failed moderation; and here they are, outside of the reach of the others, doing the exact opposite. Looking back in the direction the pink one went, I quickly turned invisible, and ran after her. I will learn how this happened.
After about an hour, or was it minutes? I followed her to a tower close to the edge of the castle, if I was a lesser creature, I would have believed that she was trying to shake me off her trail. I followed her inside, and the door slammed behind me.
"Curious little colt, aren't you?" Wait, What?! At that moment, several... bug ponies? Despite my invisibility, tackled me to the ground and undid my spell, "I'll admit, your little disappearing act was good, but it is less effective against a creature that can smell emotion." She walked around me before changing into a larger version of the creatures on top of me. I shall call them cheese-legs. She walked over to me and lifted my chin so that she could stare into my eyes, I quickly put up a warding spell on my mind. "My my, so much power and so much anger for such a small pony," Really? You should see Malice... "But your a bit too young right now, but once you hit puberty, you will be an emotional gold mine for me and my changelings" Her nose was less than an inch from mine, so I bit it. Reeling back from the pain, she turned to address the changelings holding me down, "Take him to where we sent cadenza, and don't be too gentle."
After some amount of time, I woke up. I rubbed the spot of my head that they hit and stood up slowly. I was in a crystalline cave. I wondered randomly for about an hours before I sat back down, more frustrated than before. "Oh shining armor, I'll be there very soooooooooon." It was probably nothing.
I channeled the ten points and began to feel my magic swirling around my body as I began to chant, "Corcet. Uran. Utaba. Wintas. Malice. Loben. Malacaf. Wahlil. Temus. Winrar. Difnar. Invus. Norcus. Drak," The speed in which I was chanting was increasing, "Torrei, Korus, Meranus, Teranus, Infinis, Evelasca, Cosma, "I was now at the speed where the names began to sound like one, "AmiinUruZakareNatilaCenturaMascanMorjminKemin," At this point, I was speaking so fast, the names were merging together, "UйЖm贔dӝŶ8i⊜rmйi∑epЖOӝdjeŶneЖi贔йneӝiecŶwŶiw∑cWӝmЖŶdo⊜eйjcufӝnŶck∑йdMӝidnŶdЖu贔fk∑nc⊜oЖmŶdӝo∑PijeksnŶ⊜ӝciniйjijjcWk∑oйwŶӝ8w⊜jb贔rŶЖij" I could feel the taste of iron in my mouth and dripping from my ears, the mortal body was not made to be able to handle the language of the divines, but if I'm going to get out of here, I have to try. I could feel the my magic change from its ethereal form become solid and form around my back and head. I pointed my horn in a direction, and unleashed the unrestricted magic of the gods. The sheer power cleaved through crystal, rock, and everything else in my way. When it was all over, I dropped to my knees from exhaustion, and passed out.
