Chapter 7: The Myth

In Pyro’s POV

The sword was pointed menacingly at the mutated monarchs, unwavering. I glared at them. They were taken aback by the raw power I had wielded, especially the white winged unicorn, who thought her shield was impenetrable. She was pushed away by the force of my sword against her magic, causing her to temporarily lose her balance and fall over backwards.

I hear some hoofsteps towards us. I took a small glance to the direction of the sound, seeing the six ponies and dragon running towards us.

“I will be taking my leave now.” I say. A whirlpool of fire appeared around my friends and I. The ball of fire twisted off into the sky.

~scene change~

3rd Person POV

Twilight and her friends ran toward where Pyro stood, but in a twister of fire, he vanished into thin air, along with the others.

Once the fire died down, the mane six ran up to their monarch.

“Princess Celestia! Are you okay?” Twilight asked. The princess nodded, but did not show a sign of relief, instead showing a solemn frown.

“I may be fine, but the fate of Equestria and time as we know it may be resting in the hooves of that pony.” She replied. Her frown increased. “If you come across him again, please inform us immediately.”

“You can count on us.” The six all said unanimously. The princesses were then ushered back into the balloon, which took off and flew for Canterlot.

“So, we are on the lookout for the pony named ‘Pyro’ I take it?” Rainbow asked the group.

“Well, yes and no.” Twilight replied. “He goes by two main aliases, Infernus and Pyro. He has two names.”

“Speaking of Infernus, I met him earlier in the day before we went to Zecora’s hut! Remember, you were all there too!” Pinkie said. “He came here earlier in the year too but today he came back! The party in the morning was for him since I couldn’t host a party overnight in his house because he didn’t have a house here so the party was held on the next day which is toda-mmph mm mphmm phmmmph!”

“Alright, Pinkie, we get it.” Applejack said, hoof over Pinkie’s mouth. “You hosted a party for the pony we were looking for.”

“C’mon. It’s just one pony we have to look out for, What can possibly go wrong?” Twilight said.

“Many.” Infernus spoke from a corner of the street. “Many, very bad things can happen. In fact, already happened.”

The six turn to the area where the voice was coming from. Infernus stepped out from the shade and into the burning sunlight. “Of course, I have to warn you. Whatever you do do not take a step closer in my direction.”

The six froze in place, pupils shrinking as they felt a cold breeze of air brush down their backs.

“Why can’t I move?” Twilight tried to step back but her limbs did not do as they were told. She could still move her neck, so she looked at the other five ponies. They were all stuck in place, trying to move but can’t.

“Don’t try. Petrifier spell puts the target’s limbs into a cryostasis state, albeit without the ‘cryo-’ part. You cannot move your limbs even if you want to.” Infernus let out a smile, as if he was pleased with himself. “You were looking for me, yes? Well, here I am.”

~scene change~

In Pyro’s POV

When the twisting fire died down, we were outside the hospital, right outside the main entrance. My eye colour returned to normal after calming myself down a bit.

I help the four ponies up and aided them inside. They were still trying to wake up from the concussion they had back in the town. The doctor that tended to me just so happen to pass us, noticing me.

He first asked if I needed help with my friends. I nodded my head, helping the four ponies onto some beds. They immediately lied down and started sleeping, ignoring any and all injuries completely. They all needed rest desperately. The doctor tended to their injuries.

My migraine returned very slowly, but it is making sure I can feel it. I close my eyes to try and contain the headache. Several memories were flooding back into my head, but as I try to focus on them, the headache got worse. I relax, letting go of my breath.

Hydrolus slowly regained consciousness, sitting upright in his bed. He only managed a groan with the amount of energy he has currently. He slumped back down, head hitting the pillow.

The doctor then asked for all their names. At first I was hesitant, knowing full well what could happen, but I told him our names anyway. At first the doctor was shocked, but then he returned to being as calm as before in a matter of minutes. He rushed off somewhere out of the room.

Arborus had regained most of his energy and is now sitting upright on his bed. He still has the tired look on his face, but was awake enough to make conscious movements. He wore his glasses and adjusted them.

“You alright?” I asked him.

The response was a sigh. Then he said, “Slightly tired, bad migraine, a bit of memory loss tied in with the bundle.”

“Typical symptoms.” I sat down on a chair beside his bed. “That was how I felt when I woke up on this planet.”

The doctor returned with a book. “This is a history book. You might want to read its contents.”

I took over the book and read the first few pages. My hoofwriting was tattered all over them. The words looked smudged and therefore almost illegible. Arborus took a glance at the papers, trying to decipher the inked mess.

He squinted hard and readjusted his glasses. “Tread every step with extreme care, not waking the hidden beast. For if the power is unleashed, on the world he shall feast.”

“Sounds like what a mad pony would write.” I said. “Except that it looks like my hoofwriting.”

“The beast awakens with power at full force, destroying everything he sees. However, to live through this hell and tell its tale, the beast you must appease. Not everyone has the capability, the chosen ones we must send. Trying anything else otherwise, this world shall come to its end. The mentioned four must seek for help, within the beast he shall rise. His life drained, his energy sapped, to regain his life comes a price. A brew of ice, of flame and of hell, all mixed in a pot. Throw in some mushrooms of azure, viridian and coal, and the flesh that resists rot. Once boiled forty-nine days, over a constant fire. The brew must be drank before dusk, if not repeat and reacquire.”

The others are slowly waking up, with Terrae repeatedly tossing and turning, Hydrolus sitting upright and Silver dousing himself with water.

“Upon consumption, the last shall wake. With the five complete and in full power, the stars will quake. A beam of moonlight, shall aid in the cycle. For it strengthens the taint destruction by not less than quintuple. A new world will be shaped, freedom for all! Free of the curse that will cause its fall.”

“That was beyond absurd.” I commented. “The poetry is nice and all, but it feels as though it’s a conspiracy!”

“What’d we miss?” Said Silver, half asleep. “I’ve only heard something about ‘destruction not less than quintuple’.”

When the other ponies were fully awake, I briefly summarised what happened.

“We need to get you guys back to our planet.” Was what I said after the summary, which kind of surprised them.

“The only way is to go back through the portal that brought us here.” Hydrolus explained about the transport that they took to get them here. “Seems to be in the ruins of a castle. Deep inside a forest.”

“Fascinating.” I asked the doctor for a map of our surroundings. After a short chat with the doctor, we found out the name of this village, Ponyville, and the forest that we appeared in, the Everfree Forest. Everybody had their energy back and mana almost fully recharged, so we set off towards the Everfree, carrying a slight debt as we had no currency that they used.

~scene change~

3rd Person POV

“Now, Twilight. I can’t possibly let you go until after I finish speaking.” Infernus walked up to the group slowly.

“When I get out of this you are gonna...” Rainbow shouted. She tried to move, but her legs won’t allow.

“Getting feisty now, huh. Well, you’ll be glad to know I will only be here for a few short minutes. Firstly, the current me, the one you know as ‘Pyro’ is in the hospital. Don’t confront him, you’ll get injured. Secondly, the cryostasis will only last until I leave. Lastly, don’t ever try to confront me if my eye colour is red. Or ever if I have purple streaks going everywhere along my body. Just, don’t.”

“And why should we listen?” Rarity asked. “What happens if we don’t do as you say?”

“One thing is for sure, eventually you’ll catch up with me. But until then, nothing else can be said. My words are now up for your interpretation. As for the current me, he’s going to trek across the Everfree to look for the portal back to my planet. Please make sure that me and my friends are safe. The integrity of the timeline depends on you guys now.”

He took out a scroll from his bag and tossed it over to Twilight. “You’ll need this for later.” The scroll hovered in the air.

Infernus then lifted his right hoof, which glowed a bright red, and swung it to the side. The mane six started to be able to move their limbs again. He let out a smile and started to walk away.

“Remember!” He shouted. He then made a turn into an alleyway. Rainbow flew towards the alley, but when she looked inside Infernus was nowhere to be found.

~scene change~

In Pyro’s POV

The five of us headed out to where the supposed portal was set up, through the forest I had woken up in. We went past the hole I made when I woke up, the puddle of water had frozen inside. Further inside the forest, there was a hut carved into a tree, similar to the library in the town. However, we made a few stops to look for the pieces of my watch, if indeed my future self was right about it being an Easter egg hunt in this forest. Sure enough, not more than an hour later, all the pieces were found. I’ll need my workshop to properly fix it again, so we still needed to use the portal to access our planet.

Upon reaching the other side of the forest, we came across a ruin of a castle. The bricks looked so old they may crumble into dust at any moment. We entered the building and went a floor downwards.

“Down under there. The portal was very rudimentary but our sensors were able to connect to its frequency to teleport us here. This was the only destination that was visible to us that was not on our planet.” Arborus explained. He led the group through a small hallway that was just wide enough for one pony to walk through.

We then reached a metal archway in a room at the end of the hallway. The arch, along with the room, was covered in vines and moss. Seems like this structure has been here for ages.

“The teleport led you here?” I asked, trying to confirm the information.

“Yes, however after as the teleport occurred, we were infected by the taint.” Hydrolus said. He then explained that the taint had caught up with them after they teleported. Then, one by one they blacked out, Hydrolus being the last to black out.

“Now this end of the portal is out of energy.” Terrae said, looking at a screen indicator. It only has enough fuel to stabilise a connection, but not enough to open the portal.

“Now how will we get back home?” Silver started to become restless.

“I think to do so we need to get the portal powered.” I said. “But I have no clue on how to get any power in this rudimentary world.”

Just then a small growl was heard from the hallway. We all turned around, slightly startled by the sound. Hydrolus volunteered to check it out.

He exited the room, but a few seconds later he came running back, blocking the entrance with mana. A sentient blob of purple goo, shaped like a pony, appeared inside the hallway. It smirked as the goo spreads, breaking through the shield, trapping us all inside.

Author's Note

Time travel. Gives you a headache.

I suppose I’ll keep the next part spoiler-free to maintain the suspense.