Option 2by James FireChaptersSome ExplanationsThe TragedyHelloooo Nurse!Children Playing, Please Slow DownAwkward...The ReturnExplanationsAnd the End. FinallySome ExplanationsMoving through the castle quickly, we still mysteriously encounter no resistance. Not one single guard, not even a cleaning lady. Cadance takes note of this and seems very worried, and angry. "What has he done with all of my people?" Celestia speaks with a grim tone. "He has probably conscripted them all into an army, just like he did last time." I feel the situation is more dire. "There are a few spells that he could be doing that would require a sacrifice. Last time I fought them, they were collecting sacrifices to open a portal to Hell." Everyone else, even Discord, is shocked. "Sacrifices?" They all echo each other, making it sound creepy and ominous. "That is what I said. With the Element of Dark Magic, he will be able to direct and control enough mana to tear a hole in the fabric of reality big enough to get an army through. He won't need your ponies, or at least, not for soldiers. I am hoping we can interrupt that process, because closing one of those dimensional portals is not easy." Celestia still can't believe it, and I don't think anyone else does either. "But live sacrifices? I have seen-and used-a few spells that require blood or some such. I just ask the hospital ponies for some, and they collect some." Twilight looks incredulous at this. "But, you said those spells were off-limits for being 'too dangerous'." "They are dangerous. They specifically require blood, and it has to be relatively fresh. I didn't let you in there because I knew you would find a way to get the blood needed 'for science'." Now we are going off on a tangent, but I believe that I need some clarification. "Why are you all surprised at the sacrifices bit? What kind of society doesn't have violence and greed? Let alone an entire world." Celestia is actually kind of surprised at my questioning. "What do you mean? The level of harmony present here is not elsewhere?" "Of course not. I grew up in a world where it was mostly every family line for themselves, and even then, sometimes families fought each other. The next society I encountered, the groups were bigger, but the basic principle was the same. Then it kept going from there. Even after I left that world, I still found cultures that valued personal wealth over being friendly with your neighbours. "There was even this one time, I found a new society, and decided to remain hopeful. I went to their homeworld as an ambassador. They imprisoned me for years. Tortured and starved for most of that time, I might not have survived if it wasn't for my competent administration at the time. They rescued me, but not after I had suffered more than I thought possible. The species that imprisoned me found out that not only was I very durable, but I also healed fairly quickly, thanks to all the spells I had placed on myself permanently. "I stopped believing in an inherently good society then. And until you can prove to me that yours values friends and harmony over material things, I will stick to that belief. Even with my benevolent rule, my own country still suffers from these very things. I know that with time, I can form the society I want and believe to be possible, but none start that way." The others are surprised, and inquire, almost as one, "What do you value?" At this point, I stop galloping. I do not expect myself to survive the coming battle, and just in case I can't find my way back here, they deserve to know. "I wish I could make a culture that values friends and harmony. In my current one, there are some that do, but most want as much for themselves as possible. While in pursuit of this goal, I have done horrendous things. Things that even the great lord of Hell dares not speak of, all in the hope that I could make an inherently good society. I have cast a spell on someone, knowing it will put them through a lifetime of pain in just a few moments. "I have ordered many tortured for information, and then broke my promise of freedom, because they would have been a threat to my ideal. I have killed children, I have killed fully grown men, I have killed women too. Sometimes I have killed men's wives, sometimes the other way around. I have even done the one thing just about everyone else has sworn not to do. I ripped a living, thinking person's life force out of them. I will not enlighten you of how much that hurts, nor how I know. "Overall, I believe I have had a positive effect on the world, throughout all my lives, and I believe I will continue to have a positive effect through the rest of my lives. I continue in these worlds, not because I want to, but because I must. I have a goal, a destiny, if you will. I was given this choice 3000 years ago, and I chose this. I have suffered more than anyone. "Can you imagine, seeing your loved ones die, and you can do nothing? I tried to do everything I could think of. Some things worked better than others. Once, I was able to replicate the same resurrection spell that is on me. It worked once. I could not find her after she was resurrected. I have done that, many times over. I have inflicted that on others a few times as well. "I do this, not because I want to, but because I should, and because I must. Even if it means that I must make a living sacrifice, or even sacrifice myself to get it done. Sacrificing myself is not as bad as sacrificing someone else, because I reincarnate. I have seen my parents die multiple times. I have heard the news. I know of every way to be informed that they are dead. I know too much, and yet my destiny is still a long time coming. I will have quite a few more lifetimes before I complete my destiny. I may outlive all of you. While I dearly hope that is not the case, it could happen. "Now, I am going to stop Sombra. Is anyone going to help the monster kill the monster?" Everyone, Twilight especially, is just shocked. I think I may have just disillusioned her to my true nature. Celestia's normally stoic facade has cracked. Discord is not joking around. Celestia speaks to me. "I... I had no idea. I truly am sorry for all you have been through, but as far as I have known you, you have only tried to help. You are only trying to help foster understanding between us, and to solve the problem you indirectly caused. Not many would do that. I have a newfound respect for you, even if you have done more than all our villains put together. Despite that, you have also done more than all our heroes put together." She bows to me. "I would follow you anywhere, anytime." The others follow suit, with not a single remark out of Discord. Twilight, however, has some questions. "You have had so much time to gather knowledge! Could you share it with me? Like how you lived so long? And, how do you live with what you have done?" Sigh, "You deserve to know something at least. I have a feeling I might not survive this encounter. My accumulated knowledge is great, and I would share it with you, but we don't have the time. I can, however, say that it is not easy to live with all that I have done. I mostly cope by telling myself that it was for the greater good, but I still have nightmares." "We should go. I don't want to arrive just in time for the first sacrifice. I want to arrive in time to stop it." The TragedyAs we are thundering up the various stairs and ramps in the Crystal castle, we still look out and hope beyond hope that there is someone, anyone that can tell us something. Nothing. Nobody is here. Completely abandoned rooms, standing as they were. If Sombra is not casting his spell here, then where is he casting it? Maybe back in that cave. We did not explore all of it, after all. He might have built a spell-casting room, complete with shields and inlay crystal wire flooring. No matter. We will find him, and I will destroy him, as I should have ensured centuries ago. Reaching the top of the castle, I use my Mage-sight to look around at the landscape. In the direction of the cave system, I do see a very bright glow. Probably a very powerful shield, or a high concentration of mana in one place. Looking closer, and probing it, I determine that it is a shield, and would block teleportation. At least, block teleportation through it. We could teleport to right outside it. Probing around the shield reveals that there is an empty hallway that we could appear in. I address the rest of the group. "Alright. We need to get over there." I point in the direction of the shield. "Discord, are you able to teleport us and the Crystal Heart?" He thinks for a bit, then says "Maybe. I have done the Elements of harmony before, but I did them individually. The Heart is much more powerful than they are. I could try, at the very least." "Very well. While I am not certain I could do it, I should probably be the one carrying it. Unless someone else wants to do it?" Nobody volunteers, not that I expected anyone to. I am really the only one that has a hope of controlling it's power enough to direct it at Sombra. "Then we should go get it. Shining Armour, Cadance, I am going to place Flurry Heart in my castle, so that you need not worry for her safety. The only way to get in is through the heavily shielded and warded workroom. My phone will see to her amusement and care. If you would give her here, I will be back in a moment." Shining Armour lets me take her, and I teleport away. Back in my workroom, I walk into the main room, materializing some toys and taking them with me. "Alyr! I need you to take care of this foal. Her parents need to help me save the world." "Yes, my King." "Good. She has been fed recently, so just play with her to keep her occupied." I then teleport back to the top of the Crystal Castle. "Now, we need to go get the Heart, then we can teleport to the shield. Discord, if you please?" He snaps his talons, and we appear in the courtyard under the castle. I look at the Heart, and see two things. First, it is completely genius in its design. Second, that it has more power than I do. I move to grab it, then instead place it into my magical grasp. Once I have it secured, I nod to Discord. I also notice how quickly the sky is darkening. I remember them saying that the Heart keeps the land alive, or something of that sort, and it would seem that the land does not want the city to be here. Discord snaps his talons, and we all appear in the hallway I saw before. I turn to look at Shining Armour, "Ready?" He nod vigorously, and starts weaving his spell. I ask each of the others the same, and they all respond in the affirmative. Luna in particular catches my attention, as I notice that she has at least a dozen spells charged and ready to fire. "Well then, let's go!" I encase the Heart in powerful mirrored shielding to direct the blast. I then use a very particular spell, that is really only useful now. It makes a hole in the shield that blocks our path, and holds it open. I can use it on any shield, but I really only use it if I want the shield to stay intact. Shining Armour moves ahead, and casts his shield, giving us a wide area to move into. We all pile in, but don't go on the offensive, not yet. I look around, and spot another entrance into the room. I see some Demons guarding the door, and a pony being escorted through it. I see the portal just off centre of the room, beside a table, that is, unfortunately, covered in fresh blood. "DETHON!" I blow our cover, not that it really mattered. We would have had to do a battle anyway. And from the looks of it, although it is hard to tell, the portal is stable enough to allow a few things through. "Ah, Aurthur. I had expected you sooner. No matter. Guards, get them." And with that order, dozens upon dozens of the Demons start converging on our position. Before the battle starts though, I tell the others one crucial bit of information. "Do not hesitate to kill them. They will not hesitate to kill you, and their essence goes back through the portal anyway, so you don't actually kill them." I direct the path of energy from the Heart towards Sombra, and give the Heart a nudge, causing it to send a powerful beam of pure Light energy at him. I also placed a spell matrix on the portal. Just need to feed the matrix power, and it will start closing the portal. Anyway, it seemed that he was not expecting me to attack him so soon, cause the beam hit him full on. He went flying, and I managed to stop the beam. Or rather, I redirected it. Right into the waiting spell matrix. The spell powers up, and starts closing the portal. I inspect the portal closer, to see if it is one of the special portals. As I am inspecting it, a Demon closes on me, and prepares to swing. I can't interrupt my inspection, otherwise I will have to start over. Twilight blasts it into next week, and back where it came from too. She runs over to me, "You should really look at what is happening around you." I don't respond, almost done with the analysis of the portal. What I currently have is telling me that it is one of the special ones, and that I will need to take drastic measures to close it, but I really hope I don't have to. Twilight is now just standing there awkwardly, probably waiting for me to respond. "Okay..." Luna yells over at Twilight "behind you!" And Twilight turns to face a Devil. I complete my analysis, and it says I will need to take drastic measures. This is not going to be pretty. I fire a spell at the Devil, and it devolves into a puddle. Like, literally, devolves. It even went through the other stages. And you know what? I didn't know that one of the ancestors of the Devils was an insect. They really have come a long way. Twilight is speechless. "Uh, wha? What did you do to it?" My answer is swift and to the point. Kinda like a javelin thrown at high velocities. "I cast a devolution spell on it. Now, I need your help to close the portal." She seems excited at the prospect of helping me, but I would not be so excited in her position. "Oh? And how can I help?" "I need you to provide some mana for me." "Well, easy enough, I guess." She seems kind of disappointed at the little request, while I cast two spells on her. I remove from my saddlebag a sword, engraved and set in the hilt is a blood-red stone. I move up to Twilight, who is looking away, studying the portal, it would seem. When I reach her, she turns towards me, but doesn't see the sword. I tell her that I am sorry, and wish I didn't have to do this. I then drive the sword straight through her chest, all the way up to the hilt. The first spell I cast collected all the Blood and Dark magic caused by her going through a near death experience. I then collected it, and fired it into the portal. The portal closed near instantly, with me struggling to turn off the beam from the Crystal Heart. I decided that I still needed it, and directed it into a new spell. Author's Note I am not sorry for this. well, maybe just a little. Anyway, this is the original ending I had planned for this story when I first started. There will be another chapter dealing with the aftermath and full consequences of Aurthur's actions. Hope to keep you all here. If you dare, I am going to give out a small spoiler. Twilight doesn't die. (Yet [Maybe]) Helloooo Nurse!Twilight woke up several hours after putting her in the Royal Hospital in Vale City. "Hnnngh. Wh... what happened? Why am I in a hospital?!" She tries to get up, but stops. "Owwww... That hurt. Why do I have a bandage on my chest?" She notices me sitting over near the door. "Mana! What are you doing here?" Well, no avoiding it, now is there? "I am here to make sure you recover. The doctors and nurses here are specially equipped to deal with injuries that you went through, as well as having the required expertise to work on non-humans. They have had to patch me up a few times." "What happened? Are we still in Equestria?" She seems very worried, and for good reason. "As to where you are, you are in my home universe. Specifically, you are in the Royal Hospital in Vale City on Taledine. As to what happened," she interrupts me here, eyes lighting up with the knowledge that she can see where I came from. "Oooh, can we look around?" She tries to get up again, wincing as she remembers she can't. "Maybe later? Is that why the ceiling is so high?" This is going to take a while. Sighing, I reply "Yeah, we humans typically reach one-point-eight meters tall. We can look around if you want, my people are not averse to seeing other sapient species. But we should wait until you have recovered." A nurse walks in here, with a computer tablet in hand. "Speaking of, it is just about time for your Healing. Nurse?" The nurse is a human woman, about one-point-four meters tall, quite short for our day and age. Dirty blonde hair, a light skin tone, and dressed in a simple white sterilized tunic and pants, with a multitude of pockets. "Yes Aurthur. Would you care to assist? Your help could reduce recovery time dramatically." "Yes, I think I will today. Are there any other patients that need Healing? Or perhaps some children, I am sure they would love my current form." She looks at her tablet, "Yes, there are three other patients that may need healing. After you are through with them, I will show you to the children's ward." I look over to Twilight, "Don't worry, you'll be fine. You should only need one more Healing session after this, then you can walk around as you please. Are the others ready, nurse?" She tilts her head, thinking for a moment. "They should be. Supposed to arrive any minute now." At that, three other people walk in. Two human males, and a Krinsethi. The Krinsethi are very talented at High Magic, but have next to no ability in the other types. This makes them very good for Healers. The Krinsethi are bipedal, and an average one stands at about one-point-one meters. Short, but they make up for it in other ways. For example, their muscles are about three times stronger than a human's for the same volume. The two humans are two meters tall and dark skin, and one-point-six meters tall with a very well tanned complexion. The Krinsethi is the one that speaks to me. "Your majesty." All three bow to me. "It is an honour to have you with us today. We thank you for taking some of our burden." We take up pre-assigned positions around the bed, and prepare. My job in here is to supply most of the mana required, and to finish undoing the spell that the sword placed on her. The three doctors are going to be doing the actual Healing. They all establish a connection to me, which I start feeding mana into, while working on the spell. It is a relatively simple spell, but it is tied into the castees soul, or life-force, whichever you want to call it. I have to undo that binding, then I can dismiss it, otherwise it might take the soul with it. I finish unbinding it within a few minutes, and then just continue feeding mana to the Healers. After about ten minutes of this, they stop pulling mana from me, and close the connection. I notice a marked improvement in Twilight, now that that spell is gone. She seems more alive. The Healers finish up, and then leave, thanking me again. Anyway, Twilight then asks, "and why did I need that? I feel like you did something." Sighing, I decide to just tell her. "I basically killed you in order to close the portal to Hell. The only reason you didn't actually die is because I cast a spell which would keep you alive, or at least alive long enough to heal you. It has actually only been a day or so since that happened." Twilight is just shocked dead at this. "Buh, wha? You killed me?! I trusted you!" Not the expected reaction. "Yes I did. To save Equestria. Not only that, but here you are, fine, and on your way to recovery. Sure, without me showing up this would not have happened, at least, not yet, but Dethon would have eventually woken to reclaim his lost power. By my intervening, I stopped him." "Right, save Equestria. Fine, you did it because it was necessary. Could you have not done it to yourself?" That... was not a question I had been expecting. "Yes. I could have. My body, at least, would not have survived the ordeal, but I could have killed myself to seal the portal." A long silence interrupts our conversation, before I decide that I should get on with my duties. "I have children to attend to. I will speak with you later." I walk out of the room, and head towards the nearest desk. "May I help you?" The nurse asks in a bored, but hopeful, tone. "Yeah, I am King Aurthur. I believe I pledged my power to help speed along recovery?" Nurse sifts through some files on the screen in front of her. "Ah yes, here you are. The Healing sessions are not for another few hours, so you can spend that time with the children. I believe they will love you." Author's Note Okay, so. I actually have no idea how many more chapters before this ending is complete. There will be at least one more, maybe two, possibly more. Hope you have all enjoyed the ride so far, and please don't get off. Getting off in the middle of the rollercoaster is dangerous. Children Playing, Please Slow DownThe nurse was right, the children do love me. Especially the female ones. You see, at the Royal Hospital, there are doctors specializing in each of the separate biochemistry types, with information on hand about what drugs do what to each variation of the immune system. Anyone can be successfully treated here, provided, of course, nothing goes wrong. So, it naturally follows that the children's ward is full of children from many different species. Right there is a Krinsethi. And over there is a Qanulin. Hailing from the tundra world of Gatorra, Qanulin are very resistant to cold and freezing, but are susceptible to heat. They are not very talented in any sort of magic, but their grasp of engineering is second to none. They are very sensitive to pressure and movement, able make an educated guess about how much weight a support is holding. Due to their touch receptors being much more sensitive, they are also quite easily crippled by pain. Some of them are able to work around this and develop a much higher pain tolerance than others of their species. Physically, they are very thin-limbed insects, relying on tools and machines to alleviate the burden of physical labor from them. Due to low gravity on Gatorra, their muscles are quite weak for their volume, and the limited amount of muscle they can fit further reduces their strength. Most of the rest are humans, or other species which I have either not yet met and documented, or others that I cannot remember the name of. Spending the afternoon with the children was wonderful. The Hospital gave me permission to do with them whatever I could. So I took them all to a playground that was nearby. I cast a spell on each and every one of them to not only track them, but to replace the medical equipment that they had been hooked up to. Some of them had an IV out of necessity. This gave me time to think. I would have to tell Twilight everything eventually, and it would be better for her that it is sooner. Plus, I think she may have developed feelings for me. While I am not cold-hearted, I don't think I feel the same way about her. I do not know her sufficiently. While I did say that I would teach her my magic, I have yet to do so. I don't think she would mind staying here for that, and it would make it much easier to do so, what with all the other mages around, as well as my personal workroom here. The protections and shields are much stronger on it than the one in Equestria. All the people that are walking by glance at me, then continue on with what they were doing. Seeing other species is not something new for them, and they know not to pry, just in case they offend someone. Watching these innocent souls at play is very relaxing. The cat look a likes pawing and wrestling, the reptiles competing to see who has the strongest jaws, and, of course, the birds seeing who can fly the longest. One of the children that I brought here comes running, "Mister Mana, sir? Could you push some of us on the swings?" "Of course, my child. I will be right over." Pushing three of them on the swing set, I continue thinking. Was the decision I made to close the portal the right one? I could have stabbed myself instead, but I was not certain there would be enough time. Those demons and Devils were piling through the portal. I believe that it could have gone better, but should I have sacrificed myself instead? Doing so would, of course, have meant that I would not have survived, but it would have saved Twilight the grief of knowing death. I know it all too well. One more wouldn't make much difference. But then there is also the fact that I might not have been able to keep my promise to Twilight. I could bear the pain of another death, but not keeping a promise? I would prefer to not do that. But then again, the spell I would have had to cast on myself takes much longer than the two I cast on Twilight, so I may never know which would be the better option. With their pent up energy all gone, the Hospital kids all say they are ready to go back. I summon a cart, and they all pile in, then I trot back to the Hospital. Author's Note Do you think Aurthur made the right choice? Awkward...After returning them to their room, and hooking them up to whatever machines they should be connected to, I then help with a couple Healing sessions. After that is done, I feel ready to talk to Twilight. Entering her room, I see her at the window, staring out. "What is that?" She gestures in the direction of the castle situated at the centre of the city. "That, my dear Twilight, is my castle. The centre of government for a good portion of several galaxies in this universe. Traditionally, the head of the elected government lives there, treated as a guest by the ruling King. Technically, I am the ruling King, but I am torn between learning more about your world and taking up that mantle again." She turns around to look at me, "So take up your mantle. It is your duty as their King." Sighing, I try to explain as best I can. "Twilight, that is not the way it works around here. While I may be their King, there are many others that are just as qualified for the job. I could relinquish my claim to the throne for this life, and go off to do what I do. The kingdom would be fine without me." "But the duty of royalty is to protect their subjects! Despite what hardships they may experience as a result." "Twilight. That may be how it is in Equestria. But here, we are different. We have a long, cultured history. I am sorry to say that a good chunk of it was spent in warfare. Another significant chunk was spent under bad rulers, that cared little for their subjects." I then told her about Stalin, among others. "Not everything is happiness and rainbows." Looking out the window, I am taken back, to when this planet was first colonized. "I wasn't even originally born on this world. Despite this infrastructure being centuries old, I am older. I founded this colony. It is nice to see something that I had hoped would happen come to fruition, even if it is centuries later. Such is the cost of immortality." "Am... Am I immortal?" "That depends on what you do in life. Based on your genetics alone, your lifespan has been greatly extended. But, I came here for a reason. I felt you should know what happened after I... killed you." "That would be nice to know. I would love to hear how I didn't die in vain." "Uh, well, yes. You did not die in vain. With the Blood Magic generated from you, I was able to close the portal. I then opened a portal using the Crystal Heart to my home dimension. Nearly limitless magical power can do just about anything. I still..." The realization hit me then, "I still have the Crystal Heart! I need to return it! I saw those storm clouds gathering above the Crystal Empire, and knew!" I run out of the room, and continue running for a few moments before remembering that I can teleport. I do so to the hallway right outside the room where the Heart is kept safe. The same forced teleportation spell is on there that is on my little base back in Equestria. Can't teleport in or out. I unlock the door, and grab the Heart. Seal the door as I leave, heading for one of the portal rooms. As I arrive, Twilight pops into existence right next to me. She seems unsteady, getting used to standing again. I, or course, object. "What are you doing? You need to rest. Healing takes a lot out of you, doubly so if accelerated by magic. Besides, you are not used to standing in this gravity. The gravity here is about twenty percent higher than your home planet." Despite my misgivings, she stands anyway. "Alicorns are possessed of a nearly fantastical strength." "You still need to rest!" "I want to go home though! I need to see my family, let them know I am alright. And Celestia. Have you told them where I am?" My silence on the matter indicates I have not. "So, they don't know where I am? They must be so worried, and to think that you are also nowhere to be found... They might think you kidnapped me! And they are searching for you right now!" I tune out at that, deciding that a panicking horse is not something I need to deal with. "I AM NOT A HORSE. I AM A PONY." "Oops, I didn't mean to project that." "We need to get back as soon as possible! We need to straighten this out! I don't want Celestia banishing you from Equestria!" A very long silence stretches after this announcement. During which a servant opens the door, presumably to clean the room, and to clean up excess magic energy. He promptly closes the door and decides to do the other rooms first. Twilight blushes, or at least, I think she does. And then weakly adds, "Uh... Because I don't want your research impeded?" "I... I could tell, somewhat, that you were starting to feel that way about me." Her ears and expressions perks up. "But I am sorry to say that I don't." She becomes downcast again. "At least, not yet. I would like to get to know you better, before I decide." She partially perks up, and looks hopeful. "Shouldn't we take that back?" Pointing at the Heart, I come back to reality. Author's Note And we are back! The ReturnSo, preparing to make the portal back to Equestria, I draw on the power of the Crystal Heart, cause the raw energy makes it much easier. Discord chooses that moment to pop in, but he thankfully stays quiet, knowing that I need to concentrate to keep this stable. He waits patiently for the time it takes for me to open the portal. Once it is open, I turn around, planning to beckon Twilight, and see him. "Discord, why am I not surprised?" He pouts. "You know me too well, and we only met a few days ago." "C'mon through. I need to return this," holding up the Heart, "and Cadance and Shining Armour are probably very worried about Flurry Heart. Unless you led them there?" "I did not. And yes, they are worried. They have most of Equestria looking for her." Twilight's eyes widen in surprise, and I mentally smack myself for forgetting something so simple. We all get through the portal and come out into my workroom on top of the mountain. I run out, and into the main area, where Alyr is playing with Flurry Heart. "Welcome back Aurthur. I have fed the foal multiple times since you left." "Uh, what did you feed her?" "I requested pony milk from home." A long silence follows this. Twilight breaks the silence. "Well, she seems to be fine, so I guess there must be some similarities at least." "Well, as long as she is playing, she must be fine." I grab Flurry with my aura, and place her on my back. "Well then, let's get to the Crystal Empire. I am sure they want their prize jewels back. Discord, if you please?" Discord snaps his talons, and we appear in the throne room. Cadance is sitting on her throne, with Shining Armour standing beside her. We appeared near the main doors, at the back of the crowd. Good rulers, still receiving petitions even when their own child is missing. Granted, they know that I put her somewhere safe, but still. Seeing Discord pop into the room, they call off the current petitioner, interrupting him mid-sentence. "Discord. What brings you here. Is that Mana Spark with you? Does he have Flurry?" I push through the crowd, silently cursing Discord for putting us at the back. "Yes Cadance, I have brought your foal back. I am sorry for how long it took. I had to take Twilight home with me, to heal her. And, here is the Crystal Heart. I hope your city has not fallen yet?" A guard takes the Heart, and gallops away. She glares at me, "It is barely hanging on. We have all the unicorns in the city powering a shield that protects us from the worst of the cold and snow, but with this back, we will have no need of that. I hope you can compensate the unicorns for this, as they seem to be near exhaustion, as well as mana overload." "Of course. I can provide enough mana to speed along their recovery. Just have them all assemble in a large space, like this room." We all disperse to our duties. The ponies that were in the crowd heading out to the shield, to tell the unicorns that they could stop. I prepared for the largest mana transfer I have ever done, pulling out my crystal to draw on. Cadance and Shining Armour took Flurry elsewhere in the castle, to spend some time with her after two days of not seeing her. And I can't blame them for it. Even royals need to spend time with their children. As the unicorns pile in, or are carried, I wait patiently, just below the throne. Let them take from that what they will. Once they are all in, I place a special shield designed to block any and all mana from leaving the room, but allows mana in. I then flood the room with mana, and direct it into every unicorn in the room. A few minutes later, I am done, spent and mostly drained. My mana crystal is completely empty, and I will be several days in recovering my initial mana levels. Pulling down the shield, I wave all the unicorns out, and just lay there, exhausted. Well, not quite. If I needed to, I could still teleport to my workroom, but I really don't want to. Cadance walks in later, and offers a room for me to rest in. I want to study the Heart in more detail, and say as much to her. "Sure. We don't fully understand it, and it's not like you can destroy it. Or would want to." I nod, and follow her through the castle to a room. "You can sleep here. When you wake up, you can ask one of the guards to take you to the kitchen. You can either make something yourself, or have a chef do it." I walk into the room, and look around. Looks pretty standard. Crystal walls, crystal ceiling, a crystal bed with what is presumably a rather comfy mattress. I slip into the bed, and immediately determine that it is not what I am used to. Rather than being a metal frame or some sort, covered with cloth, and then stuffed with feathers or some sort, it does not have a frame. It seems to instead be a very spongy and soft material, bound into the shape of a mattress. It molded itself to my body perfectly, feeling like I was floating. It was the most comfortable place I had been in, and I had tested the most high tech stuff my world had to offer. I was going to have to ask about it in the morning. Maybe I could use it at home. Author's Note No matter what, the next chapter will be last. It may be a bit longer than what you are used to from me because of this. ExplanationsMorning comes, and I wake. I climb out of bed and trot towards the vanity. Now, while I am not obese with how I look like some people, I do care enough to brush everyday. Once that's done, I head for the door, and remember that Cadance said I could help myself to the castle staff. So, I wander around until I find a guard. I ask, "which way to the kitchen?" He answers promptly. "Continue down this hall, at the end are stairs, take them down four levels. You should be able to smell your way from there. If not, there should be a guard near the stairwell on that floor." As I start trotting away, I make sure to thank him. Guards have a boring job, and must have plenty of patience to deal with it. The hallway is not that long, and I arrive at the stairwell within minutes. Per the guard's instructions, I head down four levels, counting them to ensure I don't go too far. At four, I come out of the stairwell, and sniff the air. I do smell kitchen smells, or at least vegetarian kitchen smells. Meat has a very distinctive smell, and from what I have seen, these ponies don't eat meat. And from me eating it earlier, it is possible for them to do so. I follow the smell down that hallway, around a corner, past half a dozen rooms, and then into a dining room, with a doorway at the other end leading into a kitchen. I happily trot over to this doorway and peer inside. Chefs are just sitting around, talking. "... and that is how my daughter learned to cut paper." Seems like they are either running out of things to talk about, or this guy likes to hear himself talk. I clear my throat, and they jump to attention. One of the other chefs speak up. "Yes? Are you looking for food?" I fully enter the kitchen, so I am not speaking around a wall, "Yes. Cadance told me to just request food?" "That is how we do it around here. What'll ya have?" "Actually, I was wondering if you could give me a menu or something. First time not cooking for myself, so I want to know what you can make before I request it." "Ah, well, for breakfast items, we got eggs, bread, jam, cereal..." "Would you mind making an omelette then? And could you put some of this in?" I pull a pouch out of my saddlebags, and hold it out. "Sure. May I ask what this is?" "Just a blend of spices that I like." What he doesn't know won't hurt him, right? I go sit at the table, and wait. After about ten minutes, he comes out with a plate and silverware. "Here you are, and here is your blend back. I must say, it is quite something." He places the tray and pouch down on the table, "Do you want anything to drink? Juice of some sort? Milk? Water?" "Do you have... Ah, what was it? Cranberry raspberry? I think so. You have that juice?" "I am sorry to say that we don't. We have apple, orange, peach, Crystal berry, and mango." "Peach it is then, thank you." He leaves, and return a couple minutes later with my juice. "Here you are. Enjoy." He leaves again, and I start to eat. While I am eating, Cadance comes in. She sits down across from me, and waits patiently for me to finish. "What happened back there? Why does Twilight have bandages around her barrel? Where did you go?" "Before I answer those, are Celestia and Luna going to want to know? Shining Armour, maybe? I should tell everyone at once." "Well, yes, I suppose everyone would want to know. Fine, I will arrange for them to be here for when you are done. But we will want to know everything." I just nod and finish my juice. I wait for Cadance to return, just twiddling my hooves. When she finally does, I stand, ready to talk or go elsewhere. Round the corner comes everyone else. Discord, Celestia, Luna, Shining Armour, and Twilight. I am ready, and I address them all. "Hello everyone. Are we ready for the answers?" Everyone said yes. Except Discord, he had performers spell it out. "In that case, let's begin. Cadance told me a few questions she wants answered." "First, what, exactly, happened back there was not pretty. In order to close a portal to Hell, most of the time you need Blood Magic. Now, I had to choose between killing myself, or near killing Twilight. Killing myself would not be something I am unaccustomed to, but it would take far longer, just to make sure the spell went on its own after I stopped maintaining it. Any questions about that?" Just grumbling, and muttering. Based on what I hear, they agree, but they don't like it. "Continuing with that question, Sombra/Dethon was captured. Not physically, spiritually." I pull out an angry black Crystal, with purple highlights. "This used to be clear. He has taken up residence in here, in much the same way as a genie in a lamp, until I decide what to do with him." Horrified expressions cross all the ponies' faces. Celestia is the first to say something. "Isn't that considered torture?" I reply, full of confidence. "Yes it is. But I am certain that with his history, he can suffer a little. Any other objections?" Head shakes all around. "Now, the second question Cadance asked is answered by the first, so in to the third. I took Twilight to my home universe, using the Crystal Heart to open a portal. She needed to be healed immediately, and she needed some special treatment as well. She will be making a full recovery, except for maybe a small, unnoticeable unless you are looking for it, scar." Shining Armour seems to be barely holding himself together. Luna is poker face. Celestia has a hardened expression. Discord is clipping his claws. Cadance is just staring. "Can you make it back home on your own?" The question from Luna is not unexpected, but I wasn't thinking it would be asked this soon. "Maybe. I would need to fully recover my mana reserves first, but probably yes. Now that I know where it is." "Then maybe you should go. Violence is not needed here any longer." Author's Note I'm sorry, but this isn't the last chapter. I couldn't resist using that cliffhanger. And the End. Finally"No." Luna looks surprised. "Did thou just say no to me?" "...No?" I smirked. "Thou should not be so smug in the face of Royalty." "I believe it is beyond your power to tell me what to do. Now, I want to examine the battlefield, before anything starts decay no more than it already has. Even with the massive amount of ambient magic in the area, something is going to get started. "Then I think I shall return to my home in this plane, and continue my studies of your method of casting, as well as Discord's." Discord looks positively enthused. "Huzzah! A student!" Including the partying mini Discords. That is going to be fun to deal with. I turn my expression stern. "Anything else you want to ask?" Twilight, predictably, asks, "Can I see your home plane again?" This was going to be a long stay. Author's Note Eh, maybe I should just put this in the previous chapter, but I really wanted to use that cliffhanger. It was so... fun.
Some ExplanationsMoving through the castle quickly, we still mysteriously encounter no resistance. Not one single guard, not even a cleaning lady. Cadance takes note of this and seems very worried, and angry. "What has he done with all of my people?" Celestia speaks with a grim tone. "He has probably conscripted them all into an army, just like he did last time." I feel the situation is more dire. "There are a few spells that he could be doing that would require a sacrifice. Last time I fought them, they were collecting sacrifices to open a portal to Hell." Everyone else, even Discord, is shocked. "Sacrifices?" They all echo each other, making it sound creepy and ominous. "That is what I said. With the Element of Dark Magic, he will be able to direct and control enough mana to tear a hole in the fabric of reality big enough to get an army through. He won't need your ponies, or at least, not for soldiers. I am hoping we can interrupt that process, because closing one of those dimensional portals is not easy." Celestia still can't believe it, and I don't think anyone else does either. "But live sacrifices? I have seen-and used-a few spells that require blood or some such. I just ask the hospital ponies for some, and they collect some." Twilight looks incredulous at this. "But, you said those spells were off-limits for being 'too dangerous'." "They are dangerous. They specifically require blood, and it has to be relatively fresh. I didn't let you in there because I knew you would find a way to get the blood needed 'for science'." Now we are going off on a tangent, but I believe that I need some clarification. "Why are you all surprised at the sacrifices bit? What kind of society doesn't have violence and greed? Let alone an entire world." Celestia is actually kind of surprised at my questioning. "What do you mean? The level of harmony present here is not elsewhere?" "Of course not. I grew up in a world where it was mostly every family line for themselves, and even then, sometimes families fought each other. The next society I encountered, the groups were bigger, but the basic principle was the same. Then it kept going from there. Even after I left that world, I still found cultures that valued personal wealth over being friendly with your neighbours. "There was even this one time, I found a new society, and decided to remain hopeful. I went to their homeworld as an ambassador. They imprisoned me for years. Tortured and starved for most of that time, I might not have survived if it wasn't for my competent administration at the time. They rescued me, but not after I had suffered more than I thought possible. The species that imprisoned me found out that not only was I very durable, but I also healed fairly quickly, thanks to all the spells I had placed on myself permanently. "I stopped believing in an inherently good society then. And until you can prove to me that yours values friends and harmony over material things, I will stick to that belief. Even with my benevolent rule, my own country still suffers from these very things. I know that with time, I can form the society I want and believe to be possible, but none start that way." The others are surprised, and inquire, almost as one, "What do you value?" At this point, I stop galloping. I do not expect myself to survive the coming battle, and just in case I can't find my way back here, they deserve to know. "I wish I could make a culture that values friends and harmony. In my current one, there are some that do, but most want as much for themselves as possible. While in pursuit of this goal, I have done horrendous things. Things that even the great lord of Hell dares not speak of, all in the hope that I could make an inherently good society. I have cast a spell on someone, knowing it will put them through a lifetime of pain in just a few moments. "I have ordered many tortured for information, and then broke my promise of freedom, because they would have been a threat to my ideal. I have killed children, I have killed fully grown men, I have killed women too. Sometimes I have killed men's wives, sometimes the other way around. I have even done the one thing just about everyone else has sworn not to do. I ripped a living, thinking person's life force out of them. I will not enlighten you of how much that hurts, nor how I know. "Overall, I believe I have had a positive effect on the world, throughout all my lives, and I believe I will continue to have a positive effect through the rest of my lives. I continue in these worlds, not because I want to, but because I must. I have a goal, a destiny, if you will. I was given this choice 3000 years ago, and I chose this. I have suffered more than anyone. "Can you imagine, seeing your loved ones die, and you can do nothing? I tried to do everything I could think of. Some things worked better than others. Once, I was able to replicate the same resurrection spell that is on me. It worked once. I could not find her after she was resurrected. I have done that, many times over. I have inflicted that on others a few times as well. "I do this, not because I want to, but because I should, and because I must. Even if it means that I must make a living sacrifice, or even sacrifice myself to get it done. Sacrificing myself is not as bad as sacrificing someone else, because I reincarnate. I have seen my parents die multiple times. I have heard the news. I know of every way to be informed that they are dead. I know too much, and yet my destiny is still a long time coming. I will have quite a few more lifetimes before I complete my destiny. I may outlive all of you. While I dearly hope that is not the case, it could happen. "Now, I am going to stop Sombra. Is anyone going to help the monster kill the monster?" Everyone, Twilight especially, is just shocked. I think I may have just disillusioned her to my true nature. Celestia's normally stoic facade has cracked. Discord is not joking around. Celestia speaks to me. "I... I had no idea. I truly am sorry for all you have been through, but as far as I have known you, you have only tried to help. You are only trying to help foster understanding between us, and to solve the problem you indirectly caused. Not many would do that. I have a newfound respect for you, even if you have done more than all our villains put together. Despite that, you have also done more than all our heroes put together." She bows to me. "I would follow you anywhere, anytime." The others follow suit, with not a single remark out of Discord. Twilight, however, has some questions. "You have had so much time to gather knowledge! Could you share it with me? Like how you lived so long? And, how do you live with what you have done?" Sigh, "You deserve to know something at least. I have a feeling I might not survive this encounter. My accumulated knowledge is great, and I would share it with you, but we don't have the time. I can, however, say that it is not easy to live with all that I have done. I mostly cope by telling myself that it was for the greater good, but I still have nightmares." "We should go. I don't want to arrive just in time for the first sacrifice. I want to arrive in time to stop it."
The TragedyAs we are thundering up the various stairs and ramps in the Crystal castle, we still look out and hope beyond hope that there is someone, anyone that can tell us something. Nothing. Nobody is here. Completely abandoned rooms, standing as they were. If Sombra is not casting his spell here, then where is he casting it? Maybe back in that cave. We did not explore all of it, after all. He might have built a spell-casting room, complete with shields and inlay crystal wire flooring. No matter. We will find him, and I will destroy him, as I should have ensured centuries ago. Reaching the top of the castle, I use my Mage-sight to look around at the landscape. In the direction of the cave system, I do see a very bright glow. Probably a very powerful shield, or a high concentration of mana in one place. Looking closer, and probing it, I determine that it is a shield, and would block teleportation. At least, block teleportation through it. We could teleport to right outside it. Probing around the shield reveals that there is an empty hallway that we could appear in. I address the rest of the group. "Alright. We need to get over there." I point in the direction of the shield. "Discord, are you able to teleport us and the Crystal Heart?" He thinks for a bit, then says "Maybe. I have done the Elements of harmony before, but I did them individually. The Heart is much more powerful than they are. I could try, at the very least." "Very well. While I am not certain I could do it, I should probably be the one carrying it. Unless someone else wants to do it?" Nobody volunteers, not that I expected anyone to. I am really the only one that has a hope of controlling it's power enough to direct it at Sombra. "Then we should go get it. Shining Armour, Cadance, I am going to place Flurry Heart in my castle, so that you need not worry for her safety. The only way to get in is through the heavily shielded and warded workroom. My phone will see to her amusement and care. If you would give her here, I will be back in a moment." Shining Armour lets me take her, and I teleport away. Back in my workroom, I walk into the main room, materializing some toys and taking them with me. "Alyr! I need you to take care of this foal. Her parents need to help me save the world." "Yes, my King." "Good. She has been fed recently, so just play with her to keep her occupied." I then teleport back to the top of the Crystal Castle. "Now, we need to go get the Heart, then we can teleport to the shield. Discord, if you please?" He snaps his talons, and we appear in the courtyard under the castle. I look at the Heart, and see two things. First, it is completely genius in its design. Second, that it has more power than I do. I move to grab it, then instead place it into my magical grasp. Once I have it secured, I nod to Discord. I also notice how quickly the sky is darkening. I remember them saying that the Heart keeps the land alive, or something of that sort, and it would seem that the land does not want the city to be here. Discord snaps his talons, and we all appear in the hallway I saw before. I turn to look at Shining Armour, "Ready?" He nod vigorously, and starts weaving his spell. I ask each of the others the same, and they all respond in the affirmative. Luna in particular catches my attention, as I notice that she has at least a dozen spells charged and ready to fire. "Well then, let's go!" I encase the Heart in powerful mirrored shielding to direct the blast. I then use a very particular spell, that is really only useful now. It makes a hole in the shield that blocks our path, and holds it open. I can use it on any shield, but I really only use it if I want the shield to stay intact. Shining Armour moves ahead, and casts his shield, giving us a wide area to move into. We all pile in, but don't go on the offensive, not yet. I look around, and spot another entrance into the room. I see some Demons guarding the door, and a pony being escorted through it. I see the portal just off centre of the room, beside a table, that is, unfortunately, covered in fresh blood. "DETHON!" I blow our cover, not that it really mattered. We would have had to do a battle anyway. And from the looks of it, although it is hard to tell, the portal is stable enough to allow a few things through. "Ah, Aurthur. I had expected you sooner. No matter. Guards, get them." And with that order, dozens upon dozens of the Demons start converging on our position. Before the battle starts though, I tell the others one crucial bit of information. "Do not hesitate to kill them. They will not hesitate to kill you, and their essence goes back through the portal anyway, so you don't actually kill them." I direct the path of energy from the Heart towards Sombra, and give the Heart a nudge, causing it to send a powerful beam of pure Light energy at him. I also placed a spell matrix on the portal. Just need to feed the matrix power, and it will start closing the portal. Anyway, it seemed that he was not expecting me to attack him so soon, cause the beam hit him full on. He went flying, and I managed to stop the beam. Or rather, I redirected it. Right into the waiting spell matrix. The spell powers up, and starts closing the portal. I inspect the portal closer, to see if it is one of the special portals. As I am inspecting it, a Demon closes on me, and prepares to swing. I can't interrupt my inspection, otherwise I will have to start over. Twilight blasts it into next week, and back where it came from too. She runs over to me, "You should really look at what is happening around you." I don't respond, almost done with the analysis of the portal. What I currently have is telling me that it is one of the special ones, and that I will need to take drastic measures to close it, but I really hope I don't have to. Twilight is now just standing there awkwardly, probably waiting for me to respond. "Okay..." Luna yells over at Twilight "behind you!" And Twilight turns to face a Devil. I complete my analysis, and it says I will need to take drastic measures. This is not going to be pretty. I fire a spell at the Devil, and it devolves into a puddle. Like, literally, devolves. It even went through the other stages. And you know what? I didn't know that one of the ancestors of the Devils was an insect. They really have come a long way. Twilight is speechless. "Uh, wha? What did you do to it?" My answer is swift and to the point. Kinda like a javelin thrown at high velocities. "I cast a devolution spell on it. Now, I need your help to close the portal." She seems excited at the prospect of helping me, but I would not be so excited in her position. "Oh? And how can I help?" "I need you to provide some mana for me." "Well, easy enough, I guess." She seems kind of disappointed at the little request, while I cast two spells on her. I remove from my saddlebag a sword, engraved and set in the hilt is a blood-red stone. I move up to Twilight, who is looking away, studying the portal, it would seem. When I reach her, she turns towards me, but doesn't see the sword. I tell her that I am sorry, and wish I didn't have to do this. I then drive the sword straight through her chest, all the way up to the hilt. The first spell I cast collected all the Blood and Dark magic caused by her going through a near death experience. I then collected it, and fired it into the portal. The portal closed near instantly, with me struggling to turn off the beam from the Crystal Heart. I decided that I still needed it, and directed it into a new spell. Author's Note I am not sorry for this. well, maybe just a little. Anyway, this is the original ending I had planned for this story when I first started. There will be another chapter dealing with the aftermath and full consequences of Aurthur's actions. Hope to keep you all here. If you dare, I am going to give out a small spoiler. Twilight doesn't die. (Yet [Maybe])
Helloooo Nurse!Twilight woke up several hours after putting her in the Royal Hospital in Vale City. "Hnnngh. Wh... what happened? Why am I in a hospital?!" She tries to get up, but stops. "Owwww... That hurt. Why do I have a bandage on my chest?" She notices me sitting over near the door. "Mana! What are you doing here?" Well, no avoiding it, now is there? "I am here to make sure you recover. The doctors and nurses here are specially equipped to deal with injuries that you went through, as well as having the required expertise to work on non-humans. They have had to patch me up a few times." "What happened? Are we still in Equestria?" She seems very worried, and for good reason. "As to where you are, you are in my home universe. Specifically, you are in the Royal Hospital in Vale City on Taledine. As to what happened," she interrupts me here, eyes lighting up with the knowledge that she can see where I came from. "Oooh, can we look around?" She tries to get up again, wincing as she remembers she can't. "Maybe later? Is that why the ceiling is so high?" This is going to take a while. Sighing, I reply "Yeah, we humans typically reach one-point-eight meters tall. We can look around if you want, my people are not averse to seeing other sapient species. But we should wait until you have recovered." A nurse walks in here, with a computer tablet in hand. "Speaking of, it is just about time for your Healing. Nurse?" The nurse is a human woman, about one-point-four meters tall, quite short for our day and age. Dirty blonde hair, a light skin tone, and dressed in a simple white sterilized tunic and pants, with a multitude of pockets. "Yes Aurthur. Would you care to assist? Your help could reduce recovery time dramatically." "Yes, I think I will today. Are there any other patients that need Healing? Or perhaps some children, I am sure they would love my current form." She looks at her tablet, "Yes, there are three other patients that may need healing. After you are through with them, I will show you to the children's ward." I look over to Twilight, "Don't worry, you'll be fine. You should only need one more Healing session after this, then you can walk around as you please. Are the others ready, nurse?" She tilts her head, thinking for a moment. "They should be. Supposed to arrive any minute now." At that, three other people walk in. Two human males, and a Krinsethi. The Krinsethi are very talented at High Magic, but have next to no ability in the other types. This makes them very good for Healers. The Krinsethi are bipedal, and an average one stands at about one-point-one meters. Short, but they make up for it in other ways. For example, their muscles are about three times stronger than a human's for the same volume. The two humans are two meters tall and dark skin, and one-point-six meters tall with a very well tanned complexion. The Krinsethi is the one that speaks to me. "Your majesty." All three bow to me. "It is an honour to have you with us today. We thank you for taking some of our burden." We take up pre-assigned positions around the bed, and prepare. My job in here is to supply most of the mana required, and to finish undoing the spell that the sword placed on her. The three doctors are going to be doing the actual Healing. They all establish a connection to me, which I start feeding mana into, while working on the spell. It is a relatively simple spell, but it is tied into the castees soul, or life-force, whichever you want to call it. I have to undo that binding, then I can dismiss it, otherwise it might take the soul with it. I finish unbinding it within a few minutes, and then just continue feeding mana to the Healers. After about ten minutes of this, they stop pulling mana from me, and close the connection. I notice a marked improvement in Twilight, now that that spell is gone. She seems more alive. The Healers finish up, and then leave, thanking me again. Anyway, Twilight then asks, "and why did I need that? I feel like you did something." Sighing, I decide to just tell her. "I basically killed you in order to close the portal to Hell. The only reason you didn't actually die is because I cast a spell which would keep you alive, or at least alive long enough to heal you. It has actually only been a day or so since that happened." Twilight is just shocked dead at this. "Buh, wha? You killed me?! I trusted you!" Not the expected reaction. "Yes I did. To save Equestria. Not only that, but here you are, fine, and on your way to recovery. Sure, without me showing up this would not have happened, at least, not yet, but Dethon would have eventually woken to reclaim his lost power. By my intervening, I stopped him." "Right, save Equestria. Fine, you did it because it was necessary. Could you have not done it to yourself?" That... was not a question I had been expecting. "Yes. I could have. My body, at least, would not have survived the ordeal, but I could have killed myself to seal the portal." A long silence interrupts our conversation, before I decide that I should get on with my duties. "I have children to attend to. I will speak with you later." I walk out of the room, and head towards the nearest desk. "May I help you?" The nurse asks in a bored, but hopeful, tone. "Yeah, I am King Aurthur. I believe I pledged my power to help speed along recovery?" Nurse sifts through some files on the screen in front of her. "Ah yes, here you are. The Healing sessions are not for another few hours, so you can spend that time with the children. I believe they will love you." Author's Note Okay, so. I actually have no idea how many more chapters before this ending is complete. There will be at least one more, maybe two, possibly more. Hope you have all enjoyed the ride so far, and please don't get off. Getting off in the middle of the rollercoaster is dangerous.
Children Playing, Please Slow DownThe nurse was right, the children do love me. Especially the female ones. You see, at the Royal Hospital, there are doctors specializing in each of the separate biochemistry types, with information on hand about what drugs do what to each variation of the immune system. Anyone can be successfully treated here, provided, of course, nothing goes wrong. So, it naturally follows that the children's ward is full of children from many different species. Right there is a Krinsethi. And over there is a Qanulin. Hailing from the tundra world of Gatorra, Qanulin are very resistant to cold and freezing, but are susceptible to heat. They are not very talented in any sort of magic, but their grasp of engineering is second to none. They are very sensitive to pressure and movement, able make an educated guess about how much weight a support is holding. Due to their touch receptors being much more sensitive, they are also quite easily crippled by pain. Some of them are able to work around this and develop a much higher pain tolerance than others of their species. Physically, they are very thin-limbed insects, relying on tools and machines to alleviate the burden of physical labor from them. Due to low gravity on Gatorra, their muscles are quite weak for their volume, and the limited amount of muscle they can fit further reduces their strength. Most of the rest are humans, or other species which I have either not yet met and documented, or others that I cannot remember the name of. Spending the afternoon with the children was wonderful. The Hospital gave me permission to do with them whatever I could. So I took them all to a playground that was nearby. I cast a spell on each and every one of them to not only track them, but to replace the medical equipment that they had been hooked up to. Some of them had an IV out of necessity. This gave me time to think. I would have to tell Twilight everything eventually, and it would be better for her that it is sooner. Plus, I think she may have developed feelings for me. While I am not cold-hearted, I don't think I feel the same way about her. I do not know her sufficiently. While I did say that I would teach her my magic, I have yet to do so. I don't think she would mind staying here for that, and it would make it much easier to do so, what with all the other mages around, as well as my personal workroom here. The protections and shields are much stronger on it than the one in Equestria. All the people that are walking by glance at me, then continue on with what they were doing. Seeing other species is not something new for them, and they know not to pry, just in case they offend someone. Watching these innocent souls at play is very relaxing. The cat look a likes pawing and wrestling, the reptiles competing to see who has the strongest jaws, and, of course, the birds seeing who can fly the longest. One of the children that I brought here comes running, "Mister Mana, sir? Could you push some of us on the swings?" "Of course, my child. I will be right over." Pushing three of them on the swing set, I continue thinking. Was the decision I made to close the portal the right one? I could have stabbed myself instead, but I was not certain there would be enough time. Those demons and Devils were piling through the portal. I believe that it could have gone better, but should I have sacrificed myself instead? Doing so would, of course, have meant that I would not have survived, but it would have saved Twilight the grief of knowing death. I know it all too well. One more wouldn't make much difference. But then there is also the fact that I might not have been able to keep my promise to Twilight. I could bear the pain of another death, but not keeping a promise? I would prefer to not do that. But then again, the spell I would have had to cast on myself takes much longer than the two I cast on Twilight, so I may never know which would be the better option. With their pent up energy all gone, the Hospital kids all say they are ready to go back. I summon a cart, and they all pile in, then I trot back to the Hospital. Author's Note Do you think Aurthur made the right choice?
Awkward...After returning them to their room, and hooking them up to whatever machines they should be connected to, I then help with a couple Healing sessions. After that is done, I feel ready to talk to Twilight. Entering her room, I see her at the window, staring out. "What is that?" She gestures in the direction of the castle situated at the centre of the city. "That, my dear Twilight, is my castle. The centre of government for a good portion of several galaxies in this universe. Traditionally, the head of the elected government lives there, treated as a guest by the ruling King. Technically, I am the ruling King, but I am torn between learning more about your world and taking up that mantle again." She turns around to look at me, "So take up your mantle. It is your duty as their King." Sighing, I try to explain as best I can. "Twilight, that is not the way it works around here. While I may be their King, there are many others that are just as qualified for the job. I could relinquish my claim to the throne for this life, and go off to do what I do. The kingdom would be fine without me." "But the duty of royalty is to protect their subjects! Despite what hardships they may experience as a result." "Twilight. That may be how it is in Equestria. But here, we are different. We have a long, cultured history. I am sorry to say that a good chunk of it was spent in warfare. Another significant chunk was spent under bad rulers, that cared little for their subjects." I then told her about Stalin, among others. "Not everything is happiness and rainbows." Looking out the window, I am taken back, to when this planet was first colonized. "I wasn't even originally born on this world. Despite this infrastructure being centuries old, I am older. I founded this colony. It is nice to see something that I had hoped would happen come to fruition, even if it is centuries later. Such is the cost of immortality." "Am... Am I immortal?" "That depends on what you do in life. Based on your genetics alone, your lifespan has been greatly extended. But, I came here for a reason. I felt you should know what happened after I... killed you." "That would be nice to know. I would love to hear how I didn't die in vain." "Uh, well, yes. You did not die in vain. With the Blood Magic generated from you, I was able to close the portal. I then opened a portal using the Crystal Heart to my home dimension. Nearly limitless magical power can do just about anything. I still..." The realization hit me then, "I still have the Crystal Heart! I need to return it! I saw those storm clouds gathering above the Crystal Empire, and knew!" I run out of the room, and continue running for a few moments before remembering that I can teleport. I do so to the hallway right outside the room where the Heart is kept safe. The same forced teleportation spell is on there that is on my little base back in Equestria. Can't teleport in or out. I unlock the door, and grab the Heart. Seal the door as I leave, heading for one of the portal rooms. As I arrive, Twilight pops into existence right next to me. She seems unsteady, getting used to standing again. I, or course, object. "What are you doing? You need to rest. Healing takes a lot out of you, doubly so if accelerated by magic. Besides, you are not used to standing in this gravity. The gravity here is about twenty percent higher than your home planet." Despite my misgivings, she stands anyway. "Alicorns are possessed of a nearly fantastical strength." "You still need to rest!" "I want to go home though! I need to see my family, let them know I am alright. And Celestia. Have you told them where I am?" My silence on the matter indicates I have not. "So, they don't know where I am? They must be so worried, and to think that you are also nowhere to be found... They might think you kidnapped me! And they are searching for you right now!" I tune out at that, deciding that a panicking horse is not something I need to deal with. "I AM NOT A HORSE. I AM A PONY." "Oops, I didn't mean to project that." "We need to get back as soon as possible! We need to straighten this out! I don't want Celestia banishing you from Equestria!" A very long silence stretches after this announcement. During which a servant opens the door, presumably to clean the room, and to clean up excess magic energy. He promptly closes the door and decides to do the other rooms first. Twilight blushes, or at least, I think she does. And then weakly adds, "Uh... Because I don't want your research impeded?" "I... I could tell, somewhat, that you were starting to feel that way about me." Her ears and expressions perks up. "But I am sorry to say that I don't." She becomes downcast again. "At least, not yet. I would like to get to know you better, before I decide." She partially perks up, and looks hopeful. "Shouldn't we take that back?" Pointing at the Heart, I come back to reality. Author's Note And we are back!
The ReturnSo, preparing to make the portal back to Equestria, I draw on the power of the Crystal Heart, cause the raw energy makes it much easier. Discord chooses that moment to pop in, but he thankfully stays quiet, knowing that I need to concentrate to keep this stable. He waits patiently for the time it takes for me to open the portal. Once it is open, I turn around, planning to beckon Twilight, and see him. "Discord, why am I not surprised?" He pouts. "You know me too well, and we only met a few days ago." "C'mon through. I need to return this," holding up the Heart, "and Cadance and Shining Armour are probably very worried about Flurry Heart. Unless you led them there?" "I did not. And yes, they are worried. They have most of Equestria looking for her." Twilight's eyes widen in surprise, and I mentally smack myself for forgetting something so simple. We all get through the portal and come out into my workroom on top of the mountain. I run out, and into the main area, where Alyr is playing with Flurry Heart. "Welcome back Aurthur. I have fed the foal multiple times since you left." "Uh, what did you feed her?" "I requested pony milk from home." A long silence follows this. Twilight breaks the silence. "Well, she seems to be fine, so I guess there must be some similarities at least." "Well, as long as she is playing, she must be fine." I grab Flurry with my aura, and place her on my back. "Well then, let's get to the Crystal Empire. I am sure they want their prize jewels back. Discord, if you please?" Discord snaps his talons, and we appear in the throne room. Cadance is sitting on her throne, with Shining Armour standing beside her. We appeared near the main doors, at the back of the crowd. Good rulers, still receiving petitions even when their own child is missing. Granted, they know that I put her somewhere safe, but still. Seeing Discord pop into the room, they call off the current petitioner, interrupting him mid-sentence. "Discord. What brings you here. Is that Mana Spark with you? Does he have Flurry?" I push through the crowd, silently cursing Discord for putting us at the back. "Yes Cadance, I have brought your foal back. I am sorry for how long it took. I had to take Twilight home with me, to heal her. And, here is the Crystal Heart. I hope your city has not fallen yet?" A guard takes the Heart, and gallops away. She glares at me, "It is barely hanging on. We have all the unicorns in the city powering a shield that protects us from the worst of the cold and snow, but with this back, we will have no need of that. I hope you can compensate the unicorns for this, as they seem to be near exhaustion, as well as mana overload." "Of course. I can provide enough mana to speed along their recovery. Just have them all assemble in a large space, like this room." We all disperse to our duties. The ponies that were in the crowd heading out to the shield, to tell the unicorns that they could stop. I prepared for the largest mana transfer I have ever done, pulling out my crystal to draw on. Cadance and Shining Armour took Flurry elsewhere in the castle, to spend some time with her after two days of not seeing her. And I can't blame them for it. Even royals need to spend time with their children. As the unicorns pile in, or are carried, I wait patiently, just below the throne. Let them take from that what they will. Once they are all in, I place a special shield designed to block any and all mana from leaving the room, but allows mana in. I then flood the room with mana, and direct it into every unicorn in the room. A few minutes later, I am done, spent and mostly drained. My mana crystal is completely empty, and I will be several days in recovering my initial mana levels. Pulling down the shield, I wave all the unicorns out, and just lay there, exhausted. Well, not quite. If I needed to, I could still teleport to my workroom, but I really don't want to. Cadance walks in later, and offers a room for me to rest in. I want to study the Heart in more detail, and say as much to her. "Sure. We don't fully understand it, and it's not like you can destroy it. Or would want to." I nod, and follow her through the castle to a room. "You can sleep here. When you wake up, you can ask one of the guards to take you to the kitchen. You can either make something yourself, or have a chef do it." I walk into the room, and look around. Looks pretty standard. Crystal walls, crystal ceiling, a crystal bed with what is presumably a rather comfy mattress. I slip into the bed, and immediately determine that it is not what I am used to. Rather than being a metal frame or some sort, covered with cloth, and then stuffed with feathers or some sort, it does not have a frame. It seems to instead be a very spongy and soft material, bound into the shape of a mattress. It molded itself to my body perfectly, feeling like I was floating. It was the most comfortable place I had been in, and I had tested the most high tech stuff my world had to offer. I was going to have to ask about it in the morning. Maybe I could use it at home. Author's Note No matter what, the next chapter will be last. It may be a bit longer than what you are used to from me because of this.
ExplanationsMorning comes, and I wake. I climb out of bed and trot towards the vanity. Now, while I am not obese with how I look like some people, I do care enough to brush everyday. Once that's done, I head for the door, and remember that Cadance said I could help myself to the castle staff. So, I wander around until I find a guard. I ask, "which way to the kitchen?" He answers promptly. "Continue down this hall, at the end are stairs, take them down four levels. You should be able to smell your way from there. If not, there should be a guard near the stairwell on that floor." As I start trotting away, I make sure to thank him. Guards have a boring job, and must have plenty of patience to deal with it. The hallway is not that long, and I arrive at the stairwell within minutes. Per the guard's instructions, I head down four levels, counting them to ensure I don't go too far. At four, I come out of the stairwell, and sniff the air. I do smell kitchen smells, or at least vegetarian kitchen smells. Meat has a very distinctive smell, and from what I have seen, these ponies don't eat meat. And from me eating it earlier, it is possible for them to do so. I follow the smell down that hallway, around a corner, past half a dozen rooms, and then into a dining room, with a doorway at the other end leading into a kitchen. I happily trot over to this doorway and peer inside. Chefs are just sitting around, talking. "... and that is how my daughter learned to cut paper." Seems like they are either running out of things to talk about, or this guy likes to hear himself talk. I clear my throat, and they jump to attention. One of the other chefs speak up. "Yes? Are you looking for food?" I fully enter the kitchen, so I am not speaking around a wall, "Yes. Cadance told me to just request food?" "That is how we do it around here. What'll ya have?" "Actually, I was wondering if you could give me a menu or something. First time not cooking for myself, so I want to know what you can make before I request it." "Ah, well, for breakfast items, we got eggs, bread, jam, cereal..." "Would you mind making an omelette then? And could you put some of this in?" I pull a pouch out of my saddlebags, and hold it out. "Sure. May I ask what this is?" "Just a blend of spices that I like." What he doesn't know won't hurt him, right? I go sit at the table, and wait. After about ten minutes, he comes out with a plate and silverware. "Here you are, and here is your blend back. I must say, it is quite something." He places the tray and pouch down on the table, "Do you want anything to drink? Juice of some sort? Milk? Water?" "Do you have... Ah, what was it? Cranberry raspberry? I think so. You have that juice?" "I am sorry to say that we don't. We have apple, orange, peach, Crystal berry, and mango." "Peach it is then, thank you." He leaves, and return a couple minutes later with my juice. "Here you are. Enjoy." He leaves again, and I start to eat. While I am eating, Cadance comes in. She sits down across from me, and waits patiently for me to finish. "What happened back there? Why does Twilight have bandages around her barrel? Where did you go?" "Before I answer those, are Celestia and Luna going to want to know? Shining Armour, maybe? I should tell everyone at once." "Well, yes, I suppose everyone would want to know. Fine, I will arrange for them to be here for when you are done. But we will want to know everything." I just nod and finish my juice. I wait for Cadance to return, just twiddling my hooves. When she finally does, I stand, ready to talk or go elsewhere. Round the corner comes everyone else. Discord, Celestia, Luna, Shining Armour, and Twilight. I am ready, and I address them all. "Hello everyone. Are we ready for the answers?" Everyone said yes. Except Discord, he had performers spell it out. "In that case, let's begin. Cadance told me a few questions she wants answered." "First, what, exactly, happened back there was not pretty. In order to close a portal to Hell, most of the time you need Blood Magic. Now, I had to choose between killing myself, or near killing Twilight. Killing myself would not be something I am unaccustomed to, but it would take far longer, just to make sure the spell went on its own after I stopped maintaining it. Any questions about that?" Just grumbling, and muttering. Based on what I hear, they agree, but they don't like it. "Continuing with that question, Sombra/Dethon was captured. Not physically, spiritually." I pull out an angry black Crystal, with purple highlights. "This used to be clear. He has taken up residence in here, in much the same way as a genie in a lamp, until I decide what to do with him." Horrified expressions cross all the ponies' faces. Celestia is the first to say something. "Isn't that considered torture?" I reply, full of confidence. "Yes it is. But I am certain that with his history, he can suffer a little. Any other objections?" Head shakes all around. "Now, the second question Cadance asked is answered by the first, so in to the third. I took Twilight to my home universe, using the Crystal Heart to open a portal. She needed to be healed immediately, and she needed some special treatment as well. She will be making a full recovery, except for maybe a small, unnoticeable unless you are looking for it, scar." Shining Armour seems to be barely holding himself together. Luna is poker face. Celestia has a hardened expression. Discord is clipping his claws. Cadance is just staring. "Can you make it back home on your own?" The question from Luna is not unexpected, but I wasn't thinking it would be asked this soon. "Maybe. I would need to fully recover my mana reserves first, but probably yes. Now that I know where it is." "Then maybe you should go. Violence is not needed here any longer." Author's Note I'm sorry, but this isn't the last chapter. I couldn't resist using that cliffhanger.
And the End. Finally"No." Luna looks surprised. "Did thou just say no to me?" "...No?" I smirked. "Thou should not be so smug in the face of Royalty." "I believe it is beyond your power to tell me what to do. Now, I want to examine the battlefield, before anything starts decay no more than it already has. Even with the massive amount of ambient magic in the area, something is going to get started. "Then I think I shall return to my home in this plane, and continue my studies of your method of casting, as well as Discord's." Discord looks positively enthused. "Huzzah! A student!" Including the partying mini Discords. That is going to be fun to deal with. I turn my expression stern. "Anything else you want to ask?" Twilight, predictably, asks, "Can I see your home plane again?" This was going to be a long stay. Author's Note Eh, maybe I should just put this in the previous chapter, but I really wanted to use that cliffhanger. It was so... fun.
