Chapters Chapter 2; relocation/ remastered
Theo slowly regained consciousness, unclear as to what feeling pulsing through his body was. It felt like he was burning, but also felt numb at the same time. Whatever happened to him was irrelevant because he was alive, and likely better off than if he stayed in the exploding school.
After jumping through the portal, Theo and his group ended up in the middle of a dense forest. It seemed severely large, without an end in sight. The trees were so dense and compact that little to no light came through them, with small clearings littered around the place for light.
With a better idea as to where he ended up, Theo's next goal was to find his friends. That said, they couldn't be.
"Aaagghh, my arse!" ... Too far.
Ivan was a few feet away from Theo, also having the same 'fuzzy' feeling around his body Theo had. However, he could still feel his butt hurting really bad, laying on his back. Made however, was nowhere to be seen, as it appeared only the boys landed in the clearing, but Theo paid no attention to this, and focused on oven for the time being.
Theo sniggered. "Well, we could be a lot worse man." He mentioned, reminding Ivan they just got out of being blown up. "I could do without this weird fuzzy feeling though, it's proper weird." Theo turned on his side to avoid the sunlight beaming into his eyes, but what he saw he could not comprehend. "What the?"
"Holy shit!!!" Ivan yelled, causing Theo to look over at him, or what Theo thought was him. To his disbelief, Ivan had somehow transformed in what appeared to be a... A pony? Several of his features remained the same, such as his hair and slim body, but he was now covered in green fur and had a short tail shooting from his, ahem, 'rear end'. "I'm a horse, a fucking horse! Why? How?"
"Are you trying to kill my ears? I'm only here man!" Theo shouted, before trying to get on all fours. Despite his sight still not being up to par, he could still vaguely recognize himself.. He still had the rough, blonde hair he was cursed to have, his new body seemed to sprout red fur, and he had a moderately sized horn on his head. After a while trying to stand up, Theo fell back onto his belly, an action that caused him to lose it. "This is fucking bullshit! That's the last time I let Made convince me to do ANYTHING!"
"I'd say the first one up gets the first punch at her. You in?" Ivan suggested as a method to vent both their anger. After a quick nod from Theo, the pair of them raced to see who could get to grips with their respective bodies first, and after 5 minutes of constant grunts, groans and falling, Theo gained his bearings moments before Ivan. But before Theo had the chance to gloat about it, Made walked into the clearing to join the boys. She seemed the least changes out of the three of them, with her fur being the same colour as her hoodie back home and her hair only being a little longer.
"You know how loud you guys were?" She asked, slowly moving towards them, somehow having mastered walking in her new body. "Do either of you know what's going on?"
"Not a fucking clue, but I'm definitely blaming you for this." Ivan complained, squaring up to Made.
"Why? What have I done?" She asked, unaware as to why Ivan turned on her.
"Erm, for making us go into the lab, for throwing a fucking stapler through the portal! Need I go on?"
“B-but Theo could've stopped it, couldn't he? And he turned the portal in in the first place." Made claimed, dragging Theo into the argument.
"1. Can't stop software on a computer without a keyboard. And 2, I didn't throw a stapler at the computer, that was you. Now can you please leave me out of this argument so I can try to muster up whatever sanity I have left? Thanks!" Theo explained before walking away Ivan and Made.
"I think we hit a nerve." Made said, changing the conversation to avoid further argument. Even Ivan was concerned, despite still being a little annoyed. After he struggled to walk over to Theo, he placed his 'hoof' over Theo's shoulder.
"I thought you were the smart one, don't you know over-reacting will make things worse, right?" Ivan asked, being met with an annoyed glare.
"Pretty ironic coming from you two." He mentioned, which was met with an embarrassed expression from both his friends. Theo looked down at his new body, cringing at the mere sight of it. "Besides, I think we all have a right to be a confused right now. Maybe a little mad, but not at each other's throats."
"Yeah, I guess." Ivan moaned, sitting down against a nearby tree. "Where the fuck are we to look like this anyway?"
"Purgatory? Gillian's island? Maybe the Bermuda Triangle? Does it even matter right now?" Made asked, before stumbling in her new body. This clearly pissed her off though, as she now walked up to a tree. "I fucking hate this!" She screamed, punching the tree.
What happened next was... Unpredicted, to say the least. As she punched the tree, the resulting force she gave off caused the whole thing to break, the tree collapsing and shattering by the sheer power of the punch. Theo and Ivan looked in awe at Made's accomplishment, even Made herself was speechless.
Ivan was the first to talk. "Note to self: never piss Made off while she's a horse."
"Side-note: if these bodies have perks, they may not be as bad as it seems." Theo said, trying to hold back his laughter over what he just said.
"Are you mad? There’s no power that exists that’s worth my humanity, period!” He boasted firmly, putting his ‘foot’ down. However, Made discovered something that made her choose to continue the discussion.
"Ivan, do you have... Wings?" Made asked, causing Ivan to look to his sides and, to his disbelief, see the small, folded away wings he had. He tested out his new limbs by flexing them briefly, and stuttered trying to find something to say, his face in utter shock.
"Made? I think you broke him." Theo muttered to Made, as they both awaited Ivan’s reaction.
"What the hell? How? How are they..." He paused, still flexing his wings, finding the more he did so, the more he grew to like them. Sure, they were still incredibly weird, but he figured he'd roll with it. "These are pretty cool! Can I fly with these things? They seem a bit small." Theo and Made were in shock as to how easily Ivan could just accept his wings, but decided to just leave him be, as trying to understand Ivan was out of question as of right now.
"I guess that just leaves me to find my skill I guess." Theo shrugged, looking to see if he had wings, only to find a weird mark on his flank, it's discovery met with a confused look. "What the fuck is this?"
The mark in question seemed to resemble some form of sword, being made entirely of blue energy, had no grip and was split through the middle. It seemed to resemble a 'halo energy sword' to Theo, his gaming instincts seemingly understanding its design instantly.
"That's a sword. Why do I have a sword on my arse? He asked his friends. "Have you guys got marks like this?"
This question caused both Made and Ivan looked down to their respective backsides to answer Theo's question, and met with some vibrant answers, as each of them had a mark themselves.
Ivan's mark seemed to be a speedometer, similar to the kind you see on the dashboard of a car, while Made's mark seemed to be a double-sided tool, being a hammer at one end and a wrench on the other.
While the marks confused the group at first, Theo seemed to quickly thought of a meaning of them. "Do you think they represent skills?" He asked, earning a confused look from the group. "When I first met Ivan, he seemed a sporty type of person, and we all just saw Made's inhuman feat of strength." He looked over at the damaged tree, a very clear example of his theory.
"Okay, now that I see it, it makes sense for us two." Made told Theo, walking over to him clumsily, trying not to fall again. "But what about yours? If they represent skills, yours makes no sense."
Theo thought for a minute to figure out what his mark meant, quickly coming up with a few ideas.
"Maybe my sharp mind?" His friends shook their heads. "Hey, I've got us this far!"
"Okay man, try not to get hurt patting yourself on the back." Ivan said, which was met with a snort from Theo, slightly scaring Ivan. "Aah, horse noises!"
"Ah, shut up you pussy!" Theo moaned, returning to his prior thoughts. "It may seem obvious, but what if I can just... Do that? The ability to just, poof a sword into existence would be awesome! Just the whole idea of it, you know?" Theo seemed overly-exited of this idea, and seemed to over-react to it, being met with some concerned looks from the others. "Sorry about that, gaming instincts got the better of me.
Ivan and Made briefly looked at each-other. "Should we tell him?" Ivan asked.
"Well, he'll figure it out eventually anyway, so why not?" Made responded, looking at Theo again.
"Okay, what the fuck are you two on about?" Theo asked, slightly confused and annoyed his friends were keeping something from him.
"Theo? You've got a horn." Made explained, pointing to his head with her hoof. Causing Theo to see the extra appendage he had on his head.
"How did I not notice that sooner?" He asked, curious as to its purpose. "Meh, I'll figure out what it's for sooner or later. For now, we need a game plan." Made stepped forward with her opinion.
"Well, I personally want to get the fuck out of this forest and figure out where we are, but I don't have a clue which way we should go. But it looks like it's gonna start getting dark pretty soon, so I don't know what we should do. Any votes?"
Ivan thought for a moment. "I think we should stay in this clearing for the night. If we camp here, we will wake up tomorrow rested, and we'll have a safer passage through the forest on the extended sunlight." Ivan seemed to be quite proud of his plan, but Theo had a different idea.
"I honestly think we should just start walking now. We pick a direction and stick to it until we get out of the forest, or we find a more suitable place to stay the night." Ivan gave Theo a deep glare. "What? I don't think staying in one place for too long is a good idea, just trust me on This one guys. Besides, I think we should take our new selves out for a test-drive. May as well get used to it."
There was a brief silence from the group while they thought of what to do. Eventually, Made stood up.
"Hate to say it, but I'm gonna have to back Theo on this one Ivan." She said, and while he was slightly annoyed for a moment, Ivan sighed.
"You've got us this far man." He started, walking up to his friend. "Don't fuck up now!"
"Just chill out man, I have no intention of messing up." Theo boasted. "Let's get going."
And so, it was now that Theo, Ivan and Made set off from the clearing they appeared in in search of refuge for the night, and to figure out where the hell they were.
-0-0-0-0-0-
It had only been a couple of hours since the earth trio had started walking away from their initial clearing, and it seemed the lot of them regretted trying to use their bodies so soon after waking up. Even Theo started to think Ivan was onto something with his 'waiting until tomorrow' plan. But the group kept pushing forward despite the moans and falls.
The group took time to get used to moving around in their new bodies, the whole process feeling unnatural to the lot of them. However, Made somehow managed to get to grips with things faster that the boys, and often complained about how they couldn't keep up with her.
Ivan on the other hand was trying to balance practicing walking with trying to fly, which just turned out to be a waste of effort, as he fell almost every time. On the bright side, Ivan's stupidity did manage to keep up the group morale, and give him a few excuses for breaks to recover.
However, Theo seemed to cut himself off from the group, keeping silent and was deep in thought. While his current situation seemed quite dire, Theo seemed more worried about his father than himself. Sure, most would consider a complete transformation of their body more important than anything else, but those people obviously never met Theo’s dad. His das was the kind of guy who’d put the toaster inside the microwave in order to make toast quicker, and has always had Theo around to help him with almost everything. As such, you could see why He was a little bit worried.
Theo would’ve kept to himself if it wasn’t for Ivan falling after a failed flying attempt for the 24th time. He seemed quite dazed, so the group paused until they thought he recovered.
“Okay, breaking the silence here.” Theo started. “Is anyone else gonna bring up how unnatural it is that we’ve been able to get walking down so quickly?”
“Theo, the first thing you learn to do as a kid is walk, and that’s before were old enough to even speak. It’s simple instinct.” Made explained, sitting down against a nearby tree. “But yeah, I agree. This doesn’t feel right.”
“you guys have it easy!” Ivan moaned, rubbing between his two wings. “you don’t have extra limbs to worry about.”
Made sniggered a little. “then stop trying to use them, Captain Oblivious.” She joked, moving in to give Ivan a dig in the arm, then met by a swift dodge.
“Be careful, she-hulk. You do that, and trying to fly will be the only way I can get around.” He explained to Made, causing a light blush.
“Okay, my bad I guess. I guess I’m just having problems…” Made started.
“… Adapting?” Theo asked, attracting the attention of both Ivan and Made. “Trust me, I think all of us feel the same way about being stuck as horses.”
Ivan managed to get back on all fours. “If the conversation is going in this direction, can we at least get moving? All these breaks are wasting time.”
Made rolled her eyes as she got back up and continued walking, Theo joining closely behind. “You know we’re taking all these breaks because you’re an idiot who constantly keeps trying to figure out how to fly!”
“Could the two of you quit arguing like an old couple?” Theo asked, covering his face with his hooves. “You’re acting like complete idiots!”
“Sorry mate, but me and Made are pretty much always complaining at something.” Ivan explained. “Sometimes we end up arguing with each other, even if we’re both trying to make the same point. We’ve always been like this as long as we can remember.”
Theo’s ears perked up. “How long have you known each other?” He asked curiously. Both Ivan and Made briefly looked over at each other.
“Well,” Made started. “Ivan and I went to the same nursery. I wouldn’t exactly call us friends back then though.”
“How come? Did Ivan hang out with the popular ones who ended up becoming the school bullies or something?” Theo asked,
“That’s… an oddly specific example.” Ivan said.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Theo mumbled, slowing down slightly in embarrassment.
“The real reason we weren’t friends is because Made had a bit of a reputation for misbehaving.” Ivan explained. “And one day, when she tried to run away home, she accidentally framed me instead.”
“Wait a minute.” Theo started. “If Made’s the smart one out of you guys, why would she want to run away from school?” he turned to Made for an answer.
“What? Nursery was a nightmare!” Made claimed in defense. “Just because I’m clever now, doesn’t mean I was back then.”
“Well, you weren’t wrong there, I guess.” Theo agreed, nodding briefly.
The group continued walking (and falling, in Ivan’s case) until they eventually saw a large structure in their path. Made stopped to try and see what it was, but couldn’t see pat the trees in their way.
“Hey Ivan?” she began. “Do you think you could get us a birds-eye view of what that structure is?”
"You just want to watch me fall again, don't you?" He asked, giving made a look that roared with irritation.
"If I say no, will you do it?" Made asked with a cheeky smile. All Ivan could do in response was fulfil her request. He leaped into the air, briefly hovered, and instantly landed in a nearby tree, much to Made’s disappointment.
From what could be seen, it looked like a ruined castle of sorts. Areas around it looked overgrown and even reached into the building itself, with the cobbled bricks the castle was made from looking to give way any day coming. That said, there were several chambers and locations that seemed in better states than the rest of the castle, with a few laces seeming untouched or even restored.
Ivan then saw both Made and Theo as they made their way past the plants and trees to see the castle themselves, and quickly jumped down to join them. As soon as he landed however, he heard somebody giggling. he turned to Made, expecting it to be her, but found her face filled with wonder over the castle they just found. He then turned to Theo, who looked like his face was unsure whether it was supposed to be shocked, happy or frightened.
“Hey, Theo? Are you feeling alright?” he asked, waving his hoof between Theo’s face and the castle ahead of him.
"Do you know what this means?!" Theo shouted, his voice sounding surprisingly high-pitched
"That we have somewhere to stay for the night?” Made asked, her face brightening a little.
“It means a lot more than that!” Theo answered, moving ahead of the group slightly and pointing to the castle. “The fact a castle exists here proves this planet has some form of intelligent life. Also, the fact it’s been renovated means that they’re still around!” Theo somehow clapped his hooves together in glee, until he saw the way both Made and Ivan stared at him. “And yeah, it means we’ve got somewhere to sleep for the night.”
“I can’t believe there’s two of you now.” Ivan moaned as he walked towards the castle, with a slightly irritated Theo and Made trailed behind him.
-0-0-0-0-0-
While Theo, Ivan and Made were initially in awe over the ruined castle, their interest left them almost as soon as they had to find a room that wasn’t actually in ruins. Almost all the bedrooms were completely destroyed, most other chambers seemed to be ruined in at least one way, and any remaining chambers were inhabited by creatures that failed to be described. However, the group eventually found that the castle library was their best bet for somewhere to stay for the night, but Ivan straight-up refused to enter.
"Theo, I’m not going in there, end of discussion!” Ivan moaned, sitting against the wall with his arms crossed.
Theo rolled his eyes. “Made, care to explain what the fuck Ivan is on about?”
"Ivan swore to never enter any Library outside of school.” Made explained as she sat down on a nearby chair.
Theo decided to remain calm, gathering a deep breath. “You know what Ivan? Just sleep outside then. Just don’t come running to me if it rains or you get attacked by some random creature.”
Within an instant, Ivan rushed into the room, tripped over a pile of books on the floor before landing face-first on the floor. Made couldn’t help but laugh at him, and even Theo sniggered a little. “I hate you guys some times. And I’m not reading anything!”
"Nobody’s expecting you to mate.” Theo said, helping Ivan onto his hooves before walking over to Made. “Need anything?”
"Yeah, I’m looking for a candle. Can you see one anywhere?” She asked as her eyes scanned the room. “Don’t want it to be too dark tonight, do we?”
After a quick nod, Theo joined Made in looking for a candle, and managed to end it instantly. “Found one!” He declared. All of a sudden, a red aura coated both the candle and Theo’s horn. This otherworldly power caused the candle to levitate as Theo brought it to the table in front of him. Theo quickly caught onto what he did, and was in awe over it. “What the fuck just happened? Was that me? That was awesome!”
“Wow, Theo’s a motherfucking Jedi! There goes the theory of it being a dagger or something.” Ivan added in order to become relevant to the conversation. “Well, at least we all know our powers now. “
“You’re saying it like it’s a big thing. I very much doubt any kind of magical power can get us home.” Made said, swinging back on her chair. This then triggered some kind of mechanism that pulled back a couple of bookshelves to reveal a secret room. The room in question had a more casual feeling to it, having a couch and several pillows, two stained glass windows that where themed from the night and the day, several smaller bookshelves and a pedestal with another single book on it. Theo and Ivan gawped at what Made had accomplished. “Why is there a secret chamber in a library? That’s the last place I’d put one.”
“Made, there’s no room in existence that can’t be improved by a secret room.” Ivan explained. “Well, at least we know where we’re staying tonight.”
“I call dibs on the sofa!” Made shouted, running over to her temporary bed. Being fully aware of the international dibs protocol, Ivan and Theo each settled for sleeping on a pillow each, and moved to opposite sides of the room. Almost within an instant, the trio were asleep.
-0-0-0-0-0-
The dream was vivid. It felt so real, yet felt more like a warning. Two orbs of light surrounded by darkness. The light of one orb felt comforting, like home. Yet, a beam of bright light shot from that orb, going to the other. However, it's venture left a tear in both orbs. From there, darkness invaded the orbs, near overtaking them.
Theo awoke almost instantly from the nightmare he had, extremely shaken. However, he quickly shook it off and got onto his hooves. He walked outside of the chamber, with only a faint amount of light around to guide him. While it was dawn outside, the sun was rising from the other side of the castle, meaning the only source of light came from the candle Made was reading from. Wait…
"Made? What are you doing up?" Theo asked, somewhat surprised to see he wasn’t the only one awake.
"Research." She answered." It’s clear this world has different rules from earth, and I wanna figure out as much about it as I can."
“Ivan has wings and I have a horn, so different rules are a given.” Theo told her. “Still, what you got so far?”
"This land is called Equestria. It's populated by a race of intelligent ponies with very weird names." Made cringed through the entire statement.
"How weird are the names?" Theo asked, slightly scared as to what names would come up.
"So weird that our names are weird." Made named several examples. Steel shield, boomer, time turner, the list went on until Theo got the point. It was also at this time that Ivan had also awoke.
"Are we listing Crappy video game names?” Ivan asked, being unaware as to the prior discussion.
"Those were the names of the ponies that live in this world. Our names would be considered weird here, so we need new ones." Ivan groaned in response, and Theo gave a confused expression.
“Made, we don’t even know if they still do names like that anymore. You sure you’re not just jumping to conclusions a little?” Theo asked.
“Hey, better safe than sorry.” Made argued in return.
"Well, I’m not changing mine, and that’s that!” Ivan complained, stretching a little.
"Well, suit yourself." Made said, walking back to blow out the candle she was using. Theo walked outside toget some fresh air, and almost instantly saw a dirt pathway leading away from the castle.
"Guys? Did anyone see that path yesterday?" He asked his friends, who quickly joined him
"Well, it was getting late, so I doubt it.” Ivan answered, scratching his hair.
“Well, paths do lead somewhere, so do we follow it?” Made asked, seeming eager to get going.
"Well, we won’t get lost if we do, so why not?” Theo responded as he began to walk towards it, his friends closely behind him.
"What about sound barrier?" Made asked Ivan. Her constant questions started to irritate him. For the past 45 minutes, made and Theo were coming up with aliases to call themselves by. While Ivan thought their original names would be much simpler, Made thought it would help them blend in. Theo didn't like the idea himself, but the responses Ivan gave back to Made kept him going. But in truth, his mind was on the dream from last night. He wondered what it meant, was something bad going to happen?
Theo's thoughts were interrupted by Ivan nudging him." Dude, make her stop." He pleaded, seeming desperate." She has been taking advantage of her strength to intimidate us, we need to assume domination again." Theo sighed,Ivan was right, in a way.
"Made, we ain't having new names. We're too used to having our ones." Theo said, somewhat cautious." We don't like being bossed around. Made looked at Theo, yet she seemed confused.
"Whatever." She asked." This shit ain't as fun as I thought anyway." She paused for a second, but she had one question on her mind." Who is in charge then?" Theo and Ivan looked at each other. This time, Ivan sighed.
"Theo hasn't steered us wrong so far." Ivan admitted, Theo was clearly a great leader, despite hating the job." What's the plan?"
"We keep walking on the path," Theo said." It's what we have been doing for the last 50 minutes, so why stop now?"
-0-0-0-0-0-
The group continued their walking for another 20 minutes, until Made needed to answer the call of nature and insisted the boys turn away. They waited for her by talking.
"How much longer until we get out the forest?" Ivan asked. He seemed to think that Theo knew everything. However, that was the to be expected as Theo kept track of the time constantly.
"Well, we have been walking for roughly an hour, so.. I don't have a fucking clue." Theo had an idea as to how long. The leaves were so thick that very little light passed through them. However, there was a small amount of light coming from the distance, meaning either the end or a clearing. He would come up with a plan after that.
"Wait, how are you keeping track of time?" Ivan asked." You don't even have a watch or anything."
"Gut feeling, I can't explain it myself, I've always been able to keep track of time without a watch." After this statement, it fell silent for a small moment, unit the time a grim face had shown on Ivan's face. He stared at Theo.
"Move." He muttered.
"What?" Theo asked
"Fucking Run!" Made yelled. All of a sudden, she appeared, being chased by a wooden creature made entirely of wood. Despite the creature being within two metres of the boys, Theo asked Ivan a question.
"How do you do that?" He asked.
"Gut feeling." After this, the two ran after Made, clearly worried about her.
-0-0-0-0-0-
Made had managed to outrun the beast so far, yet barely. She was exhausted, running entirely on adrenaline and narrowly dodging trees to gain an upper hand. However, she lost focus for a small moment and tripped on some exposed tree roots. This forced her to fall into a hallow tree. This would've served as a form of protection if the wolf didn't somehow absorb the wood. Made could see the tree slowly fade away as the beast grew gradually is size. In a last ditch effort, Made kicked the thing in the face with her hind legs, sending it back a few meters. Instead of warding off the creature, it seemed to enrage it. Rather than hunting Made, it attacked her viciously. She regretted her choice.
"Oi, Wolfy!" Ivan yelled, made looked over at her friend on the top of a large rock. He jumped off it and at the beast, using his wings to improve his speed. He crashed into it, he was sent flying into a nearby tree, but managed to make the creature fall on its side, stunning it momentarily. Theo then entered the Frey, his main priority being Made's wellbeing.
"You dead?" He asked sarcastically. This got a small laugh from her.
"Yes, I'm dead." She responded. Theo looked over her for injuries, yet she was mostly fine, with a few bruises being her only injuries. Theo made a decision.
"Made, go make sure Ivan is ok and be ready for my signal." He told her. She nodded, rushing off to help her childhood friend. This left Theo to handle the monster. However, Theo knew exactly what to do, despite his new body. As the beast attacked him, he moved out of its way, but only moved enough to avoid it from understanding his strategy. He was lucky that he knew such advanced strategies, but that's what happens when you become addicted to video games. He kept dodging its attacks, slowly wearing down the wooden wolf. Theo then used the spell he learned yesterday to hold Its head down to the ground.
"NOW!" He yelled over to Made, who came running over to the beast. She then kicked the creature like before, this time with much more force. The sheer power of her attack shattered the creatures head, making the rest of its body implode. The creature was now limp and lifeless, yet the group still felt uncomfortable around it. Theo and Made walked over to Ivan, who was gutted that he missed most of the fight, yet in awe at its results.
"Is it dead?" Theo asked, kicking one of the creatures broken body parts. As he kicked the thing however, it's body slowly started to reform itself. Made and Ivan glared at Theo with the same look given to Made when she threw the Rock through the portal back home." Well, fuck. We should run now." The three of them ran away from the beast, avoiding further conflict.
-0-0-0-0-0-
After a while running, Theo, Made and Ivan managed to leave the forest after what felt like an eternity. However, they strayed from the path during there encounter with whatever that wooden wolf thing was. They stood outside what appeared to be a farm of sorts. A large mixture of a barn mixed in with a house and more apple trees around than Theo had seen in his whole lifetime. A small clubhouse could be seen in the distance, and another one nearby had a carrot on top of it. After checking the surroundings, Ivan fell in exhaustion. In between body slamming into a creature composed entirely of wood and galloping for his life, he was in more pain that could be physically described. His two friends comforted him, mostly out of stress and need for conversation.
"Dude, you sound like my Hoover when it swallows a penny." Theo said, getting a clear laugh from Made, but nothing more than a smile from Ivan.
"Insult coming from the guy who did nothing in the fight." Made hissed back, more as a joke than an insult.
"Yeah, if you call distracting that wooden thing and holding down its head nothing." Theo didn't take Made's statement as a joke however. Ivan tried to break up the argument, despite his pain.
"Shut.. Up... Pain.. Confused.." He pulled together, clearly irritated, yet too tired to show that expression. Theo decided to drop the argument and focus on his friends wellbeing, in his own way.
"Chill out mate, you were hit pretty hard." Theo said, worried." Then again, if I got into a fight with a wolf and made it out with just a stitch, I'd see that as a good day."
"Because you made it out unscathed." Made said.
"I got a headache, that spell took more out of me that I thought it would." Ivan was about to intervene again, until..
"Y'all okay?" A voice asked from the distance. Made turned to see an orange pony with blonde hair wearing a Stetson.
"Just some bruises and a headache." Made replied. The mare continued towards them.
"Ya sure?" The stranger asked." Ah ain't seen anyone so tired since my brother first tried to buck an apple." Ivan had recovered enough to explain.
"We were walking on some yellow path until we were attacked by some wooden wolf thing, lost track of where we were and ended up here." Theo and Made nodded in agreement, while a look of shock and awe filled the face of the young pony.
"You survived a run-in with a Timberwolf?" She yelled.
"More than survived it, I shattered its head with one kick!" Made gloated, attracting a look of irritation from Theo.
"Not alone, we helped." He argued." Timberwolf, wish I thought of that." The mare shook her head in confusion.
"Who are you guys?" She asked.
"I'm Theo, she's Made and he's Ivan." As Theo introduced himself as his friends, the pony continued the confused look.
"Weird names." She said." I'm Applejack. You travellers of somethin?"
"Kinda." Theo answered." Do ya know where the nearest town is?" This questions attracted glares from Ivan and made (mostly from confusion), yet got a clear answer from the farm pony.
"If ya follow that path there, it'll take you to ponyville." Applejack answered." I hope y'all like it there."
"Thanks, see you around." He said, gesturing to his friend to leave.
Once the three of them were safely out of range of the farm, Ivan saw it safe to speak. "Our names are weird? Talk about a fucking hypocrite." He moaned.
"Dude, priorities!" Theo yelled at him. "I don't think names are at the top of the list right now."
"Wait, why tell her we are travellers?" Made asked.
"Yeah, I'm totally gonna walk up to some random civilian and tell them we come from another world. We be thrown into a mental hospital for fuck sake!" This thought shocked Made, while Ivan wasn't paying attention due to Applejack's 'weird name' statement. "My plan is to get to town and lay low until we can figure out what happened, hopefully finding a way to reverse it."
"If one exists." Made said. "What if we're stuck here?" The idea of this knocked Ivan out of thought and gave him a chill.
"NO, NO GOD NO. NOOOOOOOO-" Ivan yelled.
"Shut the fuck up and calm down" Theo called at his friend." See? You've set of the dog now." Made face-palmed/face-hooved herself, seeing his point, regardless of his humour.
"So, what do we say if they ask about us?" Made asked.
"Just say what actually happened, but with ponies." Theo answered, Ivan cringing in the background." While hoping Ivan doesn't have an emotional breakdown. If that happens, were boned." Ivan stared at Theo, but understood where he was coming from. As this was said, they walked off, spending the remainder of the time taking in the scenery and wondering if they were there yet.
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. View Online
Chapter 5; new faces, not-so familiar places
Despite his initial thoughts, Theo rather enjoyed his new job. The small interactions he made with everypony was soothing. He slowly learned to adapt his human dialect, not that it was that hard for him. Theo was used to moving about and changing dialogue was one of his specialties.
Most of his time was spent serving customers and avoiding Pinkies antics. She was annoying and hyperactive, yet Theo couldn't help but admit she was heavily skilled at baking. She also had the unnerving talent to almost make others laugh, wich he thought was quite the ability to have. She kept going on about making a welcome party for him and his friends, and although he didn't want to say, he hated parties. They were always overcrowded and stuffy, with barely any breathing space. He was never very social anyway, but having an open party with a large group of ponies he never met before just scared him. That being said, it was a nice sentiment and Theo was glad to know that pinkie was looking out for them one way or another.
Theo had eventually finished his shift and his interview, and was about to head off to meet his friends.
"Is that all?" He asked, anxious to see his friends. While his day was quite eventful and he managed to haggle the spare room, he really wanted to see how his friends have fared.
"Slow down champ, you might want this." Mr cake called him and threw over a small bag of coins, which Theo caught with his magic. The bag contained 30 bits, bits being the new currency Theo had to get to grips with." Go get you and your friends something to eat, we'll see you later."
"Is that it, when do you want me back?" Theo asked.
"Be back whenever you please, just be sure to get some sleep tonight." The cakes seemed quite kind and caring, similar to his father in some ways. This small reminder gave him mixed feelings. Part of him liked the small reminder of home, but it also came as a reminder of how far from home he was.
"And while your gone, I'm gonna plan yours and your friends welcome to Ponyville party!" Pinkie said out of nowhere. Mere moments earlier she was in the kitchen with Mrs cake, but she bursted into the room faster than Theo could describe.
"Just to note, how often does she do that?" Theo asked, slightly scared. Mr cake sighed.
"Too often. We sometimes have to replace the doors." Mr cake said, slightly embarrassed. Theo took caution.
"Okay then, I'm gonna go meet my friends before something else happens. See you later." This was the last thing Theo said before galloping though the door. Mr cake looked over at Pinkie.
"See? You've got him doing it now!" He yelled, pinkie responding with a giggle.
-0-0-0-0-0-
Theo waited at a table from a restaurant near the clock tower for his friends. He already placed and payed for his order for himself and his friends, the matter was waiting for them. To his surprise, Ivan was the first to turn up. He looked exhausted yet he had a confident grin on his face that could only be described as pride.
"Nice to see you've made it mate, take a seat." Theo said, with a smile on his face. Ivan looked puzzled.
"What's got you so perky?" Ivan asked. Theo's smile was slightly creeping him out, so Theo stopped.
"The bakery was better than expected, it was quite therapeutic even." Theo managed to relax around the comfort of his friend." What about you? How long can you fly for now."
"Indefinitely." Ivan said with pride, Theo gawping.
"Holy shit, I'm impressed." Theo leaned back.
"You were impressed with 15 seconds." Ivan rolled his eyes.
"I'm even more impressed then. Jeez man, what's with the constant need for praise?" Theo asked, getting interrupted before his answer was given.
"Sorry I'm late guys!" Made announced, entering with a hard hat and a jacket.
"Oh look, Bob the builder is here!" Ivan joked, causing Made to blush.
"Yeah, let's wind me up now, I just got here." She moaned. Theo rolled his eyes.
"Just sit down guys, I've ordered us some food. Familiar food." This thought put his friends at ease. For the past few days, all they ate was grass and the occasional flower. Even just the thought of real food gave them comfort. The waiter soon appeared with the food ordered.
"I have your pizza and chips group meal sir?" The waiter said awkwardly. Theo nodded while his two friends mouths began to water.
"Yeah thanks, just make sure these two don't go for it while your still holding it." Theo responded sarcastically. The waiter chuckled before returning to his duties. Theo turned to his attention to his friends, who simply stared at the food before them. "It's not going anywhere, well, it's going in your mouths in a few moments." Ivan took this as a signal to dig in, yet the lack of fingers made eating hard.
"Fuck sake, how am I gonna eat without fingers?" Ivan cursed, getting a few dirty looks from those around him. Made suddenly felt an overwhelming feeling of embarrassment and shock
"Ivan, careful what you say, people are about." She hissed. Upon understanding what he said, Ivan covered his mouth.
"Sorry, converting dialect isn't my best ability." He said, now cautious of those around him. Theo rolled his eyes.
"Speak for yourself, that stuffs my bread and butter." Theo practically patted himself on the back.
"Does your ego want anything to eat?" Made joked." It's not that hard, most of the time."
"Honestly guys, I've moved so much that it don't make much difference to me anymore." Theo continued." Not something I'm exactly happy about, but at least it made a difference."
This started an awkward silence as the group ate their meal. Well, by awkward silence I mean Theo just sat in silence while his Ivan and Made spoke. Most speaking was about how irritating it was trying to eat the pizza, and those they met prior to now. Theo occasionally picked up a piece of pizza with his magic, clearly irritating Ivan every time he did so. Made just starred at Theo performing the single spell he learned through complete accident and thought to herself, eventually questioning something..
"Is that spell all you can do Theo?" She asked. Theo turned his attention to his friends again, and then to his horn. He failed to realise he was using his magic to spin a fork around on the table, even leaving a mark.
"Meh, never really thought about it," He said." What spells though, I mean, how many are there?"
"Well, you might just find out how to activate that sword on your flank." Ivan added, referring to Theo's sword-like butt-tattoo." If levitation was all you could do, why would a sword be there?"
"Good point." Theo praised." But is there anywhere I can go to learn them? It seems to be common knowledge." It was at this point the waiter re-appeared with the groups drinks, placing them on the table with the same spell Theo uses.
"Hey mate, can I ask you something?" Theo asked him. The waiter turned to face him.
"Sure, what do you need? Sauce? Napkins? Sauce and napkins?" He asked over enthusiastically. Theo rolled his eyes.
"Is there a library anywhere in this town by chance?" He asked. The waiter thought, scratching his hair with his hoof.
"Well, the old one was destroyed during the battle with Tirek, so I don't know anym.. Oh yeah! There is one inside of twilights castle, but you'd need to ask princess Twilight herself." Despite what Theo was just told, more questions arose that were answered. Who was this 'Tirek' person and where is Twilight's castle? Theo shook his head and looked at the waiter again.
"Where is Twilight's castle?" Ivan asked." Were new."
"I can tell that much." the waiter said sarcastically." You don't need to know your way to know that Twilights castle is the giant crystal tree." He gestured to the Crystal structure in the distance.
"Thanks dude." Theo said to the waiter as he walked away. Once he was gone, Theo resumed his conversation. "So, if I can get inside, I will use the library to figure out how this thing ticks." Theo gestured to his horn, still glowing due to his spinning of his fork.
"As for me, my shift is starting soon." Ivan moaned." Well, good luck with the books mate!"
"I'm just gonna sit under a tree for a bit and relax. I'm done." Made said smugly. Getting a dirty look from Ivan, as per the norm when he is jealous. The three were about to go their separate ways, when Theo called them back.
"Wait guys." Theo called to them." We should meet up here once every two days. That way we can catch up on whatever happens." Ivan stayed quiet, not knowing how to answer, leaving the answer for Made to make.
"Good call!" She praised." See you guys soon." After this, the group disbanded to their own goals.
-0-0-0-0-0-
The castle that was before Theo was much larger than he thought it would be. It was composed entirely of purple crystal, and the structure looked like a treehouse crossed with a Christmas tree. Theo walked up to the large door, and then questioned how he would open it. He tried knocking, but nopony answered. He then tried to open the door with his magic, yet it was pointless, wouldn't budge. He was about to hit something when a young mare walked up to him. She was a unicorn, similar to Theo, yet had a pink coat with a purple and teal mane. She gave him a puzzled look.
"Can I help you?" She asked, Looking towards Theo for an answer.
"Eerrm, I'm trying to get in? The dumb door won't open though." He said, continuing to struggle opening the door. The mare rolled her eyes.
"Maybe try pulling the door open." She said opening the door." Now can you explain what business you have here?" Theo sighed
"I hoped I could access the library. I wanted.." Theo said before being interrupted.
"Wait, you want to use the library?" She asked. "Nopony has ever asked to use Twilight's library. There is the odd school excursion, but still."
"Would that be a problem?" Theo asked. The mare sighed.
"It wouldn't be if Twilight was here." She moaned." She's currently at the Canterlot royal debate and won't be back for a few days." Theo sighed, his goal having failed.
"Well, thanks anyway." Theo said. He was about to walk away when the stranger walked away.
"I suppose I could let you in." She suggested." Being Twilight's student, I have access to the castle in her absence." Theo gave her a look of disbelief.
"Wait, you'd do that for me?" He asked.
"Sure! What do you want it for anyway?" She asked. She seemed to get straight to the point with every question she asked.
"I was going to try and learn some new spells. I only know levitation and I figured.." Theo said before being interrupted yet again.
"You only know levitation?" The mare asked. Theo was irritated over being ignored, again.
"Can you please stop interrupting me mid sentence?" Theo asked.
"Sorry about that, but still. You only know levitation?" She asked again. Theo sighed.
"Yeah, but I want to learn more." He answered." You never know when you might need it." This straightforward answer seemed to satisfy the young mare.
"I could help if you want." She offered." I am pretty good at performing magic, I could give you a few pointers." This offer sounded pleasing to Theo.
"Really? Thanks! Oh, I'm Theo by the way."
"Starlight Glimmer, nice to meet you."
-0-0-0-0-0-
Made sighed, a habit she tried to avoid for the past few days. Unlike the boys, she knew how to keep things to herself, yet not having any time to herself meant she had no opportunity to vent. Secretly, she was worse off than Ivan. True, she didn't let it show, but she doesn't like discussing things and often goes to quiet areas in order to get over it. But an opportunity to do so never really came about in the last couple of days, with an exploding portal and their sudden form change taking priority over the ability to vent.
"Eerm, excuse me."
She wished she never touched that portal. Theo might be a nice guy, but none of this mess would've started if he took the first day off like regular people.
"Miss, can you?"
But seriously, with everything that is going on recently, she didn't know what would happen next.
"Miss! Please!"
Made opened her eyes to see someone stood in front of her. She was yellow at the coat, with styled pink hair. Made failed to notice her while in thought.
"Sorry, didn't see you there, had something on my mind." She admitted, clearly caught in the act." Can I help you?"
"Can you, erm, move for a second." The mare asked, gesturing to the black rabbit beside her and the rabbit hole Made was sat on. Made moved slightly, allowing the rabbit passage into its home.
"Oh, my bad. Didn't notice that." She said to the mare, who remained silent." I'm Made, nice to meet you." This still failed to get an answer from her, so Made tried a different way." Don't worry, I don't bite, often." This light humour seemed to give the mare a glimmer of courage.
"Erm, I'm, erm, fluttershy.." She said quietly and slowly. Made showed a kind face to her, making her feel much better over the whole meeting.
"See? I'm not some evil half pony half shark." Made joked, getting a weird look from her." No? Dang it, that one would've got the boys good." Fluttershy's look remaining unchanged. Made sighed." I'm new here. I came here with two colts called Ivan and Theo." This explanation Fluttershy understood, relieving her of the confused look on her face and giving her comfort around Made.
"How are you finding things?" Fluttershy asked, her tone changing into a more kind one rather than scared. Made sighed.
"It's great, more than great!" Made said, slightly upset." I mean, it's great here, but it just doesn't feel right." Fluttershy gave Made a warm look, somewhat willing her to keep talking, and it worked!" I spent my whole life growing up around my friends and family, it just feels awkward without them." Fluttershy put her hoof on Made's shoulder to comfort her. Made looked at her, a little confused." How do you do that?"
"Do what?" Fluttershy asked.
"You made me tell you how I felt and i felt better about it immediately. How?" Made asked again. Fluttershy giggled a bit.
"I didn't get you to do anything." She answered." You told me what was no your mind and you felt better about it." Made laughed slightly and nodded.
"Oh, your good." She complemented Fluttershy, making her blush slightly. Made felt somewhat better about the whole 'new world' thing.
Well, a bit anyway.
Chapter 6; the party, preparation
Upon Theo's return from the castle, all he could think about was going to bed. He was exhausted and had lost most sense of balance. During his training session with Starlight, he was taught two different spells. The first was a shield/bubble spell to be used for protection. Wile it could prove useful if Theo ran into the Timberwolf again, he was gonna stay as far away from that shit as possible anyhow. The second one was a magic beam, something Theo could only call one thing. LAZER BEAMS! This spell was the one Theo was the most grateful to know, purely because, well, it a fucking LAZER! Another spell they started to touch on was teleportation. Theo just managed to pull one off, at the cost of the loss of his balance. While Starlight told him that that was normal at first, he secretly knew nothing was 'normal' in this world.
Author's Note
Please note I will be at a camp for a few weeks. This will give me less time to work on the story, but I will still work on it nonetheless. So don't class this story as in hiatus, just slowed down production. That being said, I would like to thank you all for checking out the story so far. Every view on this site means there Isobel more person who has seen my work, so thanks. Now if you don't mind, I gotta start packing.
Chapter 7. The party, before the storm
Author's Note
Hope you enjoyed the chapter, I made it a fair bit longer because of its delay. Feel free to tell me what you thought of it. Any opinions on the story is always appreciated
Chapter 7. The party, before the storm
Theo once again found himself walking into Twilight's castle. With his sudden paranoia, he believed finishing the teleportation spell training would prove useful, and whatever spells he could learn beyond that would also help.
Theo stood in front of his alter-ego, with mixtures of fear and confusion filling his head. How could such a thing exist? Why did it copy him of all people? Theo's thoughts were blocked by his doppelgängers dark laughter.
"Trying to summarise the situation Theo?" The Insectoid clone asked. "We do that a lot, don't we?" Theo shook his head thoroughly.
"Please don't refer to us as the same person, it's creepy." Theo pleaded, slightly scared.
"But I am you, aren't I?" The thing responded." But, you know, completely badass." Theo face-hoofed.
"Great." Theo said." I meet myself and learn I am a complete dick, great day people."
"Bitch." The clone cussed. Theo thought of something to say.
"What do I call you then? Because 'thing' or 'clone' is gonna get old rather quickly." The clone thought for a minute.
"I'll stick with my prior name rather than yours. Carnage!" The brute laughed slightly." I sound like a fucking wrestler, don't I."
"You already know my answer." Theo said, then turning to the bodies on the floor, Ivan's in particular." Did you kill them? If so, that's Ivan off my back."
"No, they ain't dead." Carnage admitted." The old green one thought she saw a snake, Ivan passed out drunk." Ivan muttered something." And the pink one is playing dead." Theo turned to see it was Pinkie.
"Is the bug pony gone yet?" She whispered. Theo shook his head.
"What's the point in appearing then? Giving everypony a heart attack?" He asked, slightly scared of the answer he was going to get.
"I'm here for you." Carnage said." We both know you don't belong here. So my kind has the task of fixing the balance." Theo sighed, letting his guard down slightly.
"Thank fuck, I thought you were going to.." Theo started, but was pounced on by his counterpart.
"Ok should've seen that one coming." Theo moaned." You know I'm not going down without a fight. Wait, why didn't you kill Ivan now then?" Carnage gave a stern look.
"I only kill those who can fight back." He admitted." I may be a monster, but I'm not a monster. You get what I'm saying?"
"Makes sense. But I never thought a being like yourself could show honour." The said smugly.
"Are we going to talk all night, or are we gonna do this?" Carnage grew impatient, Theo's horn began to glow.
"Let's do this somewhere else, to avoid any damage." Theo suggested as he teleported Carnage and himself away.
-0-0-0-0-0-
Ivan slowly came to, with his head buzzing and his hearing distorted, unable to hear anything. Having never had alcohol before, this process was extremely foreign to him. Then again, so is magical talking horses with extra limbs.
Upon opening his eyes, he could feel and see the whole room spin. It was Incredibly disorienting. He then saw made gallop over to him, trying to speak to him. What exactly she was trying to say was unknown to him until his hearing started to return.
"Ivan? Ivan! Say something, anything!" She pleaded, attempting to snap him out of his spasm. He shook his head a bit, then spoke.
"I regret every drop of that." He said, getting onto all fours somewhat easily." I'm never drinking again." Made laughed.
"That's what they all say." She said." Come on, we need to meet up with the others."
"Any sign of Theo?" She asked.
"None, could only find this idiot." She moaned, gesturing to Ivan (who was throwing up on the floor)." Any luck on your side?"
"We can't find him anywhere in the castle." Rainbow said, dashing back to the group and looking over at Ivan." He's had it rough."
"Trust me, he's gonna get an earful once he's sober." She growled at him, still flooding vomit on the floor. A show of emotions whirred through twilights face.
"Did anypony see what happened to him?" She asked the group, who responded with unsure grunts and no's. It was now when pinkie bursted into the group (after doing who knows what for the duration of the search). She seemed to have the answer.
"I saw him teleport him and the Carnage away!" She declared. This rose a few questions.
"Who in Sam hills Carnage?" Applejack asked. Pinkie appeared directly next to her.
"Carnage is the bug pony who scared everypony. Theo teleported both of them away to avoid damage." The group looked at her with shock, especially Ivan and Made.
"We need to help him, he won't stand a chance against that thing!" Twilight shouted.
"Then why go off by himself?" Made asked." He's either brave or stupid. Possibly both."
"Is there a way to track his teleport?" Ivan asked, having recovered slightly. Twilight shook her head.
"We don't have time. We need to find him before its to late." Twilight looked at the group." We should split up to cover more ground. Made, could you and Fluttershy check around town?"
"Got it!" Made declared, Fluttershy following closely afterwards.
"On it Twi." Applejack nodded. Rarity gave a quick look at Ivan before leaving. Twilight then looked over at Starlight.
"I'll stay with Pinkie and make sure Ivan recovers." She told twilight. Ivan looked at her.
"Aww, I didn't know you cared." Ivan moaned sarcastically, causing Starlight to roll her eyes.
"Thanks Starlight." Twilight smiled." Me and Rainbow will check near the mountains nearby the castle. If you need us, look there." Twilight set off, but rainbow hung back for a moment to speak to Ivan.
"Your friend must be pretty stupid to take on that thing on his own." Rainbow told him, smirking slightly. "Must be a theme for you three."
"You get used to it." Ivan moaned, still feeling slightly sick.
-0-0-0-0-0-
Theo should've thought his 'less damage to buildings' plan a bit more carefully. Maybe then he wouldn't be lost in the woods with Carnage nowhere to be found. All he had to do was keep walking forward, being ready for anything that happens.
Then again, anything could happen. This was a world filled with talking ponies, for Christ sake! So, there was a pretty heavy emphasis on 'anything'.
Well, anything except a teleport. The sheer force needed for Theo to perform the last one was to taxing on his mind that he doubted he could perform another spell for some time afterwards. The only choice he had was to keep going.
Theo kept walking, knowing an attack could come from anywhere.
"Peekaboo.." Carnage said, his sinister tone being at its creepiest. Yet, dispite the obvious horror movie shout out, Theo kept going. "I can see you.."
"Shut the fuck up!" Theo snapped, now annoyed. "I have enough references with Ivan, and the lack of hands means I can't face-Palm at his failure without looking like a complete dipshit in public, so shut, the Fuck, UP!"
"Oo, didums. Does baby wanna cry?" Carnage asked sarcastically. "Man up, eermm, pony up. Colt, stallion up? This worlds language makes no sense, man. I mean. Gaaa, you know what I mean."
"Why aren't you getting this shit? Aren't you from this world?" Theo asked.
"My kind exists between the boundaries of all the different dimensions, making us interdimentional bouncers, so to say.".
Theo rolled his eyes. "I thought bouncers square up to people rather than.." Theo was interrupted by Carnage jumping on top of him. "You know, one day, I'll learn to shut my mouth." Carnage began to pummel Theo, beating him up.
"Say uncle!" Carnage said darkly. Theo tried to struggle out, but couldn't escape from his attackers grips."
"Why the fuck do you always jump on me? It's becoming a trope now." Theo complained.
"Uncle, Uncle!" Theo yelled, hoping his sinister adversary would let him go.
"I don't think so. I think I've waisted enough time on you." Carnage boomed. "Wish I could say I enjoyed myself. Maybe next time I won't be forced to copy an egghead. Any last requests?" Theo looked to his side, and looked back at carnage.
"Yeah. Do you think you could stay still for a few seconds?" Theo asked, being greeted by a confused look from his captor.
"What do you mean by.." Carnage started, only to be interrupted by a beam of aqua coloured magic, knocking him out temporarily. Starlight then emerged next to Theo, making sure he was alright.
"How did you find me?" Theo asked her, kinda confused.
"I tracked your teleportation spell. Twilight said it would take to long, so when she left with her friends and Made to find you, I did it." Starlight explained. "Don't know how you managed such a distance."
"What about Ivan?" He asked, curious as to why he was left out.
"He's drunk, so we left pinkie to look after him." Starlight told him
"Man, I almost feel bad for him." Starlight looked at him confused.
"What's a man?" Starlight asked.
"A man is the pitiful being Theo once was." Carnage moaned, getting back on all fours. "A being without magic, wings or true strength.
"Try saying that to Bruce Lee or Chuck Norris." Theo mumbled.
"Shut up and be glad your alive." Carnage shouted. "If it wasn't for this bitch, you'd be dead. So I'm gonna return the favour." Another magic orb appeared above Carnage, significantly larger than last time. Out of fear, Starlight attempted to teleport away, but failed.
"Why isn't my magic working?" Starlight yelled, trying to muster up every ounce of the energy within her. Carnage let out a large chuckle.
"This blast absorbs magic around it to improve its own power. One would call it overkill, I call it checkmate." He explained.
Theo froze. For once, he didn't know what to do. He and Starlight were cornered, and without a hasty teleport, they were finished. What little he knew of magic was useless, as it would simply be absorbed by his fiendish counterpart. What little options he was left with were either incredibly unlikely to work, or just stupid. His one choice was to wait and hope someone could help them, or an opportunity arose where he could counter.
"Wish I could say it was nice knowing you, but it really wasn't." Carnage declared before sending the orb quickly towards them. Starlight flinched, preparing for the blast, her face laced with fear.
Within moments, Theo felt something within him, something he never felt before. It was as if every fibre of his very being was beginning to scream. However, it was not a scream of terror or pain, it was a scream of power, of raw desperation. This sudden spike in strength filled his horn, extending from it and forming a blade. It buzzed with green energy, seeming lethal to the touch. The orb seemed to split as it touched the blade, sending its fragments in two different directions, exploding after hitting some trees further away from them. Starlight opened her eyes, realising she hadn't been hit yet, only to see what was just described. Theo looked at carnage sternly.
"Hey buggy boy! You missed, bitch!". Theo declared, his statement brimming with pride, with a pinch of sarcasm. Carnage gave one look at Theo, before vanishing into grey smoke. The only expression that could be seen on his face could only be described as fear.
The large sword on Theo's head dissipated, and he turned to face Starlight.
"Are you hurt?" He asked her, now seeming exhausted.
"Yes, thanks." Starlight returned, still shaken from the possibility of death. Theo stumbled slightly, but recovered quickly.
"Good, that means I can pass out without guilt". Theo moaned before falling to the floor, passing out almost instantly. Starlight quickly ran over to him.
"Theo? Theo, wake up. Theo!" She pleaded, hoping he'd hear her, but it was no use. She did notice he was still breathing, so he was mostly safe. If anything, he needed medical attention quite quickly.
Almost from nowhere, Twilight swooped down to the clearing Starlight was currently in, suddenly shocked to see her pupil with Theo.
"Starlight? What are you doing here?" She asked her, seeing as she's saw her at the castle not long ago.
"While you were gone, I tracked the teleport Theo did." She told her teacher, looking down at Theo. "And it's a good thing I did."
"What happened to him?" Twilight asked, rushing over to him.
"He passed out after protecting us both from Carnage. We were going to get hit be a magic orb, and we're both stopped from using magic." Starlight paused. "But he somehow managed to break that the rule and activated his magic to turn his horn into a sword, then passed out." Twilight quickly checked over Theo.
"We need to get him to a hospital, quickly!" Twilight declared. "Starlight, can you get help and tell his friends he's safe?" Starlight was already stood up.
"One hoof ahead of you Twilight!" She declared, teleporting away instantly. Twilight quickly placed Theo in a safe position while she waited for help. Something didn't sit right with her as she went through what starlight told her however, something in particular.
"But there are no sword spells in current existence!" She thought, clearly confused. "Could Theo have made a new spell completely?" She sat looking over Theo, now believing there was more to this Colt than he's letting on..
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. Chapter 1; origins/ Remastered
Author's Note
Hello people, eVoL junior here, revealing my first story on this site. Well, I am currently up to chapter 5 on fanfictiction.net, so sorta new. I would like to note two things.
EX note: this chapter has been Remastered as of 19/9/17. This edit adds new dialogue, an improved conversation between Theo and his dad and fixing several plot issues found. On top of this, I have added several Easter eggs and references for those of you who will get them.
Finally, I would like to thank 0_0 for helping me fix up this chapter, as it would've taken me some time to get together the intelligence to fix it myself. If you wish to see the original version, it is up on fanfiction.net. Anyway, have a good day and feel free to let me know what you thought bellow.
Chapter 1; origins/ Remastered
It was always awkward the day you start at a new school in the middle of a term, but this feeling was all too familiar for Theo.
He thought of any excuse to push it back another day. He lost his keys somewhere in the house and was locked in, he got there a day late, or he could just say the obvious "I was sick" line he used in his last 3 schools.
He shook his head and walked to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Theodore Middlewood was just your run of the mill lanky 16 year old video game addict, as could be proved by the gargantuan stack of game boxes and consoles in his room. He had rough blonde hair that always seemed to go off to the left no matter what he did with it. He wore a black and white checkered shirt with with the collar button undone, black chinos and grey trainers. After brushing his teeth and a splash of cold water, Theo made his way downstairs to check up with his dad before he left. He entered the living room to find his father's head covered in cans of cheap fizzy drinks and scrunched-up paper. Theo walked up to his dad and shook what he thought was his shoulder in an effort to wake him up, only to see his father's body erupt from the pile.
"Iwasn'tasleepIwasrestingmyeyes"! he said almost as fast as his head shot up, shooting a look at his son almost as if he was the true parent. Theo simply responded with a smirk and a light laugh. Mr Middlewood rested his head in his hands, he was clearly upset. "I nearly made a breakthrough, son, I could just feel it," he said, almost upset.
Theo's father worked for a video game company as a landscape designer, and thoroughly enjoyed his work. Even Theo would often find himself in awe at some of his father's work. The only problem with his father’s job meant moving to new locations, lots! Just as Theo thought he had settled down for good, his father had either got a promotion, had been moved to another project or dropped completely. Still, his dad had one dream, to one day make a game good enough that he could settle down and not have to keep moving.
Theo was simply disappointed, kneeling to his dad's level so he can gain eye contact. "You've said that for the past three nights running, dad. You need to stop it with the all-night research sessions and get some sleep for fuck sake!"
"You know how I get when I'm on the verge of an idea," his father shot back at him. Theo knew how stubborn his dad was about his work, and how his emotions tend to be on overtime in the morning, So he returned to his prior thoughts.
"Dad, do I have to go in today? He asked his father, choosing to give up on excuses and give it to his father straight, seeing as his father typically sees through his lies anyway.
"Theo, we always have this discussion every time we move, you always try to hide inside for the first day and it's beginning to get annoying." His father’s voice became more warm. somewhat inviting Theo to share his feelings with him.
"Yes but you always say it will be the last time, and it never is!" Theo started to rant, "I finally found somewhere I was happy, I made actual friends, then I go home and you give me the same blank look and tell me we need to move!" Theo looked like he was about to burst out in tears until his father placed his hand on his shoulder to soothe his emotions.
"Calm down mate, shouting won't solve anything, ok?" his father said firmly, placing his hand on his sons shoulder. His face became saddened. "You have a right to be mad, but overthinking things like you do will only cause more stress." Theo had become silent. "Look mate, you know I don't have a choice in this, if I did we would still be back in London, with a massive house and every gaming system going." His father's head sunk back into his hands. "Life's a bitch, isn't it?"
Theo rolled his eyes and placed his hand on his dad's shoulder. "Look, I'm sorry for over-reacting, but this isn't healthy dad. I was behind with school as it is, but now, unless a miracle happens, I'm pretty much fucked. You blame me for trying to avoid the first day, but I don't want to make friends if I'm just gonna leave them sooner or later."
Theo's dad turned to see his son clearly upset, his hand no longer resting on his shoulder. "Look Theo, I know how you feel. Just hear me out on this one." Theo looked at his dad. "This sounds weird, but it's like I felt something drew me here, like this is meant to happen. I sound like a tool for saying this, but it's hard to explain." Theo looked at his father sceptically, his head leaning back in confusion. His father sighed in response. "Just go to school kiddo, I've got some things to sort out and un-box, so you'd best set off."
Theo grabbed his black bomber jacket and left without question, his father having snapped him out of his mood. As the door closed however, his dad's head fell down onto the pile and sunk back into it.
"Five more minutes." He mumbled, his head once again covered in litter.
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Theo quietly walked into school, his head deep in thought. There was something about what his father had said to him that he was still trying to understand. "It felt like something drew me here". Now, Theo knew his dad was bonkers, but he never said anything like that before. What could it mean?
Any further speculation was interrupted by a large, bellowing growl coming from Theo's belly, as he realised he forgot to have his breakfast. "Fuck." He muttered under his breath, now stopping and contemplating whether or not to head home and make a quick slice of toast. He quickly chose not to however, deciding he didn't have the time.
As he went to continue his trek, he was suddenly pulled backwards, falling over in the process. Mere moments later, a car zoomed in front of him. Whatever just stopped Theo from crossing the road (which he probably should've noticed) likely just saved his life. Theo turned to see who it was.
"You good, mate?" said a young man who Theo guessed was his age. His rescuer wore a tracksuit and was well-built, with brown hair and a bit of stubble on his chin. Theo had gotten over the initial shock and managed to pull together a response.
"Thank... Fuck..." he called out. He was offered a hand up and took it.
"I understand school is bad, but it's not that bad!" the lad said jokingly.
"No, it is!" Theo answered jokingly, before being offered a hand up. "Theo."
"Theo huh? You must be that new kid I've heard about." Ivan answered, helping Theo up. "I'm Ivan, nice to meet you!" As Theo got up, his belly started to roar again, loud enough for Ivan to hear it this time. "One sec, I think I have something for that." Ivan threw Theo a breakfast bar from his pocket, before pulling another one out. Theo let out a sigh of relief.
"Dude, your a life-saver." Theo said as a way of thanks, before tagging along with him the rest of the way to school.
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"What you so quiet out?" Ivan asked. The walk to school was mostly a short one. It took some time due to the lack of a conversation, but Ivan finally broke the silence with his question.
Theo sighed, looking up at Ivan. "Something my dad said earlier got me thinking, that's all." Ivan slowed down so he was next to Theo.
"Something I can hear?" Ivan asked, nudging Theo a bit.
"He said that something drew him here, and that he couldn't tell what it was." Ivan laughed at this.
"Really man? That just sounds like the typical 'drawn to the location' shit people do in movies. How is that weird?" Ivan brought up a good point, but it still didn't feel right to Theo.
"Yeah, but still, something doesn't feel right. My dad doesn't typically say shit like that, and it's just thrown me off." He scratched the back of his head, both for an itch and as a sign of confusion.
"Let me guess, your an analyst." Ivan guessed, simply to get a blank look from Theo. "You know, the kind of person who thinks everything through in their head before running into danger?"
"Yeah, pretty much.." Theo continued to scratch his head. "It's got me out of a lot of shit, so I've learned to deal with it." They continued talking until they reached the school entrance.
"Well man, that's that. I've got lesson to get to, so I'll meet you after you tour thing." Ivan gave Theo a pat on the back for good luck, or just for an opportunity for a dig.
"Kay man, speak to you soon. Good luck not getting detention!" Theo told him.
"You know you probably just jinxed me, right?" Ivan asked, folding his arms.
"That was the point man, see you later!" Theo quickly ran off before Ivan could catch up to him
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Theo arrived at the reception in order to meet his guide for the day, yet recalled the last few times he was toured around his new schools. He would always be shown around by some popular chick who only offered to show him around to get out of class. Then they’d bitch about him to the other popular girls, and suddenly he was a social outcast. Every time, without fail. Naturally, Theo hated this process . He walked up to the reception desk to introduce himself.
"Hey there, kid, what can I do for you?" asked the receptionist. She seemed to put on a lot of enthusiasm, like most teachers did. Theo thought she would probably get back to whatever she was doing prior, wether that was work or whatever she was doing.
He walked up to the desk, ready to introduce himself. "Yeah, I'm Theo Middlewood, I'm here about the first day tour thing," he stated.
"Good timing, the guide is coming over now. She will be here in 2 minutes." Ha, he called it! Despite the chaos that came with moving, some things were still predictable. Theo simply sighed and went to sit down when a young woman came bursting through the door. She seemed to be out of breath, so she clearly rushed there.
“I'm here to pick up the new kid!" she yelled before breathing frantically. To Theo's confusion, she was quite the opposite to what he thought he would get. Blue hoodie and jeans, red hair, and no makeup! He quietly thanked whoever sent this girl to be his guide. Theo walked up to her to introduce himself.
"That Theo by chance?" he asked her.
"I wasn't told the name, just to pick up some guy from reception and show him around. One minute." The girl continued to frantically breathe, before standing up straight. "Sorry about that, I'm Made."
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Made and Theo walked around school, as the tour was taking a while. Despite this, they kept each other going with a couple of jabs. They walked past a classroom
"Those are the computer labs, aKa my favourite class!" Made declared, her face filled with pride.
From what little Theo had learned from made, she seemed to have a mixed bag of a personality. She could go from giddy, to moody, then proud in a blink of an eye. This meant Theo mostly had a hard time keeping up with her, but he figured he'd get used to her eventually.
"Next up is the design and tech." Made now looked a little upset, stopping and looking into the classroom. "I wanted to do this class, but they don't think I have the strength for it.
Theo looked at Made, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Well, just ignore them. If you want to do something, you can do it!" This lit a small flame of confidence in Made's eyes, but she still changed the subject.
"Hey, you'd better not be flirting with me." She said sarcastically, brushing off Theo's hand and giving him a punch to the shoulder. Theo winced, her fist actually hurt.
"So, your not strong, eh?" He returned, pulling a daft face and pushing her to the side.
"Ah, shut up blondie!" She shouted, walking forward a few more paces until reaching a classroom. "This is the science room, the class we're both meant to be in right now. When we go in, I'll help you catch up with whatever you need to do.
"Meh, fair enough." Theo was partially upset he had to go to class, but was glad to do something other than stand around and talk all day. He opened the door and—
"DETENTION!" an old man (presumably the teacher) yelled at him and Made. He seemed to reek of vodka.
"What?" Theo asked him, severally shocked and confused.
"Arriving late to my class, or any other class for that matter, is punishable by detention!"
Theo looked over to Made. "What's with this guy?” he asked her.
"He's the village idiot," she answered. "I'll explain when we're sat down."
"The pair of you can join Ivan after class." Theo simply looked over the teacher’s shoulder to see the buffoon in question waving at him. One facepalm later and Theo and made joined Ivan at the back of class. Made sat next to Ivan, immediately giving him a friendly look.
"Well, what's he got you in for this time?" She said before sighing, almost annoyed.
"For running in the classroom." Ivan moaned, briefly sniggering before turning to Theo. "Well, it's later. How was the tour?"
"Went well, all things considered." Theo sighed, still pissed off he got a detention in his first lesson. "That teacher is a prick."
"Don't worry about Mr. Branwen." Ivan said, pointing at the teacher, who was taking a drink from a flask, most likely alcohol. "He's probably just gonna forget about it after class."
"If you say so." Theo mumbled, choosing to rest his head on the table as the class resumed, not that there was much actually being taught. The teacher mostly mumbled to himself, occasionally writing on the board. The lesson ended surprisingly fast, and the rest of the class left the room. The only issue being that the teacher left as well, locking the door behind him, and trapping the trio. Made looked over at Ivan.
"Guess what Ivan?" Made asked, only a little mad. "He went and forgot. The only issue is he forgot us. Thanks for jinxing up." Made crossed her arms.
"Why would he lock the door behind him anyway?" Theo asked, itching the back of his head. "Isn't there safety things in place for that or something?"
"He prefers to keep his door locked to stop students from seeing his private lab." Made explained, turning to the labs door. "Speaking of.."
Ivan gave Made a strong glare. "Made, don't. You don't want to end up like Georgia!" This statement simply confused Theo, being new and all.
Wait, what happened to Georgia, who even is Georgia?" Theo asked frantically, extremely confused, almost demanding an answer. Made walked up to Theo.
"Georgia tried to get into the lab, but was expelled for it. But, Ivan, was Georgia locked in the classroom?" Ivan thought for a minute, seeing Made's point. "We're not breaking and entering, and if we are accused of it, we can tell school we were locked in by that old turd, simple!"
"Still." Ivan started. "I don't feel right about this. It feels wrong."
"Ivan Grefferson!" Made shouted, turning to face him with arms folded. "Since when were you such a goody two shoes?"
"Whenever your out of control, or having a nerd spasm. Or that unholy mixture of the both, whatever we call it. Someone needs to keep you in line!" As the two of them broke into argument, Theo finally broke his silence and intervened.
"Both of you be quiet, I can't think straight!" Theo shouted, silencing the duo. "Your lovers quarrel can happen later. Lets think for a minute." Theo paused, now able to think in the silence. He rested his chin in his hand and closed his eyes briefly, before opening them again. "Does Mr Branwen have any spare keys?"
Made nodded, then turned to Ivan. "Yes, he does. Do you know where he keeps them?" Ivan facepalmed at Made's question. "In his lab! Which means we need to go in and find them!" Made sniggered, starting to act like a child.
"Ivan, looks like we have no choice." Theo told him, patting him on the shoulder. After a sigh, Ivan joined his two friends as they walked into the lab.
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The lab seemed bigger than the trio had pictured, seeming to be the same size as the classroom they came from. Several desks were littered around the place, covered in documents, coffee mugs and weird contraptions. The windows were covered with large pieces of black paper, blocking any daylight from entering the room. Towards the corner of the room, there was a weirdly set-up computer system, placed next to two metal doorway-looking things pointed in different directions.
As the group split up to search the room, Theo took a particular interest to this particular setup. He walked up to the computer next to the metal doorways, finding it still logged on. After a few minutes of rooting through files (mainly due to curiosity), he figured out what the metal gateways were for.
"Hey guys!" Theo called over to The others, seeming quite impressed. "Get over here and check this out."
Ivan walked slowly to Theo. "Do I have to man, I'm trying to crack open his confiscation cupboard."
"I thought you didn't feel right about this." Made checked, after looking through tons of blueprints for several misc devices.
"You know what they say about dark places in schools. Bad shit happens in places like this." Ivan argued.
"One, Ivan, that's an urban myth." Theo started. "Secondly, watch this." Theo pressed a key on the computer, activating the two 'doorways' and filling them with green energy, covering the room in a distinct glow. Theo picked up a stone and threw it through one, for it to shoot out of the other. The entire group was in awe.
"IT'S A TELEPORTER! Made yelled, her face in her hands in shock.
"Holy shit man, now that's cool." Ivan said calmly, still trying to keep his 'cool guy' personality that didn't exist.
"I gotta try that." Made briefly said, picking up a stapler from the nearby table and throwing it through the portal. However, as it shot out the other side, it crashed into the computer running the portal itself, sending everything haywire as red warning lights and sirens went off. The boys shifted their faces to Made, glaring at her like wolves. "What? How's that my fault? Who puts a computer at the end of a portal anyway?"
Choosing to ignore Made over their current situation, Ivan started to panic. "Theo, turn this thing off, now!" Ivan pointed to the computer, his voice trembling.
"On it!" Theo called out, dashing over to the computer. Before he could do anything however, the computer keyboard shorted out, jolts of electricity shooting out of it. "You know, that's the reason I'm not a PC gamer."
As the portal system went haywire, several red notices rapidly appeared on the screen, overlapping one another. One of the two interlinked portals shorted out, yet the other remained online. Then, the whole computer screen turned red, with a warning message reading 'warning; implosion imminent' flashing alongside it.
Ivan stepped away from the computer, raising his hands in the air. "Well, safe to say we're fucked!" Ivan declared. "Nice knowing you arseholes." He patted Theo on the back.
"No, it's not over! One of the portals are still online, and it's coordinates have.." Theo briefly paused, staring at the screen in confusion. "Changed to.. Wingdings.. What the fuck?"
Made moved away quickly. "Not a sniff. I'm not going in that thing unless I know exactly where I'm going." She turned to face the stapler she threw through the portals while it was functioning. "Or what will happen to us. Does this thing even work on flesh?"
Theo reached into the portal to prove a point, putting his hand in, then out. "Wanna keep complaining?" Theo tried to keep a straight face, even though he actually couldn't feel his hand whatsoever, but didn't tell Made this in order to prove his point. "Face it guys, it's the best bet we have of getting out of this mess. Wherever we end up won't matter, as long as we're safe."
Ivan walked back a few paces. "Don't need to ask me twice!" He yelled, running face-first into the portal. Theo and Made stared at each other, face-palming simultaneously. Made walked towards the portal.
"If better not regret this." Made cursed, slowly walking through the portal, leaving Theo in room alone.
He sighed. "Jesus Christ dad, why couldn't you let me stay home today?" He moaned to himself, getting a run-up like Ivan. He began running. "Leerooy Jeenkinss!" He yelled, running through the portal. The room quickly exploded two seconds later, destroying the groups way back.
